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I just recently made my first shakuhachi and am having a very hard time trying to play RO. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Does the force of my blowing need to be changed when trying to play RO? Slowing down my breath did seem to get a note for a second or so.I am having trouble with tsu also. I suppose these two notes are probably the hardest to master.
Thank You in advance
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-18 12:36:24)
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purehappiness wrote:
I just recently made my first shakuhachi and am having a very hard time trying to play RO. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Does the force of my blowing need to be changed when trying to play RO? Slowing down my breath did seem to get a note for a second or so.I am having trouble with tsu also. I suppose these two notes are probably the hardest to master.
Try this:
ALL holes open; blow long tones on that note: I ["eee"]. Continue until you're very comfortable with that note; take your time. By long tones, I mean one full outbreath, paying attention to the point where your airstream hits the blowing edge, and how it affects/controls the tone and pitch. Do this repeatedly for several minutes (at least...).
Then close hole 5 (thumb) and do the same thing; take your time. Loooooong tones (most important and useful thing you can do on the shakuhachi to develop your embouchure and get your 'sound').
Then close hole 4 (index finger; Chi). Get familiar with it. No hurry.
Continue doing this, taking your time (have I said 'take your time'?), until you get down to Ro.
Now, it's true that the lower you go, as a beginner, the more tricky and unstable the played note can be; nature of the beast. Bear in mind that your new flute may be part of the issue here: making a flute that blows a good, solid Ro can take some time and experience.
Last edited by edosan (2009-01-18 13:05:39)
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Also make sure the holes are completely sealed and there are no cracks in the flute.
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Is there any way I can check that my flute is made correctly so that I know I can get a good RO?I did follow these instructions to build my shakuhachi.
http://mujitsu.com/howtomakeshakuhachi.pdf
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-18 15:47:17)
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I just tried again and I can get RO. It is not easy though. I find myself getting out of breath very quickly. I guess proficiency will come with time.
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purehappiness wrote:
Is there any way I can check that my flute is made correctly so that I know I can get a good RO?
Only way I can think of is to find an experienced player to evaluate your flute for you. Second best would be to get your hands on a flute that's a known good performer and see if there's a big difference between the playability of it and yours, bearing in mind that 'good performer' can sometimes be somewhat subjective.
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I would not even know where to begin to find someone in my area. I will have to assume that my RO is at least somewhat correct for now.Later, if I still want to pursue this I can get a real shakahachi made by a professional.I would hate to get discouraged by a flute that is not made correctly though.
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-18 17:36:57)
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purehappiness wrote:
I would hate to get discouraged by a flute that is not made correctly though.
So, don't get discouraged, make another, and then another.
With respect, it is folly to think that the first shakuhachi you've made, especially as a beginning player, will be a great performer. Ask Mujitsu and Perry Yung and Justin what they think about that.
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You are so right. I will not get discouraged. I may have to get a real shakuhachi though to know where I stand. I do want to play(for the meditative aspect) so I will not give up.I don't expect to become an expert but to play where I like my sound would be good for now.
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Great. You're just at the beginning here....meantime: long tones, loooooong tones
Five to ten minutes daily. Really. You'll be quite surprised at the results, I think, no matter the status of your first shakuhachi.
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And besides, you may want to consider, some of us think the journey is at least, if not more, important than the destination.
later...
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purehappiness wrote:
I would not even know where to begin to find someone in my area. I will have to assume that my RO is at least somewhat correct for now.Later, if I still want to pursue this I can get a real shakahachi made by a professional.I would hate to get discouraged by a flute that is not made correctly though.
Do you know any silver flute players? There's a differenent embouchure between shakuhachi and silver flute but most silver flute players can get a halfway decent sound from shakuhachi with just a few minutes of trying. It's not at all unreasonable to think that you can get a playable shakuhachi by simply following some instructions. The tuning will probably be off and the utaguchi can be somewhat difficult to get exactly right, but if you don't have any cracks or leaks almost any shakuhachi with the right dimensions should be able to play Ro.
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purehappiness wrote:
Is there any way I can check that my flute is made correctly so that I know I can get a good RO?I did follow these instructions to build my shakuhachi.
http://mujitsu.com/howtomakeshakuhachi.pdf
Hi Purehappiness
Making "correctly" according to a plan, and "making well" are 2 different things. Using the plan is an excellant place to start from, but we cannot predict what may go right or wrong even if you follow a plan exactly. Using PVC would be easier (though for some less pleasurable) as there are less variables, but I think yours is bamboo right? It's the variables that make it an art rather than a science.
It is maybe safe to assume that your shakuhachi can play all the notes, but maybe some will be more difficult than others. That might make your practice more difficult than playing a professionally made shakuhachi. But if you keep practicing, you will get to know your instrument more and more. Things will become easier. There may be notes which are hard to get at first but you may find ways of controlling them. Even some great master shakuhachi need time adjusting to them to control them. Also bare in mind, during the Edo period many shakuhachi players simply made their own shakuhachi, according to a formula. Since they were not experts, there were many troubles with them - instabilities, out of tune and so on. But for many of those guys it was enough, and they would play them for years.
As Brian says, make sure the holes are covered properly by your fingers. Also, if you have problems with the upper notes, "hi" and "i" (also called "go no hi") in the second octave, that is usual but in case it is your instrument making it difficult, you may find it easier to additionally open either hole 1 or 2 or both. But the main thing you will need is hours and days of playing.
Best wishes
Justin
http://senryushakuhachi.com/
Last edited by Justin (2009-01-19 04:07:48)
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You all are very right. I want to enjoy the journey. Also, I want a flute made of bamboo because it is so close to nature. Last night I realized that my holes dimensions were way off. I drilled the holes but did not continue to get them to 11mm and 10mm. So, after some more work the flute does play better. I still will need to get holes 1,2,4,5 to 11mm. Right now they are all approximately 10mm.So, I am learning another valuable lesson about hole size. I have been trying RO more and it is coming to me. It seems everytime I pick up the flute I learn something new and old problems become easier. This will be a fun journey. It may take some time but the harder a thing is to accomplish the more rewarding it will be in the end. The beginning can always be the hardest hurdle but once I get past this hopefully, things will get easier.
Thanks everyone
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I live in northern ct. close to springfield ma.
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-19 11:09:35)
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I did see that she was in springfield. I may have to pay her a visit. Thanks for the help.
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I'm with you--enjoying the journey is the thing. And great satisfaction comes from making music with an instrument you crafted yourself-- no matter how imperfect it may be. I'm doing the same thing.
I've run through a fair amount of bamboo already building a repertoire of mistakes so I will know how not to make them in the future!
One thing that has really helped me is to purchase a 'yardstick' to compare my efforts against. I ordered a Shakuhachi Yuu and I have a chromatic tuner so when I learn to do something with the plastic shakuhachi that I can't do with my latest bamboo stick, that means I've found something I can improve in my bamboo!
I prefer to play the bamboo for the character of it but I really like the Yuu because it is a mirror on my own playing skills (or lack of them.)
Greetings,
Chuck
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I like the yuu and it is affordable. I may get one eventually.Making your own is a great way to see if you will like the shakuhachi. Recently, I have gotten better(over the last day?). Now, I can play RO and the other notes are coming along also. I have found not to blow too hard. This makes a big difference.I am finding myself getting winded and dizzy very quickly though.It is almost like I am hyperventilating.
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-19 18:28:41)
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purehappiness,I can relate to your efforts to play Ro as I am not much ahead of you in terms of learning to play tones on the shakuhachi. I have been chronicling my journey in a blog. If you care to look through it some time you may find a few tips there that could assist you (or at least amuse you) on your own bamboo journey. You can find the blog here: http://ashakuhachijourney.blogspot.com/
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Hi Purhappiness,
I was looking at the photos of your flute. Nice work. Looks like you have the hands of a craftsman.
However, I did notice in the utaguchi photo, the one with the view from the top, that the interior wall is rounded to meet the top of the utaguchi blowing edge. This can make your flute more difficult to play, and especially RO. The utaguchi edge should be like a blade. Some maker's like to round the inside sides a bit but yours look a little extreme. And, certainly no rounding in the middle. Maybe that could be your culprit.
Or, maybe it's just operator error?
Last edited by Yungflutes (2009-01-19 23:44:42)
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Thanks for the input perry and airin. Unfortunately, last night I cracked my flute. I tried to enlarge the bore a little and the drill bit I was using cracked the bamboo Now , I will have to start all over again. How important is bore diameter to playability? The diameter of my flute was approximately 1/2 inch. The specs I was using said the inside bore should be 3/4 of an inch at the utaguchi. Will this make a big difference? I should have expected my first attempt to not be perfect. Now, I also know when to try and drill out the inside bore (if needed). Before, the utaguchi is made(the drill caught the edge of the utaguchi and cracked the bamboo).
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-20 06:10:43)
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I just checked out your blog airin. It is very informative. All I can say is that this little taste of what the shakuhachi can do has made me want more. Now, I need to find some more bamboo(with the right dimensions).
Thanks
Last edited by purehappiness (2009-01-20 06:22:49)
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purehappiness wrote:
I just checked out your blog airin. It is very informative. All I can say is that this little taste of what the shakuhachi can do has made me want more. Now, I need to find some more bamboo(with the right dimensions).
Thanks
Good luck on your hunt for bamboo purehappiness. I really admire you starting your shakuhachi adventure from the very, very beginning....making the flute yourself is such a noble beginning to developing a (lifetime) relationship with the instrument.
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It is possibly the most zen. I hope I can persevere and not give up trying.
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