Flutes etc. Shakuhachi? Anyone play this lovely flute?

[Jane M L]

It's been 2 months off a year that I've been learning the sax after too much RSI with the guitar. And it's been a brilliant journey - thanks to Cafesaxophone and Spotify.
It started in a way with Charlotte Barbour Condini's playing of Martin Linde's Music for a Bird in the finals of Young Musician of the Year 2012. Which led to the discovery of Sam Newsome and A Love Supreme and onwards via abortive soprano sax - [ don't start on that if you want to get going quickly and haven't much cash....!] Then there was Hakon Kornstad's Sweden, from a post by Altissimo. And now Spotify sends me new ideas every morning!
Then 2 months ago i heard the shakuhachi flute for the first time, and saw from the internet that it is a very easy instrument to make. I have one from pvc tubing from B&Q that took 1/2 hour to make and sounds sweet. Also I found some bamboo in the garden which is about ok and takes a bit more effort to fashion into a flute., and does not play as easily as the pvc.
I think that what i like about the shakuhachi is it's freedom of sound and aesthetic - for instance some of the earlier ones made by monks had the toneholes positioned more according to a [ very Japanese ] aesthetic rather than where they should be drilled for harmonious predictability. And from 4-5 holes drilled in about 18" of tubing an adept can get 12 notes from a pentatonic scale and an infinity of microtones, slurs and swoops etc in between. Trying to get sounds from it initially really tunes ones ear and breathing for later playing the sax - very expanding.
Has anyone else been captivated by the shakuhachi?

Below are some links of relevance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akS05RSnlMU Charlotte Barbour Condini

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo3jLp8Rj0g Sweden by Hakon Kornstad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElolrsQmZ94 Clive Bell and Bechir Saade shakuihachi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyxotFhsRaU Arve Henriksen album Chiaroscuro shakuhachi

 

[altissimo]

I love the sound of the shakuhachi, but I've never played one - I've never had much luck playing any kind of flute and assumed the shakuhachi would be difficult. I saw Clive Bell playing one years ago - beautiful sound

 

[Ivan]

Similar principle to my Bolivian quena... the problem I've got is that plenty of sax practice over the past year has altered my embouchure and I can barely get a note out of the quena

 

[jonf]

Snake Davis makes a nice sound out of one.

Could you post the internet link to making one? I fancy trying the PVC tube route. A little while ago I looked into buying a Japanese bamboo one, and was horrified by the cost of that root.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Yes, they're very nice. Unfortunately I don't have a lifetime left in order to learn to play one properly.

 

[Jane M L]

I'm pleased the shakuhachi is intriguing some of you!

I'll post some links and pics later this evening, I hope.
It's taken me about 2 months to predictably get a proper sound at the first breath of a practice session out of any of the 3 cheapos that I have [ 2 homemade, 1 a few dollars from Thailand ] - and I mean just one sound ! With luck I can make some beautiful bird song for a minute or so after that before the knack has gone again. But I think the breathing for shakuhachi really helps get sax breathing into perspective.

But since they were originally meditation aids, just one note is acceptably 'playing'......

 

[Ivan]

I've given listening to the Shakuhachi a go on soundcloud and elsewhere

I'm sorry to say I'm not that impressed. Yes it's pleasant enough and puts me in mind of some of the quieter scenes in the Seven Samurai. So I conjure images of impoverished peasants working the land and facing bandit attack

But the sound itself just doesn't move me

 

[altissimo]

I've given listening to the Shakuhachi a go on soundcloud and elsewhere

I'm sorry to say I'm not that impressed. Yes it's pleasant enough and puts me in mind of some of the quieter scenes in the Seven Samurai. So I conjure images of impoverished peasants working the land and facing bandit attack

But the sound itself just doesn't move me

.... and thus 12 centuries of tradition are reduced to cliché in 4 sentences...

 

[Ivan]

.... and thus 12 centuries of tradition are reduced to cliché in 4 sentences...

Yeah I know

Three sentences would be better

 

[ProfJames]

 

[altissimo]

17 syllables would be more appropriate

 

[Ivan]

17 syllables would be more appropriate

Are we counting syllables in terms of European or Japanese sound units?

 

[Kim]

If you say you don't like the shakuhachi, it's maybe not the shakuhachi you don't like but the traditional Japanese music.

Try to listen to these:

Jazz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-ZkLNNsvo

Modern avant garde jazz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lftV5-1Oh0A

A Japanese pop/rock band playing on both traditional Japanese and modern western instruments
http://youtu.be/YDAH5aBQGMQ

 

[Jeanette]

Hi Kim

Thank you

Do introduce yourself in the doorbell forum

Jx

 

[Saxlicker]

I love the Shakuhachi.
An acquired taste though for me.
My route into the world started with an internet search for bamboo sax which lead to finding the Native American Style flutes. I found these easy to get along with and made some of my own. But aesthetically I enjoyed the look of a side blown bamboo flute so started to make them that way.
Over time my searches kept bumping into the Shakuhachi and I have 2.
One Madake Bamboo root end and one made from ABS called the shakuhachi Yuu.
I will never be proficient but its a welcome distraction from life's other stresses.
Here is my collection.

 

[Kim]

Cool you make them yourself. I bought a cheap plastic one from ebay just to find out if it was something for me. I think it is but I find it very difficult to play. What makes it even more difficult, is that it have been totally impossible for me to find a teacher within a close enough distance
I've also thought about the shakuhachi yuu.
The one on the top on your picture. Is that one you've made? Can you tell me a little about. I think it seems very nice.

 

[Saxlicker]

Ohh no...can't make Shakuhachi I'm afraid.
Kim where are you in the country?
The Shakuhachi Yuu is an excellent way in, tuning is good and they play evenly once you can get one octave you are on your way without too much quirk.
We all know the pitfalls of Bamboo and wood with humidity e.t.c. The Yuu is so robust and has been modelled on a very good shakuhachi to get the bore and tone hole placement (are we on the wrong forum here ? ).
Unlike saxophones, I think you'll find the verdict on the Yuu unanimously in favour from teachers. It is heavier than Bamboo but so much lighter than a saxophone that you'll not be very bothered. I have seen some used ones turn up on "that auction site".

With regards to the photo....
They are pretty much all based on minor pentatonic keys.
At the top is a Turned Spanish Cedar HIgh Spirits NAF style flute in F sharp.
Next is a Turned Aromatic Cedar High Spirits NAF style in D.
Then a split branch Yew made by Willow Freeman in Bb
The next 3 are my 5 hole creations...Bamboo transverse (or side blown) with the slow air chamber and fipple a la NAF style, the first 2 are in in F sharp the lower one in D.
I'm pleased as they all go to the next octave fairly well.
Then comes my first side blown flute with out the slow air chamber in F sharp.
Followed by the 2 Shakuhachi. Both 1.8 in D

 

[Jules]

Yeah I know

Three sentences would be better

or at least a Haiku!....
Doh.. just spotted you guys got to that one first

 

[Kim]

Ohh no...can't make Shakuhachi I'm afraid.
Kim where are you in the country?
The Shakuhachi Yuu is an excellent way in, tuning is good and they play evenly once you can get one octave you are on your way without too much quirk.
We all know the pitfalls of Bamboo and wood with humidity e.t.c. The Yuu is so robust and has been modelled on a very good shakuhachi to get the bore and tone hole placement (are we on the wrong forum here ? ).
Unlike saxophones, I think you'll find the verdict on the Yuu unanimously in favour from teachers. It is heavier than Bamboo but so much lighter than a saxophone that you'll not be very bothered. I have seen some used ones turn up on "that auction site".

With regards to the photo....
They are pretty much all based on minor pentatonic keys.
At the top is a Turned Spanish Cedar HIgh Spirits NAF style flute in F sharp.
Next is a Turned Aromatic Cedar High Spirits NAF style in D.
Then a split branch Yew made by Willow Freeman in Bb
The next 3 are my 5 hole creations...Bamboo transverse (or side blown) with the slow air chamber and fipple a la NAF style, the first 2 are in in F sharp the lower one in D.
I'm pleased as they all go to the next octave fairly well.
Then comes my first side blown flute with out the slow air chamber in F sharp.
Followed by the 2 Shakuhachi. Both 1.8 in D

I'm in a city called Ringsted.
Are we on the wrong forum here, you ask. hmm. we are on a saaxophone forum but we are in the category "other instruments," so don't think anyone will punish us for it.