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Tube of delight!

#51 2010-08-24 22:02:43

Toby
Shakuhachi Scientist
From: out somewhere circling the sun
Registered: 2008-03-15
Posts: 405

Re: Common tuning errors

Yes, as far as I know. You have a reservoir of air, you have a pressure to that air, and it passes through an opening between the lips. Am I missing something?

Toby

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#52 2010-08-24 22:50:06

Karmajampa
Member
From: Aotearoa (NZ)
Registered: 2006-02-12
Posts: 574
Website

Re: Common tuning errors

Try blowing an otsu note and tighten your vocal chords as you would to sing that note an octave higher.
This is subtle, give it some detailed attention.
I had a friend hold his hand in front of my lips while I sang a note, alternating octaves back and forth, keeping my lips in a shakuhachi blowing posture.
His comment that on the higher note the jet of air felt sharper.
Hold your own hand in front of your lips, don't alter your lips, simply sing a two octave sequence as described. Hold your other hand on your belly to assure you are not blowing harder, only tightening your vocal chords.

K.


Kia Kaha !

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#53 2010-08-25 00:22:54

Matt Lyon
Member
From: North Eastern Oregon
Registered: 2009-06-30
Posts: 92

Re: Common tuning errors

Karmajampa wrote:

Try blowing an otsu note and tighten your vocal chords as you would to sing that note an octave higher.
This is subtle, give it some detailed attention.
I had a friend hold his hand in front of my lips while I sang a note, alternating octaves back and forth, keeping my lips in a shakuhachi blowing posture.
His comment that on the higher note the jet of air felt sharper.
Hold your own hand in front of your lips, don't alter your lips, simply sing a two octave sequence as described. Hold your other hand on your belly to assure you are not blowing harder, only tightening your vocal chords.

K.

I gave it a try and I even vocalized the notes as well. It doesn't work for me.

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#54 2010-08-25 00:30:44

Tairaku 太楽
Administrator/Performer
From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
Website

Re: Common tuning errors

It is not a good idea to give each other bad, confusing playing tips on the forum. sad


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#55 2010-08-25 01:10:50

Toby
Shakuhachi Scientist
From: out somewhere circling the sun
Registered: 2008-03-15
Posts: 405

Re: Common tuning errors

In "tightening my vocal cords" (which actually don't exist, they are folds) to go up an octave, I found that I automatically also changed my embouchure and blew slightly harder. I cannot not do those actions, as hard as I try, since they are ingrained in me at this point. It would be like trying to walk without automatically balancing my body.

Last edited by Toby (2010-08-25 01:11:40)

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#56 2010-08-25 01:34:15

Karmajampa
Member
From: Aotearoa (NZ)
Registered: 2006-02-12
Posts: 574
Website

Re: Common tuning errors

Points for trying.

K.


Kia Kaha !

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#57 2010-08-25 14:47:30

PSmith
Member
From: Vancouver, BC
Registered: 2008-09-08
Posts: 29

Re: Common tuning errors

Toby,

I am appreciating reading your comments about flute-air dynamics. Thanks for the detailed explanations.

Yes, I too mistakenly believed that width had a direct relationship to pitch. Your comments about lip to utaguchi distance for higher registers is useful to know, where I've been doing things like this without realizing them.

Peter

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#58 2010-08-25 16:08:04

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

Re: Common tuning errors

Toby wrote:

In "tightening my vocal cords" (which actually don't exist, they are folds) to go up an octave, I found that I automatically also changed my embouchure and blew slightly harder. I cannot not do those actions, as hard as I try, since they are ingrained in me at this point. It would be like trying to walk without automatically balancing my body.

And to confuse matters worse, voice teachers usually teach not to tighten your throat to reach high notes, often never explaining that the muscles you're tightening too much are part of the vocal folds.

When I tried it, using the forced singing technique most vocal beginners use where you do not lighten up into a mixed voice on the upper octave, it did seem to give a faster air stream. When I tried it with my Taimu that I had handy it did sort of seem to help get it into the upper octave, but as Toby suggests, some of us have it learned well enough that it's difficult to see some of the subtleties in what we are doing.


"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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#59 2010-08-25 19:16:15

Toby
Shakuhachi Scientist
From: out somewhere circling the sun
Registered: 2008-03-15
Posts: 405

Re: Common tuning errors

The width of the air jet affects the composition of the partials. We are blessed on shakuhachi to have a wide arena to play in, since the utaguchi functions well with a lot of different mouth configuations, as compared, say, to a side-blown flute or even a notched end-blown flute like the xiao or the quena.

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