Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Never, EVER apologize for your playing, execrable though it may've been. It was what it was, and nothing's gonna change that.

You may grumble about it to a close confidant (such as your teacher, but not your wife), but that's it.

Low, do not worry about it, everybody has had that experience. I've had it more than once even after becoming a good player. It's part of the process. Just keep going. The solution is to know you can play it properly and visualize that happening. And Ed is correct never apologize for your playing. The listeners tend to accept whatever you do. That doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for perfection. But suppose somebody enjoyed what you did, and then you apologize. It makes them feel stupid for enjoying it. That's why it's best not to say anything negative. This is a very basic rule of performance, but it's surprising how there are a lot of seasoned professionals who make this mistake. It's a bigger mistake actually than the bad playing. If anybody compliments you always say "Thank you" and never say, "That wasn't very good." The exception is if you're having a peer to peer discussion like the one here where we're trying to work out how to deal with it.

lowonthetotem,

I got a similar praise of improvement when I played something more "song-like".  It seemed weired to me, as I was just puttering about.  It's funny what people latch onto and comment on as pleasing.  My comment, however, relates to Kyorei....

It is neither boring, nor simple.  It just seems that way. 

You might want to try playing the old komuso version of kyorei.  This is one I am studying with Al Ramos.  It uses a kind of buki (that I can't remember the name of), which emulates the striking of the bell.  So, in practical terms, you have a powerful strike followed by a long drawn out golden decay that bleeds into silence before the next bell strike.  The older version of Kyorei also does not use any half holing.  You just move your head to get the right note.  It is kind of fun like this. 

They also add in some Ro notes on occasion before the typical Tsu --> Tsu-Re --> U-U-Meri.  I'm not sure, but these added Ro's that Al throws in seem optional.  I like to sprinkle them in only occasionally in the piece. 

Anyways, if you stick with Kyorei, while it is true that there are fewer fancy parts to show off with and impress the impressionable, you will nevertheless capture them with expressions of tone that those long decaying notes can produce.

The other thing to learn from it, I think, is to study a long time before playing for an audience. I think many shakuhachi students perform WAY early (not to mention making CDs way early). I was guilty of this myself at the beginning. I think seven or eight years is a reasonable amount of serious study time before playing out at anything other than a student concert. Well, the traditional music at least. Otherwise, besides having technical problems, you may inadvertently be giving the shakuhachi a bad name!

How many would do a public performance on violin after playing for just two or three years? Unless you're one of the greatest of all prodigies (and there are very few "adult prodigies") you would consider yourself a beginning student. Same with piano, or any challenging instrument. Why should shakuhachi, which in terms of understanding the traditional music is even harder, be so different?

Patience is one of the greatest lessons shakuhachi can teach.

However, I agree with those who said "never apologize." What's done is done, it can't be changed, time to move on and improve.

lowonthetotem wrote:

I also think that preparing to perform can push me to really "pointing up" my playing.  I think it provides an impetus to improve and perfect my repetoir... 

...learning to get over myself and my own fears is also a worthy pursuit in my opinion.

This is why student concerts exist: they provide an opportunity to challenge oneself with the performing experience without subjecting an audience to possible misinterpretations of the level of expertise being presented. I might like to get over my fear of performing surgery, but that is not a good enough reason to inflict myself, steak knife in hand, on strangers. I know quite a few people who hate shakuhachi as a result of hearing performances that should never have happened!

(Even if you say to an audience "I'm just a student," they'll never understand how great the gap is between what beginner shakuhachi sounds like and what master shakuhachi sounds like. In our culture, doing a performance at ALL generally implies a minimum level of competence -- being in tune, getting techniques right, somewhat accurately representing the traditional literature, etc. I think people reach this point in about 7 or 8 years on shakuhachi, even if it's attainable earlier on some instruments.)

If, as a student, you want to present the gift of shakuhachi to a new audience, shakuhachi in and for itself rather than for your own purposes such as getting over stage-fright, I think there are a number of better ways to do it. First and foremost is sponsoring your teacher to perform. Or better yet, to get some practice yourself, sponsor a concert by your teacher in which several students perform for a short while at the beginning. In this case there is no danger of misrepresenting the sound of traditional shakuhachi music. Or if not your teacher, sponsor other professional players. Or do a lecture and show some videos or play some recordings of great shakuhachi masters. Or bring shakuhachi recordings to yoga classes. There are many possibilities.

Last edited by nyokai (2009-06-02 15:50:20)

Tairaku wrote:

A lot of people hate shakuhachi as a result of listening to performances and recordings by well trained players with good technique.

Ha, true enough!

http://www.acuxo.com/meridianPictures.a … idian=Lung

I guess preferably at informal gatherings to start with and work your way up.

I feel like there is a difference between playing for friends like my meditation group or folks while they eat sushi is a littel different than performing in a concert, student concert or otherwise.  In these more informal venues, the focus is not the performer.  That is one of the reasons why it is more attractive to me at this stage of the game.

Once a year I used to put together an informal gig for my students (kids & adults together) so that they could just play in an informal environment where people aren't going to judge them. They know it's just for fun and learning and the 'informal' audience knows that too. No one stressed too much, and if people made mistakes (as people do) everything was still cool.

I think the 'community musician' is really important, different and yet as equal as the formal performance dude. And who says you have to be a performance 'hero' to perform? A lot of the bands/musicians I like wouldn't exist if this were the case. It's often called Folk Music, because it's music for the folk. Important I think.

Tairaku wrote:

If anybody compliments you always say "Thank you" and never say, "That wasn't very good." The exception is if you're having a peer to peer discussion like the one here where we're trying to work out how to deal with it.

This is a point I go over in my English classes. In Japan, it is polite to deny any compliment. If you tell someone their child is smart, they will swear up and down that it's not true. To accept a compliment is to appear arrogant. In the US, it's as Tairaku says, it's rude to deny a compliment. It implies that the person doesn't know what they're talking about. In both cases, the intent is to be modest, but we come at it from opposite angles.

I never thought of this in terms of my own playing, thanks for the interesting discussion.