Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

You can flatten chi in a non-permanent way by putting some Elmer's glue around the top half of the re hole.

Most vintage flutes have sharp chi.

Hi Kiku,
Thanks for your questions. The biggest problems for your students will be the kan octave tuning.

Brian and everything Ken says is applicable. I would deal with the Chi hole but if you want to try Spot Tuning, I would drop the bead so that it hangs just below the Chi hole. Tape the end outside of the flute. Check that area first then up and around the Chi hole. If it's a wide bore flute, this might help some notes in kan.  You always have to weight out what it does to the general timbre and response of the entire flute. If it seems like it's working, try different sized beads and see what works best. If it works and you want to add something, the simplest thing is to add five minute epoxy, mix a bit and add the same amount as the size of your bead using a small thin rod.  I like to use bamboo shish kabab skewers. I've seen some flutes with a glob right at the spot but I like to smear the epoxy along the internal perimeter wall. The epoxy dries to a shiny coat and should require no other work, unless you coat the bore.



The person who knows what the flute should do will make the best choices. It will affect the Ou notes and Hi Go, among others.

I would use five minute epoxy on the top of the hole to shrink it. Since it cures quickly, you can add a gob and have it sit uniformly at the top. You just have to experiment to figure out your window of working time. Too soon and you have to keep moving the flute so that the glue doesn't go everywhere. Too late and you'll have a dried glob on your stick. You can try to tape the top section of the hole first to see what that does.

Mujitsu wrote:

If the flute is not made yet,...Move hole three slightly south. Move hole four slightly north. Then, it's closer to "pitch."

Ken

If funny, I just pointed this very thing out during the flute making section of Michael's camp.  I had everyone do the math for the entire flute first then had them correct the sharp chi by subtracted a centimeter there and then adding a cm to Ri.

Based on my experience on making jinashi 1.8s, I look at size of the bore first, then make the adjustments on where the holes should fall. If the bore is small, it will not waver to far from the formula. But if the bore is large, I automatically drill the first hole sharper so that the other holes will be better placed. A large bore 1.8 will have flat holes if the standard formula for measuring is used. At least in my experience.

I hope this helps. Please do let us know the results of your actions.

Namaste, Perry

Kiku Day wrote:

Closing the hole on the north side or moving it down is also something I have tried to do myself when chi in both octaves were sharp. But would it work even when it really only is in the kan register, it is sharp.

Kiku

Kiku,

Unfortunately, that will probably flatten chi otsu as well. Then, it's a matter of playing with the quarter points between chi and the blowing end. Or, if you are aware that chi kan is sharper than chi otsu when the hole is first drilled, you can always enlarge the hole south* instead of north. (this works best with big holes) If you can get chi kan to be right on pitch and chi otsu to be flat, then you can probably sharpen chi otsu by adding in the bore around the hole (a little behind often works) or at or around the half way point. Sometimes, that's an easier fix. Sometimes not. It seems it's best to base these decisions on what else is happening to the flute so you end up doing the least amount to fix the most. It's a gutsy call!

Ken

* - By enlarging the hole to the south I don't mean that it will flatten the note. Actually it sharpens it less than enlarging it to the north. The idea is that you start very flat and work it up to pitch. That way it gives you more options to work with.