Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

{TKG}MALICE wrote:

i get the notation system, what i dont understand are certain symbols that go along the lines , i will post a link to a pic on a score to show you what i am talking about, i also dont have any books or any money......

http://hosting02.imagecross.com/image-h … estion.jpg

the wavy lines , i was assuming means breathy sound? and the straight lines , what do they mean

any help will be greaty appreciated

Hi TKG,
          Your first arrow in line 1:   The little crook in the line indicates bending(meri) down 1/2 step from the original pitch(tsu meri-E flat) to tsu omeri(D).
                  2nd arrow line 1: means bending the original pitch down a whole step(2 half steps) and bending back up to original pitch.
              Arrow in line 3: I'm not totally sure about this but I think it's a hit or two followed by shaking. I'll be waiting for somebody to answer this myself.
              1st arrow in the last line is the same thing as the 1st arrow in the 1st line.
             Is that a 2nd arrow on the last line? If so, the small chi to the right is played very softly and is short in duration.  There is a short vertical line after the small chi that I think is either a mistake or something I've never seen before.  The soft chi sort of thing I've only seen as a last note of a phrase.
             Hope that helps.             
                                          Good luck
                                                               Jim

Last edited by Jim Thompson (2008-07-17 11:44:26)

thanks very much , now i can understand it,, i want to get into writing it, i am a western musician. but i am use to seeing asian styles of notation, i got a guzheng (sort of like a koto from china)  and it had strange notation.  but i think this is easyer to read than western staff notation but yeah, your help is really appriciated

Jim Thompson wrote:

After consulting a Yokoyama recording, I think the line 3 marking in question is actually combining shaking and hitting.

No shaking, no hitting (although there is one hit right at the end of the figure, in the transition out of it). As Zak said earlier, it's a repeat of the first two notes (either the meri'd U followed by U, or the meri'd Re followed by Re in a later example), sliding from the lower to the higher-pitched note, which increases in speed as the phrase goes to completion--the 'bouncing ball' figure that is often used in Honkyoku.

BTW: Whether you're trying to learn it or not, it's a good idea to get a recording of the piece if you don't already have one; it would not teach you how to play it, but it would help clear up how the sounds work.

Last edited by edosan (2008-07-17 17:43:40)