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#1 2008-02-08 21:34:14

Gene
Member
Registered: 2008-01-08
Posts: 19

WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

I'm just a brand new beginner with the shakuhachi, and the honkyoku nomenclature is overwhelming me.  Can someone please bail me out?

Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin plays a magnificient KYOREI on YouTube, prefacing his performance with something to the effect that this is one of the earliest pieces (or THE earliest piece) of Honkyoku.  And I worked on this same piece for over a month, thinking it was one of the original 36 Kinko Honkyoku.

But when I got down to really looking at the list of the original 36, THAT KYOREI isn't there.

There are FOUR KYOREI on the original list of the 36 Kinko Honkyoku pieces, namely, SHIN NO KYOREI, KINSAN KYOREI, UCHIKAE KYOREI AND SHIMOTSUKE KYOREI.  But I've now listened to each of these, and none of them is the KYOREI Ronnie plays on YouTube; the one I've been studying for a month.

So why does everybody say this KYOREI of Ronnie's is THE oldest or one of the oldest Honkyoku pieces?

IS IT EVEN HONKYOKU?  I know it is NOT one of the origianl 36 KINKO HONKYOKU pieces.

Can someone straighten me out here, please?

Thank you.

Gene Neill

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#2 2008-02-08 22:34:04

edosan
Edomologist
From: Salt Lake City
Registered: 2005-10-09
Posts: 2185

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

The three so-called 'original' honkyoku are:

Kyorei (no other words in the name, just 'Kyorei', sometimes written: Kyorei (Fudaiji))

Mukaiji

Koku

These three pieces may date to as early as the 13th Century, or earlier (stories differ).



In the 18th Century, the 36 Kinko pieces were collected from many different monasteries by Kurasawa Kinko, who revised and transcribed them.

The other titles of Kyorei, with the other names appended, are variants from different sects or lineages. This is typical with Honkyoku; often the variants are very different or even completely unrecognizable.

Please read: http://www.zenflute.com/kinko.html

[NB: There is a typo on John Singer's page linked here: 'The History of the Nezasa Ha Kinpu Ryu' should be 'The History of the Kinko Ryu', or similar. 'The History of the Nezasa Ha Kinpu Ryu' is actually on a different page.]

See also: http://www.komuso.com/pieces/Kyorei_(Fudaiji).html


eB

Last edited by edosan (2008-02-08 22:54:17)


Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkes.

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#3 2008-02-09 01:04:59

Gene
Member
Registered: 2008-01-08
Posts: 19

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Dear Edosan -

I'm more dense than I even thought - which is pretty awful.

Lemme try again, please.

On the lists of the 36 Kinko Honkyoku, there is no "KYOREI" without some prefix, i.e., either SHIN NO, KINSAN, UCHIKAE OR SHIMOTASKE. 

There is no plain "KYOREI" on the list of 36 KINKO HONKYOKU.

BUT THIS GETS WORSE.

THE MUSICAL PIECE WHICH RONNIE PLAYS ON THE YOUTUBE - WHICH HE CALLS "KYOREI" - AND WHICH I HAVE BEEN STUDYING FOR A MONTH - IS NOT ANY PIECE LISTED ON THE 36 ORIGINAL KINKO HONKYOKU.  I HAVE HEARD ALL OF THE FOUR KYOREI ON THE LIST, BUT RONNIE'S (AND MINE) IS NOT THERE.

"KYOREI" is missing from the list.

And, for what little it is worth, "KYOREI" is also not on WATAZUMI'S list of 21 DOKYOKU.

But, if it were one of the three original "HONKYOKU", as you say, from the 13th century or earlier, WHY DID KURASAWA KINKO MISS IT AND NOT INCLUDE IT IN HIS LIST??

WHY IS IT NOT A KINKO HONKYOKU?

What is it?

Again, thank you very much!

Gene

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#4 2008-02-09 01:30:34

amokrun
Member
From: Finland
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 413

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Gene wrote:

On the lists of the 36 Kinko Honkyoku, there is no "KYOREI" without some prefix, i.e., either SHIN NO, KINSAN, UCHIKAE OR SHIMOTASKE. 

There is no plain "KYOREI" on the list of 36 KINKO HONKYOKU.

I once asked my teacher about this. He said that he had never heard of the piece. Well, odds are that he has heard it somewhere but he doesn't teach it. He teachers Kinko ryu as it was taught to him by Yamaguchi Goro. In other words, the piece isn't listed because it's not there in that form.

I read through komuso.org listings. Under Mukaiji Reibo it claims that Mukaiji Reibo, Koku Reibo and Shin no Kyorei are the oldest of the Kinko honkyoku. This leads me to believe that Shin no Kyorei is the piece closest to the old original piece. Of course, if you have heard it you know that they don't really sound anything alike. Still, that's the closest you get if you are working strictly within Kinko pieces.

Plenty of old pieces are not included in Kinko ryu and some that are no longer sound like the original ones. It's just a fact of life when you pick a couple of dozen pieces to pass on to your followers. This is just my own logic here, but I think that something like Shin no Kyorei fits better into the Kinko style of playing than the original Kyorei does. If Kurosawa Kinko wanted to build a consistent package of pieces that displayed his preferred style of playing, it would make sense that he picked pieces which had that feel to them. Listening to the original Kyorei and comparing it to any Kinko piece shows that the style of playing is very different.

I think that to some degree, the pieces in any given school define the playing style of that school. If you aim for more meditative playing you want to include pieces that are meditative in nature. Including anything and everything makes it more difficult to pass not only those pieces but also the style of playing to students. In my opinion, this could be in part the reason why the more recent Kinko versions of various pieces do not sound the same as the originals.

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#5 2008-02-09 01:35:15

Tairaku 太楽
Administrator/Performer
From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
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Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

The answer to this is simple. "Kyorei" is not a Kinko honkyoku, therefore it is not listed among the 36 Kinko honkyoku.

It is a Myoan honkyoku. Ronnie is playing it because it's part of the Jin Nyodo repertoire. Jin took honkyoku from Nezasaha, Kinko and Myoan sources.

There are a lot of similar songs with different names and different songs with similar names in shakuhachi.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#6 2008-02-09 11:09:08

Nyogetsu
Kyu Dan Dai Shihan
From: NYC
Registered: 2005-10-10
Posts: 259
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Thanks Brian..

I can also add that my KYOREI, is from the FUDAIJI line (versions of CHOSHI, Tsuru no Sugomori, etc.).

It is supposedly the oldest Honkyoku and dates beck to 1048 (!!).

Along with MUKAIJI and KOKU (also FUDAIJI), it is one of the three SAN KOTEN - or the three oldest Honkyoku.

KINKO KUROSAWA, inspired by this named a number of pieces after them. But it is always qualified by another word- such as "SHIN KYOREI."


The magic's in the music and the music's in me...
"Do you believe in Magic"- The Lovin' Spoonful

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#7 2008-02-09 16:13:41

Tairaku 太楽
Administrator/Performer
From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
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Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

It is usually the last Honkyoku taught by Myoan Sensei because of the gravitas of the piece, but in the West a lot of people are teaching it to beginners because it appears to be less technical than other pieces. It's a quandary.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#8 2008-02-09 16:49:24

Gene
Member
Registered: 2008-01-08
Posts: 19

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Tairaku san, I'm here solely to learn, and never to dispute, trust me.  I'm too new and stupid in matters shakuhachi to disagree.  But my understanding is that this Kyorei - "Ronnie's and mine" - is a Koten piece from the Fudaiji school.  Am I incorrect in this?

But yes indeed I very fully agree with your quandary issue, and I belive to have the feel for this gravitas of Kyorei will require far more than a few years of shakuhachi lessons, even from the best Sensei. 

Thank you very much for your help.

Gene Neill
Mayo, Florida

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#9 2008-02-10 11:06:27

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Gene wrote:

But yes indeed I very fully agree with your quandary issue, and I belive to have the feel for this gravitas of Kyorei will require far more than a few years of shakuhachi lessons, even from the best Sensei.

As there are no real beginners' 'études' honkyoku, it is quite normal - I understand - to begin learning pieces that are easy to play technically. But these pieces have much more to them than what a beginner can learn and understand. Later on you will go through them with your teacher again in order to take it up to the next level - which can be more complex breathing techniques or... if we talk about spiritual aspects, I am sure the students received some inside knowledge on that point too when the teacher assessed the student was ready.

Although one may not say Okuda Atsuya is an average shakuhachi teacher, he did that with certain pieces. Honte no Shirabe is one example. I learned that as my second piece. Throughout the 11 years I studied with him, he suggested now and then to go through Honte no Shirabe again - each time with some new things to learn. What a great way to learn. I still go back to study with him when I am in Japan. But it doesn't feel so much as an unbroken learning process any longer as I don't go to Japan that often.

Perhaps one of the problem with the teaching of Kyorei today is, that many teachers do not return to the piece again. As must as it is simple - there is a lot of depth to it.


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#10 2008-02-10 14:39:45

Tairaku 太楽
Administrator/Performer
From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
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Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Kiku Day wrote:

Perhaps one of the problem with the teaching of Kyorei today is, that many teachers do not return to the piece again. As must as it is simple - there is a lot of depth to it.

That was one of the great things about studying in NYC. First I would learn it from Nyoraku and frequently have the opportunity to review it with him and with Yoshio and Ronnie at workshops. Great way to learn.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#11 2008-02-11 19:28:12

Gene
Member
Registered: 2008-01-08
Posts: 19

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

I confess being the newest and greenest shakuhachi player on this forum, but for you other green-horn shakuhachi wannabes, I’ve got some great Nirvana news for you!

Nobody can play KYOREI any better than you can! 

The greatest shakuhachi masters, most of whom I of course admire and honor,  cannot play it one iota “better” than you can.

Honkyoku cannot be played “better” nor “worse”.

Honkyoku were not even originally considered to be “music” at all.  They always were and are today a type of personal and private Zen or Sutra chanting, never intended to be “entertainment” like an alto sax, cello nor piano.  Honkyoku was never even originally meant to be music to be  listened to! 

The purpose of Honkyoku has always been in its individual and private playing or blowing.  In blowing Honkyoku, the player is blowing Zen or Sui Zen, and he cannot blow Sui Zen in a “wrong” nor “beginner” fashion any more than a pro can blow Sui Zen in a “better” nor “more professional” mode.   

The quality the novice produces in his playing of KYOREI - or any Honkyoku - cannot be judged objectively nor subjectively by any other  human being.

Out of my 77 years -  although I have been a serious musician since I was 5 - I have only a total of perhaps two months with the shakuhachi.  Yet every day, along with my other shakuhachi practice, I unwrap my 2.8 chokan, and blow KYOREI for hours!  And I really sound great! 

To me. 

And – with Honkyoku – the blower of the Sui Zen is the only one who matters!

Go for it, newbies!

Gene Neill

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#12 2008-02-11 19:56:03

Yooper
Member
From: Michigan, on the WI border
Registered: 2007-11-26
Posts: 57

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

I cannot help but notice that, according to your reasoning, it is also true that no one can play Kyorei worse than I do.


"Simple and artless."

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#13 2008-02-11 20:08:03

Jeff Cairns
teacher, performer,promoter of shakuhachi
From: Kumamoto, Japan
Registered: 2005-10-10
Posts: 517
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Hi Gene,
I think that there is some confusion here between honkyoku and sui zen.  They may have been synonymous a couple of hundred years ago in Japan, but honkyoku survives as a study and in musical form in many cases to be played before an audience for what can rightfully be called entertainment.  Sui zen, on the other hand, remains a form of meditation that as you suggest, should not be confused with the prior.  In my opinion, and obviously in the opinion of many players here in Japan who play the Kinko repertoire, honkyoku, though revered  and respected in some ways as having an innate depth and personal-ness, is gladly and openly played in public situations and often to the great appreciation of the listener.  In some cases, en masse. In fact, many people on this list confess to having been moved to pick up the very daunting task of learning the shakuhachi simply because they heard a version of some honkyoku (possibly Kyorei or one of its derivatives) played in a masterful and moving way at some time.  Honkyoku in the Kinko style (there are many localized styles of honkyoku) has evolved and become very stylized.  Thus the existence of Kyorei and Shin Kyorei.  Is this to suggest that Kyorei is any more an adequate vehicle to express one's depths  or one's connectedness to the universe than Shin Kyorei simply because the latter has shown more evolution in a musical sense?  Is it also to say that because I play Kyorei, I am practicing sui zen?  The answers to those questions being what they may, in every case, what seems to be most important is 'mindfulness'.  One more rhetorical question before I shut up: Did somebody at some point in the past find a magical key in the relationship of a few notes blown through a hollow bamboo tube that opens the door to another or bigger reality that allows only one person in at a time and without having the thought,' man...what a trip!'?  I'm out. wink


shakuhachi flute
I step out into the wind
with holes in my bones

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#14 2008-02-12 12:06:21

nyokai
shihan
From: Portland, ME
Registered: 2005-10-09
Posts: 613
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Gene wrote:

The greatest shakuhachi masters, most of whom I of course admire and honor,  cannot play it one iota “better” than you can.

Honkyoku cannot be played “better” nor “worse”.

Because language is relative, a statement can be both true and untrue.
The above statement may be true if you're an outsider to the tradition, looking at it from an extremely broad and heady philosophical perspective.

If you're a shakuhachi player, hopefully it's not true at all. Not just the greatest masters, but ALL shakuhachi professionals and serious amateurs, practice many hours a day in order to play better. The idea is to develop strength and skill as well as a deeper understanding of the music, and in this process some people, through effort and innate talent, are going to get better than others. There are many many people who play with more strength, finesse, and understanding than I do, and I find that an inspiration. I hope I never look in a mirror like Al Franken's old SNL character and say, "I'm smart enough, I'm good enough, and goshdarn it, I play Kyorei as well as anyone."

The time spent finding philosophical justifications for not practicing hard could be spent, well, practicing hard!

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#15 2008-02-12 13:21:21

Lorka
Member
Registered: 2007-02-27
Posts: 303

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Well spoken Nyokai.

As soon as you think you are the greatest, you are really doomed.  It is always good to be a learner: a student.  Even when you are teaching others, I think it is best to do so with a perspective of mutual learning. 

By the way.  I love trying to practice Kyorei.  It is one of the pieces that conviced me to try and learn the shakuhachi. 

The piece has a very intense and complex emotional dimension to it that needs to be conveyed, and so in a sense this is not an "easy" piece.  The sensitivity of the player to this hidden dimension (that is so critical to "good" music), is what seperates a mechanical performance from a magical one.  This other side of the music is not just emotion, but I don't have another word for it.  It is also something that is a functional part of the sonic expression, though I cannot point to it.  It is a shade of colour that hides in the notes and silences.  Or so it seems to me.  You know when it's there, and you know when it's not. 

I think the cultivation of this side of the music requires a kind of emotional maturity, and "wisdom" of sorts, which may account for the fact that many people come to the instrument somewhat later, after having gathered some valuable life experience. 

Anyways.  Just my 2 cents.  When I hear kyorei played with this other dimension I talked about, the results can be really amazing.  A machine could emulate kyorei, but only a sensitive human player could bring you to the brink of the abyss, or fill you with a sense of the infinite.

Last edited by Lorka (2008-02-12 13:23:13)


Gravity is the root of grace

~ Lao Tzu~

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#16 2008-02-12 21:11:15

Zakarius
Member
From: Taichung, TAIWAN
Registered: 2006-04-12
Posts: 361

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Sorry ahead of time if some see this as derailing the topic -- I seem to have a talent for that even when it seems relevant to me...

I'm wondering if there are a handful of pieces which you all feel are the best at encouraging the player to really bring out her/his feelings to color the music (as some have hinted at with Kyorei).

To illustrate, when I was in college I bought an electronic keyboard and went about trying to teach myself to play the piano. I was working on various classical pieces and made quite a bit of progress (in my own mind). At one point, a friend of a friend who happened to be quite a proficient pianist heard me practicing Moonlight Sonata. When he stopped to listen, I was quite proud to play through the piece which I had learned on my own. Afterwards, I asked him what he thought, not knowing that he was an excellent player. In the kindest possible words, he told me it was painful for him to listen to because there was no feeling in it. I was aghast until he sat down and played the piece -- I could really feel the magic of the music when he played it and immediately understood.

So perhaps Moonlight Sonata is one of those pieces which isn't all that technically difficult to play but really requires an experienced player to play well (or even tolerably). Any ideas on similar pieces for shakuhachi?

Zak -- jinashi size queen


塵も積もれば山となる -- "Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru." -- Piled-up specks of dust become a mountain.

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#17 2008-02-13 02:29:50

withaquietmind
Member
From: Chicago
Registered: 2008-01-07
Posts: 18
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Personally, I feel my 'quality' as a player is measured more by my ability to be mindful of the playing rather than the technical mastery I've achieved. I have also noticed that once I've refined a technique I can let go of the thought process behind it easier.  Then I can play and relax and cultivate a more mindful presence.  So, for me, the two go hand in hand.  Each encourage and support the other.  I can see others disagreeing with me, and thats ok.  We all measure our own success differently. 

A machine could emulate kyorei, but only a sensitive human player could bring you to the brink of the abyss, or fill you with a sense of the infinite.

I totally agree.  I like playing in public (streets and subways and the like), and when I am more 'with it', people don't just slow down to listen.  They stop...and just stand there.  It's beautiful.

-Ryan

Last edited by withaquietmind (2008-02-13 02:31:17)


newborn on the bus-
where is your destination?
I'm going to work

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#18 2008-02-13 08:29:28

nomaD43
Member
From: Portland, OR, USA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 96

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Zakarius wrote:

Sorry ahead of time if some see this as derailing the topic -- I seem to have a talent for that even when it seems relevant to me...

I'm wondering if there are a handful of pieces which you all feel are the best at encouraging the player to really bring out her/his feelings to color the music (as some have hinted at with Kyorei).

To illustrate, when I was in college I bought an electronic keyboard and went about trying to teach myself to play the piano. I was working on various classical pieces and made quite a bit of progress (in my own mind). At one point, a friend of a friend who happened to be quite a proficient pianist heard me practicing Moonlight Sonata. When he stopped to listen, I was quite proud to play through the piece which I had learned on my own. Afterwards, I asked him what he thought, not knowing that he was an excellent player. In the kindest possible words, he told me it was painful for him to listen to because there was no feeling in it. I was aghast until he sat down and played the piece -- I could really feel the magic of the music when he played it and immediately understood.

So perhaps Moonlight Sonata is one of those pieces which isn't all that technically difficult to play but really requires an experienced player to play well (or even tolerably). Any ideas on similar pieces for shakuhachi?

Zak -- jinashi size queen

In my opinion, this situation could apply to any piece of music, no matter how simple/basic to the most complex. Just being able to blow, or pluck, or bang, or press (whatever the instrument) out the notes does not make it 'music'. It is only with practice, experience, comfort and repetition that one becomes intimate with the instrument and the piece of music - only then does a kind of transition take place where the individual notes played in sequence becomes something alive, something with feeling, emotion, depth, beauty.
I have heard a good many versions of Kyorei played, by beginners to the most accomplished masters, and have heard it sound as many different ways. Even though each note is the same and about the same pitch, length, etc. At times the piece (probably like when I play it) it can be something that is "painful to listen to because it has no feeling in it" and other times it becomes something that uttterly full of all those feelings that make up shakuhachi.

I think I can understand what Gene was saying about no one playing Kyorei better or worse than anyone else. When played in solitude, simply for the purpose of meditation, not as music, completely for oneself, then it can have just as much meaning (spiritually) to the person playing as it does to a master of many years practice. When used strictly for Zen purposes, whether blowing bamboo or simply breathing, practice being present is the most important thing.
It seems odd that Zen masters teach to find "beginners mind" when sitting Zazen, beginners mind is the key to enlightenment, but when beginning Zazen practice you are about as far from "beginners mind" as you can get. In the beginning you are so intent on making sure that you are sitting right, breathing right, not thinking right, curious about what everyone else around you is thinking, doing, etc that you are as far from Satori as you can get. It is the same with shakuhachi/suizen/Kyorei. "Beginners Kyorei" can only be complete, when you have fully mastered the infinite intricacies of the piece of music, the subtleties of the shakuhachi, the complexities of the mind, etc. Practicing, becoming 'one' with the bamboo and Kyorei will bring you closer to "beginners Kyorei", "beginners mind".

Just my nickle.
Damon

But I could just be talking nonsence as much as I usually do. smile

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#19 2008-02-13 11:34:59

Jim Thompson
Moderator
From: Santa Monica, California
Registered: 2007-11-28
Posts: 421

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Zakarius wrote:

To illustrate, when I was in college I bought an electronic keyboard and went about trying to teach myself to play the piano. I was working on various classical pieces and made quite a bit of progress (in my own mind). At one point, a friend of a friend who happened to be quite a proficient pianist heard me practicing Moonlight Sonata. When he stopped to listen, I was quite proud to play through the piece which I had learned on my own. Afterwards, I asked him what he thought, not knowing that he was an excellent player. In the kindest possible words, he told me it was painful for him to listen to because there was no feeling in it. I was aghast until he sat down and played the piece -- I could really feel the magic of the music when he played it and immediately understood.

We speak of musical expression without any specifics. I think it might be helpful to understand that the good bulk of what we call"musical expression" is manipulation of volume and tone. Once you have got the timing and pitch right(no small feat) you can start paying attention to the dynamics of the sound. One of the unique characteristics of shakuhachi playing is volume and tone changes. Very common to have a soft note followed by a loud note(tsu no meri to ro is a primary example). Or an exreme volume change within a note.So, trying to extend your volume range is a helpful idea. Practice the extremes and open up your volume concept. You will find that the door to more "soulful" playing will open.


" Who do you trust , me or your own eyes?" - Groucho Marx

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#20 2008-02-13 20:22:22

Zakarius
Member
From: Taichung, TAIWAN
Registered: 2006-04-12
Posts: 361

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Thanks to Damon and Jim for the great responses wink

Zak -- jinashi size queen


塵も積もれば山となる -- "Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru." -- Piled-up specks of dust become a mountain.

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#21 2010-08-25 08:29:56

radi0gnome
Member
From: Kingston NY
Registered: 2006-12-29
Posts: 1030
Website

Re: WHICH KYOREI IS WHICH?

Gene wrote:

Honkyoku were not even originally considered to be “music” at all.  They always were and are today a type of personal and private Zen or Sutra chanting, never intended to be “entertainment” like an alto sax, cello nor piano.  Honkyoku was never even originally meant to be music to be  listened to!

I see earlier in the thread that Kyorie was originally played around 1000 AD and considered to be one of the first honkyoku. Rather than to say it wasn't wasn't originally considered to be music, my thoughts lead me to think that it was similar to Gregorian chant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant . It sounds in some ways similar, and it's a bit of a stretch, but some of the notation looks similar (the "neumes" about half way down the page). Like honkyoku, Gregorian chant wasn't meant for entertainment either, but served a religious purpose instead, and is still defined as music.

Apparently, I'm not the only individual to notice the similarities: http://www.komuso.com/people/Duncavage,_David.html


"Now birds record new harmonie, And trees do whistle melodies;
Now everything that nature breeds, Doth clad itself in pleasant weeds."
~ Thomas Watson - England's Helicon ca 1580

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