Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Tom Deaver wrote:

Could someone who has played many older shakuhachi, John Singer and Peter Hill come to mind, kindly offer evidence of the need to open the second finger hole when playing hi (Kinko fingering)?  What happens when the second finger hole is not opened?  What happens with the first hole open and the second hole closed?  What happens with both first and second open?  And so on.  Thanks, Tom.

Hi Tom, after our recent correspondence, I noticed something you mentioned for the first time!

I'm posting this finding for the benefit of others interested in this esoteric fingering maneuver.

Here are some flutes I tested for the different ways of playing Hi Go on very different 1.8 shakuhachi.



#1) Vintage flute. About 80 years.
Vintage Hi Go

#2) My 1.8 made in Japan with Kinya to Tamai Chikusen's bore specs.
Yung Hi Go

#3) Wooden Golden Phoenix
Wooden Flute Hi Go

#4) Earth Model
Earth Model Hi Go


I tried to played each flute with a neutral breath so that I could feel the difference in the flute. I played Hi go in the standard fingering and then fingered #2 first, then #1, then opened and closed both.  I noticed that my Earth model, the only natural bore flute, reacted to opening #2 the most. It went audibly sharp. The others had very little or no audible pitch difference. All went sharper by opening #1. All but #4 went louder and sharper by opening #1 and #2. #4 lost the note on this fingering with a neutral breath. But when pushed, it came back sharper, but not louder like the other flutes. Interestingly enough, #4 is one of the finest old Vintage Kinko flutes I've had the pleasure of playing. It is hankonashi.

In my experience, most jiari flutes react similarly according to my findings above - little or no difference with #2, sharper with #1, more volume and sharper with both. But, I've never encounter losing the note on a modern flute as I did on #4. It could be that I rarely play Hi Go with a neutral breath.  i do nwo tha Hi Go is often slightly flat. Sometimes, Hi go doesn't work on old Jinashi shakuhachi unless one of the alternate fingerings are employed. I also notice that long Jinashi flutes sometimes work better using another fingering.

What did this test tell me? Well, that playing Hi Go well is not easy when playing a succession of flutes!


Best, Perry

edosan wrote:

Yungflutes wrote:

Interestingly enough, #4 is one of the finest old Vintage Kinko flutes I've had the pleasure of playing. It is hankonashi.

You meant '#1' here, right?

eB

Hi Ed, Yes, I meant #1. Too many #s!

Thanks for reading carefully:)

Best, Perry