Hi Nick, Thanks for your view on this, appreciated. And totally off topic: how nice to see a fellow left handed person playing the shakuhachi. Some creative use of the curves in your piece of bamboo to accommodate for that, I see. Be well, Charles
Thanks, Charles! For some reason, I'm only left handed with shakuhachi. Playing with my right hand on the bottom just feels wrong. When I first started making shakuhachi, I had some curvy bamboo that worked just right for that :)
Haha ok, that´s interesting. Maybe some creative or spiritual side comes up front when you play? (I hope that you understand what I mean by that. Not suggesting that you´re not a spiritual person otherwise.) Can I tell you what happened with me here literally today? Something really extraordinary. On my search for a left handed flute (I started playing a Yuu November last year) I just got home from a woman who had one for sale. While I was with her (here in The Netherlands), I mentioned you and she happened to own one of your flutes! It was a beautiful 1.8. The upper part was coated in black laquer and had some kanji written on it (sorry, I don´t speak/read Japanese). It had a bit of an oval shaped bore and it was a simularly curvy. A Dutch man had bought it from you, she said, but he wasn´t able to play anymore and apparantly sold it to her. Despite the curvatures, it felt really balanced when I held it in my hands (what I was wondering about regarding the flute in your video; if it would want to tip over to one side or not). And I actually got to play a few notes on it 😁 I dared to spend just a little time with it, but it felt delicate and refined. I could feel how the things you talk about in your videos translate in your work as a maker of flutes. It was a really nice experience. What are the odds?
@@justplayflute Ha ha, that's neat! Yes, I remember that flute well. It says, "Kyotaku." Empty bell / fake bell. That was a very old flute that I restored. Re: what you said about the spiritual side - I've wondered if it had to do with right / left brain controlling things. The right brain is more creative, and controls the left side of the body, so maybe there's something to what you said. Thanks for sharing :)
Ah ok thanks, that´s nice to know. Talking about left & right brain: my first impuls said to go and visit the lady. But then my rational started interfering: the impact on the climate by driving there, time, stress of travelling, etc. Even if it would be too eager. So I decided against my intuition, paid online, including postal costs etc. And then everything started to go wrong: my banking app didn´t work, then the postal service gave my old address to send the flute to. Lots of anxiety! Luckily she hadn´t sent the flute yet. Thankfully I recognized the signs and - though with the fear of looking ridiculous in the back of my mind - I told her about my first impuls and said that it still felt better to me if I came in person. And so we agreed. Had I not done that, I would never have had that conversation with her, nor the chance to see your work in person. One of life´s little miracles, I feel, illustrating the importance of integrating both sides in our lives ❤
"I'll play the rest when you're not listening..." :-) Nick, I think that this is THE reason why I like you so much: you play for yourself! It's nice to hear al those "performers", but in the end, for most of us, this is exactly where it begins & ends: playing for one self... Accepting who we are, with all our strengths & weaknesses and be at PEACE, every day, with a little help from my shakuhachi! :-)
From the M2 (9/8 204 cents or even better 8/7 231 cents) to the root is a vast set of harmonics (8/7, 9/8, 10/9, 11/10, ... ), so Tsu Meri (m2) cannot be fixed at a specific pitch. Again the people were really listening and finding the good sound, rather than falling into a equal temperament mental system.
One more note, Chi Meri 7/5 is 583 cents and is a fine harmonic, very strong, and 10/7 at 617 cents and 13/9 at 637 cents are also good harmonics available by listening closely. A b5 at 600 cents equal temperament is just out of tune. Excellent video...
Ron, thanks for these wonderful comments. Very helpful. Learning about the various temperaments and intonations seems like a good rabbit hole to go down over of these days... But about harmonics: what you said here really resonates. When I play, I find that certain sounds "hit" me in a certain way, like my body is resonating with them. I think this is due to the harmonic resonance. It makes sense with what you said. Additionally, different flutes give different results. For example, a wide-bore flute seems to work like a lowpass filter, so that different tones will give you a different set of harmonics than you'll get on a thin bore, high pass filter flute. Not to mention the various idiosyncracies of each flute's particular bore shape.
You mean the hitoyogiri fingerings? They are explained in the book I translated, and in done of the hitoyogiri videos on this channel. Each mode has it's own fingering.
@@hon-onold-styleshakuhachic8017 Thank you for your reply! I guess I was thinking of the Shakuhachi scales. My apologies for not being more knowledgeable, I just like the sounds between the different scales and how the capture what was in fashion at the time. The one you played seemed to be the root for Sakura.
@@-the-light Ok, I see. Most shakuhachi pieces are generally taken to be iterations of the "miyakobushi" scale. How precisely these scales resemble modern pitches / even temperament, however, is up for debate, at least to some extent. You can find more information by doing a quick search for "miyakobushi scale" or "in scale" / "In senpo" (i.e., the yin scale or yin modality). A lot of the research around these is still forming, so you'll probably find some inconsistency in terminology... "gagaku modes" or "gagaku scales" will give you some more background as well.
Hmm... I don't study much modern music, so I'm afraid I can't help with a 7-hole song book, but I might have some suggestions for shakuhachi history. Are you looking for books in Japanese or English?
Tsu - m3rd - In true harmonics of just or pure intonation the equal temperament m3 is out of tune. True harmonics are 6/5 316 cents and 7/6 267 cents. Therefore the original players of this music were listening and hearing the in tune harmonics and now people are thinking and using tuners to play an out of tune m3.
I don't know if I can say anything definitively, but I could at least say that it's the most likely scenario. I know for sure that Tanikita Muchiku, who learned from a direct inheritor of the Seien-ryu school, as well as many Myoan / Fuke players up to the present, play this way. To my knowledge, it's uncontested that the "old way" of playing involves no hole shading. On older flutes, deep meri notes are possible playing this way, but only for more experienced players (who often choose not to use them anyway) - and on some flutes, they simply aren't possible. Judging from older flute construction as well as older recordings and playing styles, we can at least say that there was a much greater tendency to play that way compared with today. Another line of inquiry is to explore the hitoyogiri. At the inception of the Komuso shakuhachi, the miyakobushi scale was arguably not in vogue; a gagaku or shomyo-style Ritsu scale is more likely, and this tends not to have deep meri tones. I'm wondering if earlier Komuso pieces were based on the Ritsu scale rather than using the half-tones of the related Miyakobushi scale. However, the more I go down this rabbit hole, the more questions arise...
@@hon-onold-styleshakuhachic8017 Thanks for the detailed reply! I checked out the Muchiku recordings. I wish there were more old recordings like that by players alive in the 19th century, in lieu of a time machine.
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I like that the shakuhachi sounds in low tones because it calms me down
Hi Nick, Thanks for your view on this, appreciated.
And totally off topic: how nice to see a fellow left handed person playing the shakuhachi. Some creative use of the curves in your piece of bamboo to accommodate for that, I see.
Be well, Charles
Thanks, Charles!
For some reason, I'm only left handed with shakuhachi. Playing with my right hand on the bottom just feels wrong. When I first started making shakuhachi, I had some curvy bamboo that worked just right for that :)
Haha ok, that´s interesting. Maybe some creative or spiritual side comes up front when you play? (I hope that you understand what I mean by that. Not suggesting that you´re not a spiritual person otherwise.)
Can I tell you what happened with me here literally today? Something really extraordinary.
On my search for a left handed flute (I started playing a Yuu November last year) I just got home from a woman who had one for sale. While I was with her (here in The Netherlands), I mentioned you and she happened to own one of your flutes!
It was a beautiful 1.8. The upper part was coated in black laquer and had some kanji written on it (sorry, I don´t speak/read Japanese). It had a bit of an oval shaped bore and it was a simularly curvy. A Dutch man had bought it from you, she said, but he wasn´t able to play anymore and apparantly sold it to her.
Despite the curvatures, it felt really balanced when I held it in my hands (what I was wondering about regarding the flute in your video; if it would want to tip over to one side or not). And I actually got to play a few notes on it 😁 I dared to spend just a little time with it, but it felt delicate and refined. I could feel how the things you talk about in your videos translate in your work as a maker of flutes. It was a really nice experience.
What are the odds?
@@justplayflute Ha ha, that's neat! Yes, I remember that flute well. It says, "Kyotaku." Empty bell / fake bell. That was a very old flute that I restored.
Re: what you said about the spiritual side - I've wondered if it had to do with right / left brain controlling things. The right brain is more creative, and controls the left side of the body, so maybe there's something to what you said.
Thanks for sharing :)
Ah ok thanks, that´s nice to know.
Talking about left & right brain: my first impuls said to go and visit the lady. But then my rational started interfering: the impact on the climate by driving there, time, stress of travelling, etc. Even if it would be too eager.
So I decided against my intuition, paid online, including postal costs etc. And then everything started to go wrong: my banking app didn´t work, then the postal service gave my old address to send the flute to. Lots of anxiety! Luckily she hadn´t sent the flute yet.
Thankfully I recognized the signs and - though with the fear of looking ridiculous in the back of my mind - I told her about my first impuls and said that it still felt better to me if I came in person. And so we agreed.
Had I not done that, I would never have had that conversation with her, nor the chance to see your work in person. One of life´s little miracles, I feel, illustrating the importance of integrating both sides in our lives ❤
4:31 wonderful just observe, thats i like to practice with shakuhachi thank you 🙏🏼
"I'll play the rest when you're not listening..." :-)
Nick, I think that this is THE reason why I like you so much: you play for yourself!
It's nice to hear al those "performers", but in the end, for most of us, this is exactly where it begins & ends: playing for one self...
Accepting who we are, with all our strengths & weaknesses and be at PEACE, every day, with a little help from my shakuhachi! :-)
From the M2 (9/8 204 cents or even better 8/7 231 cents) to the root is a vast set of harmonics (8/7, 9/8, 10/9, 11/10, ... ), so Tsu Meri (m2) cannot be fixed at a specific pitch. Again the people were really listening and finding the good sound, rather than falling into a equal temperament mental system.
One more note, Chi Meri 7/5 is 583 cents and is a fine harmonic, very strong, and 10/7 at 617 cents and 13/9 at 637 cents are also good harmonics available by listening closely. A b5 at 600 cents equal temperament is just out of tune.
Excellent video...
Ron, thanks for these wonderful comments. Very helpful. Learning about the various temperaments and intonations seems like a good rabbit hole to go down over of these days... But about harmonics: what you said here really resonates. When I play, I find that certain sounds "hit" me in a certain way, like my body is resonating with them. I think this is due to the harmonic resonance. It makes sense with what you said.
Additionally, different flutes give different results. For example, a wide-bore flute seems to work like a lowpass filter, so that different tones will give you a different set of harmonics than you'll get on a thin bore, high pass filter flute. Not to mention the various idiosyncracies of each flute's particular bore shape.
Hi! This is wonderful. Do you have or know where to look for the fingering charts for these old scales? I love the sound! Thank you so much.
You mean the hitoyogiri fingerings? They are explained in the book I translated, and in done of the hitoyogiri videos on this channel. Each mode has it's own fingering.
@@hon-onold-styleshakuhachic8017 Thank you for your reply! I guess I was thinking of the Shakuhachi scales. My apologies for not being more knowledgeable, I just like the sounds between the different scales and how the capture what was in fashion at the time. The one you played seemed to be the root for Sakura.
@@-the-light Ok, I see. Most shakuhachi pieces are generally taken to be iterations of the "miyakobushi" scale. How precisely these scales resemble modern pitches / even temperament, however, is up for debate, at least to some extent. You can find more information by doing a quick search for "miyakobushi scale" or "in scale" / "In senpo" (i.e., the yin scale or yin modality). A lot of the research around these is still forming, so you'll probably find some inconsistency in terminology... "gagaku modes" or "gagaku scales" will give you some more background as well.
Do you teach hitoyogiri? Is interesting...
Yes, I do. Hitoyogiri is even more simple than shakuhachi, but you can go pretty deep with it.
What do recommend for a good shakuhachi history and 7 hole song book of traditional Nick ???
Hmm... I don't study much modern music, so I'm afraid I can't help with a 7-hole song book, but I might have some suggestions for shakuhachi history. Are you looking for books in Japanese or English?
Tsu - m3rd - In true harmonics of just or pure intonation the equal temperament m3 is out of tune. True harmonics are 6/5 316 cents and 7/6 267 cents. Therefore the original players of this music were listening and hearing the in tune harmonics and now people are thinking and using tuners to play an out of tune m3.
So, the meri in Myoan playing is... *just* meri?
Is there any indication of whether komuso played that way? (or any evidence of any of their methods?)
I don't know if I can say anything definitively, but I could at least say that it's the most likely scenario. I know for sure that Tanikita Muchiku, who learned from a direct inheritor of the Seien-ryu school, as well as many Myoan / Fuke players up to the present, play this way. To my knowledge, it's uncontested that the "old way" of playing involves no hole shading. On older flutes, deep meri notes are possible playing this way, but only for more experienced players (who often choose not to use them anyway) - and on some flutes, they simply aren't possible. Judging from older flute construction as well as older recordings and playing styles, we can at least say that there was a much greater tendency to play that way compared with today.
Another line of inquiry is to explore the hitoyogiri. At the inception of the Komuso shakuhachi, the miyakobushi scale was arguably not in vogue; a gagaku or shomyo-style Ritsu scale is more likely, and this tends not to have deep meri tones. I'm wondering if earlier Komuso pieces were based on the Ritsu scale rather than using the half-tones of the related Miyakobushi scale. However, the more I go down this rabbit hole, the more questions arise...
@@hon-onold-styleshakuhachic8017 Thanks for the detailed reply! I checked out the Muchiku recordings. I wish there were more old recordings like that by players alive in the 19th century, in lieu of a time machine.