KODOAN.COM
Hosting by Yahoo!
PLAYING THE
SHAKUHACHI
THE SHAKUHACHI IS AN END BLOWN BAMBOO FLUTE WITH FOUR
HOLES ON THE FRONT AND ONE ON THE BACK.  THIS CREATES
SIX TONES BUT BY VARIOUS FINGERINGS, HALF HOLING,
QUARTER HOLING, AND CONTROLLING THE ANGLE OF THE
MOUTHPIECE AGAINST THE LIP (EMBROUCHER), THE INSTRUMENT
CAN PLAY A COMPLETE CHROMATIC SCALE OF TWO OCTAVES AND
A FIFTH.  THE FIVE FINGER HOLES ARE TUNED TO A
PENTATONIC SCALE WITH NO HALF-TONES, BUT THE ADVANCED
PLAYER CAN BEND (MERI/KARI) EACH PITCH AS MUCH AS A
WHOLE TONE OR MORE.  PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS CAN PRODUCE
VIRTUALLY ANY NOTE THEY WISH FROM THE INSTRUMENT, AND
PLAY A WIDE REPERTOIRE OF ORIGINAL ZEN MUSIC (HONKYOKU),
ENSEMBLE MUSIC (WITH KOTO AND SAMISEN CALLED
SANKYOKU), AS WELL AS, FOLK, JAZZ, AND MODERN MUSIC
(CONSIDERED GAIKYOKU OR "OUTSIDE" MUSIC).

THE MOUTHPIECE AT THE TOP OF THE FLUTE IS MADE BY
CUTTING THE EDGE DIAGONALLY TOWARD THE EXTERIOR.  THIS
TYPE OF MOUTHPIECE MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR THE PLAYER TO
CONTROL THE PITCH BY CHANGING THE ANGLE (TILTING THE
HEAD), WHICH IN TURN PRODUCES A DELICATE CHANGE IN
INTONATION NOT POSSIBLE ON ANY OTHER TYPE OF
INSTRUMENT SUCH AS THE WESTERN RECORDER (WHICH HAS A
WHISTLE TYPE OF MOUTHPIECE).  PERHAPS A GOOD ANALOGY IS
THE VIOLIN WHICH HAS ONLY FOUR STRINGS YET AN INFINITE
AMOUNT OF SOUNDS.

IN ORDER TO GET SOUND OUT OF THE SHAKUHACHI, THE PLAYER
BLOWS ACROSS THE DIAGONALLY CUT EDGE CALLED AN
UTAGUCHI (LITERALLY "SONG MOUTH").  THIS IS SIMILAR TO
BLOWING ACROSS THE EDGE OF AN EMPTY BOTTLE TO MAKE A
SOUND.  PRACTICE GETTING DIFFERENT SOUNDS BY MOVING
YOUR HEAD SLIGHTLY.  START BY PLACING THE BOTTOM OF YOUR
LOWER LIP AGAINST THE BACK OF YOUR SHAKUHACHI.









BLOW A STREAM OF AIR ACROSS THE SHARPENED EDGE
(UTAGUCHI) WITHOUT COVERING ANY OF THE HOLES.  WHEN
YOU CAN MAINTAIN A NICE, STRONG TONE, PRACTICE COVERING
ONE HOLE AT A TIME STARTING WITH THE (BACK) HOLE CLOSEST
TO THE UTAGUCHI.  YOUR GOAL SHOULD BE "A LIFE TIME IN A
SINGLE BREATH."

ONCE YOU CAN GET THE BASIC NOTES IN THE FIRST OR
FUNDAMENTAL OCTAVE (CALLED OTSU), YOU CAN EXPERIMENT
WITH ADJUSTING THE AIR STREAM FROM YOUR LIPS TO HIT THE
SECOND OCTAVE (CALLED KAN).  THE SECOND OCTAVE CAN BE
REACHED BY FINE TUNING YOUR STREAM OF AIR OVER THE
BLOWING EDGE OR BY SLIGHTLY LIFTING THE THUMB HOLE ON
YOUR LEFT (UPPER) HAND.

AFTER AWHILE, "CONCENTRATION" BECOMES "NO
CONCENTRATION" AND YOU CAN FOCUS ON CREATING
BEAUTIFUL, SPONTANEOUS MUSIC THAT LASTS ONLY AS LONG
AS THIS MOMENT...
HERE IS A WELL KNOWN CHART FOR HELPING WITH FINGER PLACEMENT.  THIS
IS SPECIFICALLY FOR A 1.8 (KEY OF D) SHAKUHACHI BUT YOU CAN EASILY ADAPT
THIS CHART FOR ANY SIZE SHAKUHACHI - JUST CHANGE THE LETTER OF THE
FIRST NOTE ON THE CHART AND FOLLOW THE 3/2/2/3/2 PATTERN.

FOR INSTANCE, IF ONE STARTS IN THE KEY OF A, THE NOTES WILL BE
A,C,D,E,G,A.  FROM A TO C IS 3 NOTES (A, B, C), FROM C TO D IS 2 NOTES (C,
D), FROM D TO E IS 2 NOTES (D, E), FROM E TO G IS 3 NOTES (E, F, G), AND
FROM G BACK TO A IS 2 NOTES (G, A).  THAT'S 3/2/2/3/2 OR A,C,D,E,G,A.