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#1 2011-01-16 15:05:34

J Ross
Member
From: Vancouver,Washington USA
Registered: 2010-12-18
Posts: 74
Website

Beginner pieces :Recommendations

I have finally advanced enough on the shakuhachi to begin learning songs as well as scales and more techniques.
After practicing "Hi no Maru" for a few days, I have it down (well,I can play it without looking at the notation any longer) reasonably well.

Now I would like to continue learning more songs,especially Japanese themed music as opposed to Mary had a little Lamb,etc :-)

What easy pieces would you wise members of the forum recommend for beginners like myself?

ありがとう ございます

Jim

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#2 2011-01-16 16:56:30

Rob Bondy
Member
Registered: 2009-08-30
Posts: 52
Website

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

My first 2 were Sakura and Kimigayo.


"Every day is a good day" -Ummon

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#3 2011-01-16 17:26:43

Jam
Member
From: Oxford, England
Registered: 2009-10-02
Posts: 257

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

I was the same as Rob in that I started on Sakura. It's a nice piece but it might throw you a curve ball with the dastardly tsu no meri! (depending on the key you play it in, of course...)

Last edited by Jam (2011-01-16 17:26:58)

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#4 2011-01-16 18:16:07

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

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

That is too advanced to start with.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#5 2011-01-16 18:20:46

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

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

I started learning folk songs with Itsuki (the lullaby), then added a few others, Kuroda Bushi, Sakura, Hanagasa Ondo..., I think I'm forgetting some, all were in the Yoshinobu Taniguchi "How to Play" book. I think that's a pretty good source.

I went through all but the last couple pages of Tokuyama Takashi's "The Path of Bamboo" book before that though. That has some folk songs, but is mostly songs written by the author for the purpose of teaching. They are pretty interesting melodies, better and more Japanese sounding than "Mary had a Little Lamb", and the first ones are nice and simple.

Last edited by radi0gnome (2011-01-16 18:33:34)


"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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#6 2011-01-16 18:30:39

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

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

Hello Gnome-San (and anyone else who this will help),

Go into my website and scroll to the bottom of this page <http://www.nyogetsu.com/events.html>
There you will find directions of how to get into my <mobile.me> server.
Once there, you can follow the step-by-step directions of how to get into:
1-The public Folder
2-Here you will find three folders:
  a-Intro Lesson (You can all feel free to download this if you want to)
  b-pdf
  c-students
3-Go into the pdf Folder
4-Here you will find the Intro Book (also known as the "Green Book")
   It has the finger -chart that I use, and is filled with Folk-Songs, Nationalistic Songs and Drinking Songs of the Meiji Era.
   Feel free to download it.

Enjoy!
Ronnie


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 2011-01-16 18:44:12

J Ross
Member
From: Vancouver,Washington USA
Registered: 2010-12-18
Posts: 74
Website

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

Many thanks Ronnie for the links and information.There is a gold mine there that I will take advantage of for sure!

Can one attain nirvana when learning the shakuhachi for the first time? LOL

Best regards,

Jim

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#8 2011-01-16 19:09:34

Christopher B.
Member
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 235
Website

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

To make some advice I started with Perrys booklet but later you will need a teacher. I think some good Honkyoku to start with is Hi Fu Mi or Kyorei to learn the notation and so on, then maybe Honte Shirabe or something...but at least you will need a teacher to discover and learn more advanced technics...


In reality it is Ha,Ro,Ha,Ro... ~Sensei~
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
How do you know that life is a dream? Cause there is a way to wake up!
http://naturalbreath.wordpress.com/

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#9 2011-01-16 19:40:44

J Ross
Member
From: Vancouver,Washington USA
Registered: 2010-12-18
Posts: 74
Website

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

I do have a teacher and enjoying it immensely! I just have little sheet music and am rather tired of the whole two American tunes I have.

Amazing when looking up sheet music (the Japanese notation/Kinko notation)how expensive they can be for a few pages. I have no doubt my teacher will be helping me with sheets later on but I'm an impatient and never satisfied student and am absorbing all I can.

I would love to learn Hon Shirabe and Kyorei! I hope to someday.For now I will stick with the minor,easy pieces.

Jim

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#10 2011-01-16 21:02:27

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

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

J Ross wrote:

I would love to learn Hon Shirabe and Kyorei! I hope to someday.For now I will stick with the minor,easy pieces.

Jim

Honkyoku is indeed where all the 'romance' is, but you won't learn how to play the shakuhachi very well by jumping the gun and starting in on it too soon.

Do yourself a favor and put some time in wringing the beauty out of a bunch of 'simple' pieces, which, if you're really paying attention, aren't really that simple at all. Learn a few sankyoku pieces, too.

Also, how much daily time do you put in on playing long tones?


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

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#11 2011-01-16 21:21:14

J Ross
Member
From: Vancouver,Washington USA
Registered: 2010-12-18
Posts: 74
Website

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

edosan wrote:

J Ross wrote:

I would love to learn Hon Shirabe and Kyorei! I hope to someday.For now I will stick with the minor,easy pieces.

Jim

Honkyoku is indeed where all the 'romance' is, but you won't learn how to play the shakuhachi very well by jumping the gun and starting in on it too soon.

Do yourself a favor and put some time in wringing the beauty out of a bunch of 'simple' pieces, which, if you're really paying attention, aren't really that simple at all. Learn a few sankyoku pieces, too.

Also, how much daily time do you put in on playing long tones?

I have been spending about a half hour a day on the long notes alone,starting at RO and working my way up and down OSTU.I still have not been able to achieve KAN all the way up but that will come with time.
And yes,the simple pieces are what I want to learn. I just didn't want to learn American standards with shakuhachi.

Sankyoku sounds good to me if they are easy enough. I don't mind at all confessing I''m an absolute beginner because that's what I truly am.
This is going to be a long journey but one that I'm willing to invest the time and energy in.

Jim

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#12 2011-01-17 05:03:56

Stefan02
Member
From: Germany
Registered: 2010-08-09
Posts: 6

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

Here is the link to the site of Phil Nyokai James: http://nyokai.com/index.shtml
In the section "Student Area" you can find a lot of sheet music, playing instructions, etc.. Has been a valuable source to me.

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#13 2011-02-04 13:42:38

cris67ivan
Member
From: canada
Registered: 2011-02-04
Posts: 1

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

Thanks for the tips and some shared websites.. every tips and tutorials helps me very much.

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#14 2011-02-04 14:50:25

Gostrangely
Member
From: Glasgow
Registered: 2007-11-30
Posts: 3

Re: Beginner pieces :Recommendations

Thank you so much for the links.

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