Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Congratulations on your choice of instrument.  You won't regret it.

Not sure exactly what you mean by playing "sideways".  Can you describe that in a bit more detail?

As for the finger holes, there are a few options:

- go for a shorter flute, such as a 1.6 or 1.3, so the holes are closer together.  If you want to play with other (Western) folk instruments, 1.6 is good (scale of Em pentatonic or G major).

- move the holes sideways so they better fit your fingering needs.  You could try using different fingers, much as many players do on the longer flutes (index and little fingers rather than index and ring).  Combined with ergonomic hole placement, this should do the trick.

There are plenty of knowledgeable people on this forum who I am sure will post in more detail.

PS You "asked the pro".  I am definitely not one - a beginner.  Just thought I should make that clear.

Last edited by jumbuk (2006-07-25 00:50:47)

If you are working with PVC you can even use a connector from the mouthpiece to the flute set at an angle (like on a saxophone). That, making a shorter flute, and offsetting the holes may give you the ability to play it without having to use keys or pads. Once you have a prototype that works for you ergonomically you can send it to one of the pro makers here and they can make you one from bamboo, perhaps combined with other materials. Good luck and keep us posted.

"Or, do you mean that you are holding the flute angled over to the side as well as down?"

yep.  Thats is exactly.  Any problems with that?  My embroching(?) must be completely off.  Also edosan, I have similar feelings about moving to a shorter flute.  I'll experement with the hole placement and if that doesn't work I'll move on to pads.  The last resort will be to cut the length.  I have recently seen pictures of people playing large flutes and resting the end on the floor.  Is that correct? I've tried it on a table, so its possible for it to work for me on a smaller scale.

Hi Spencer,

I know that the preferable thing to do would be to get the holes in order that you can play them directly, but if you need keywork, these are a few possibilities.

Dolmetsch recorders:  http://www.dolmetsch.com/goldseriesrecorders.htm .  They just have such a stunning variety of recorders for people with disabilities that if you got serious about wanting keys, maybe they'd be worth talking too.  Custom keywork, however, is really expensive, and I don't see if they do it.  At the very least, it's lovely to look at all their recorders.

There's also Flutelab: http://www.flutelab.com/index.htm for interesting accomodations.

There's also Jubilee Instruments: http://www.tinwhistles.us/jubilee.htm .  His work is, to be honest, rather rough, but very affordable and he's very willing to do custom work and answer questions.  I can't vouch for his keywork in particular.  His work is really unusual and innovative for any experimental musical instrument lovers to have a peak at.

On Irish flutes, there are occasionally keys called Siccama keys, which are not as complicated as typical keys and simply offer to reduce the stretch.  You can see an example at Terry McGee's website: http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/models.html .  The "keyless" siccama is the one to look at.

If you were to have a custom shakuhachi made, it's worth noting that a trick of recorder makers is to drill the holes at something of an angle to help with stretches.  I can't imagine this would be without acoustic consequences on a shakuhachi, but a possibility nonetheless, and far simpler than keywork.  Holes can also be made different sizes to put them in different places to accomodate stretch.  Not ever done on the shakuhachi as far as I know, because it will affect the tone and hole functioning, but it's a typical thing to do with flutes in general.

I know that any of these things will take you away from tradition, but it sounds to me like you just want to be able to make some good music, so whatever works.

As for playing it sideways, do you mean kind of like a ney: http://home.att.net/~maged.k.mikhail/pictures.htm   If that's the case, it's completely different.  But, I do this all the time to get a really different set of tone qualities and it's fun, but you can't play shakuhachi techniques playing that way.

Fancy fun,
Kimay.