Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

On my 2.9 which is extremely wide bore, I actually have to rest the flute considerably lower down on my chin. Somethign that took A LOT of getting used to, even more to get the correct pitch- but once I found the sweet spots the sound was strong.

dstone wrote:

Amokrun, when you say the sound goes flat...  do you mean you have less than a full range from what you think is kari down to dai meri?

No, I can actually meri just fine like that. I actually find it pretty easy to do. The problem comes in that for example jumping to Kan causes I and Ro no Kan to not match anymore. If I move my head further away and let the end of the flute drop a bit I can get the pitches the match but the sound becomes quite weak since the utaguchi is so far away. So basically, every note is a bit flat which is just fine up until you need to play in Kan. For amusement, I can actually play mostly in tune by placing the flute so that the tip is against the floor and blowing directly over the opening like one would if it was a bottle. The problem only happens because I can't seem to find a way to get closer to the utaguchi without also causing enough head tilt to end up with all notes flat.

I'll have to try to get some pictures taken to explain this better. It's amazingly hard to explain a concept like this that you understand in the gut level.

dstone wrote:

Definitely play with lots of initial positions on the chin (i.e. where you first place it before you slide it around).  Then you might have to press the back of the flute into your chin a bit more than you ever had to for a 1.8 to get a strong kari position to work from.

Just for the record, do you generally hold the flute itself in the same angle regardless of its length? I find that on a 1.8 I can let the end of the flute drop down as much as I want and I can still play just fine and even keep the playing in tune. On 2.5 the flute will start to get in the way really quickly and it's hard to go under 45 degrees or so until the chin rest forces me to far from the utaguchi. Yet, I can't seem to easily play Kari unless the end of the flute hangs slightly under the 45 degree position. This is the main source of my problems since I could technically play just fine if I could hang the flute slightly while still remaining close enough to the utaguchi.

Another consideration; all of the above being worthy of note:

Perhaps your chinrest angle needs a slight adjustment. Occasionally longer flutes require a slightly more acute angle for some players in order
achieve good playing posture.

Not for the faint of heart: I'm not referring to simply rounding off the back of the chinrest to get a better fit to the chin, but actually changing the
angle. You might compare the 2.5 to your 1.8 to see how they differ. I have a 1.8 and a 2.4 by Ichijo Kobayashi, and both have the same chinrest
angle, BUT, they are both jiari flutes with very similar culm diameters. If your 2.5 is much bigger in diameter than your 1.8, chinrest angle can
definitely make a difference in how and where your embouchure meets the blowing edge.

eB

edosan wrote:

I have a 1.8 and a 2.4 by Ichijo Kobayashi, and both have the same chinrest angle, BUT, they are both jiari flutes with very similar culm diameters. If your 2.5 is much bigger in diameter than your 1.8, chinrest angle can definitely make a difference in how and where your embouchure meets the blowing edge.

Yeah, there is certainly a difference here. I can almost stuff the 1.8 inside the 2.5 which should give a fair estimation of how big of a difference we are talking about. I've gotten some really good tips on this and it gives me a good starting point. I have never actually considered checking the difference between the flutes on a mirror to see what really happens when I think I'm holding the flute one way or another.I think I'll spend a while checking the distances and seeing what kind of things affect them.

I play a 2.4 that has a much larger diameter than my 1.8 and I have had similar problems.  Particularly with playing a kari chi in kan.  The note always seems to be flat.  I have a little bit better control with the lower notes and it is easy to Meri and Kari on them.  But those uper three in Kan are so difficult!  Any suggestions?  I didnt realize this before, but I first noticed I could not do it correctly when I tried to learn the piece Yamato Choshi.  Very difficult to play that one part in Kan.