Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hey Kel - here are some of my bad habits.....
holding the flute too tight.
pressing the flute too hard into the chin.
bad posture.
not relaxing.
not focusing.
bad kari (playing too flat)
improper breathing

the list goes on and varies from time to time.....

here's a helpful link - kotodama.net/shakuhachi/tips.html

Luck
George

In addition to all of George's habits....

Occasionally I spit to start meri notes
Making the tone breathier in order to make meri notes louder
Not kari-ing back up enough after playing certain meri notes
Closing the inside of my mouth to create more pressure when changing from otsu to kan, which makes me raise my chin, which then makes the kan notes too sharp
Sometimes I let the flute slide up my chin as a result of holding it too hard
Notes drop in pitch as the pressure decreases
Nayashi is sometimes not deep enough and often the lower note lacks strength
I dont close holes efficiently
Not paying close enough attention to intonation, pieces get progressively sharper as I get more and more tense
Compromising tone to maintain sound production

The list goes on! But Im doing ok

Being aware of the habits is of course the first step in correcting them. This is one of the greatest benefits Ive had from learning from teachers: having someone harshly criticise every detail of my playing.