Re: [Shaku] The Power of Urushi

Hi Justin.

>Have you tried playing a shakuhachi before and after
>it has been lacquered, giving you this conclusion?

I certainly have... and I still don't have a clear conclusion on this.
However, I find it interesting that all the ji-nashi shakuhachi makers I
have interviewed so far have the opinion that urushi coating changes the
sound quality of the shakuhachi. The most common argument (without having
put all my notes togtether yet) is, that the urushi coating makes the
surface harden - and to a very small degree (they admit) smoother. They all
seem to agree independently that this changes the sound.

>I found it quite interesting that, when I made those
>recordings for this list, of some hochiku before and
>after applying urushi, no-one claimed they could hear
>any difference in the sound.

You unfortunately recorded that in an extremely live room, so it was hard to
hear the shakuhachi for all the remaining reverb from the previous notes.
Usually when you record to determine changes in the sound quality, you
choose the driest possible room.
I had no other commments to you recordings than it must be an inspiring
place to play!

When playing old Edo instruments before they began adding urushi, I think I
can feel/hear the urushi/no-urushi more clearly. The Edo flutes without
urushi are absolutely lovely.... but then again, we all have different
aesthetics and a hardcore conclusion is impossible here - in my opinion.
Perhaps one day we can do a sound analysis before and after urushi, but it
is already hard to make any sound analysis trustworthy... and this is no
exception.

Blow in peace,
Kiku

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Received on Wed Jul 11 21:56 PDT 2007