Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Kamesan wrote:

I recently heard Choshi performed at a shakuhachi recital in town and would love to learn it because it's right on my level.  Does anyone have the music for it or some links?

Kamesan,

Honshirabe is approximately or exactly the same piece as Choshi (I think -- someone will quickly correct me if I'm wrong)...  and you can find both playing instructions and an MP3 for Honshirabe at the Shakuhachi Society of BC site.

-Darren.

Hi Guys,

Kamesan wrote:

dstone wrote:

Honshirabe is approximately or exactly the same piece as Choshi (I think -- someone will quickly correct me if I'm wrong

-Darren.

Thanks.  Funny you should say that. I thought it was honshirabe when I heard it.  I think honshirabe starts off almost exactly the same,  but goes off  a little higher later on.  (I too, could be wrong!)

It's the same piece but different schools have their own versions of it. Traditional Japanese sensibility in art and music is about nuance. Shakuhachi music certainly is no exception. Interpretation is quite a big to do and if a player interprets a piece outside of what was prescribed, he/she would be highly criticized. It's no surprise that players had to defect and start their own schools.

One of the big differences I see between the Kinko and Dokyoku styles that I studied is in the phrasing. All my teachers were very strict on where to breath. When I first started studying Honkyoku, it didn't seem like a big issue but after years of investigating, I began to understand that where the Ma is placed is very important. The Dokyoku version also has a note where the Kinko version does not. The Dokyoku Choshi has a Ro Otsu played Komi Buki after the first Tsu Re in Kan. The Kinko version just starts with Tsu meri. That extra note is, or can be, shocking to some. The Dokyoku Tsu Meris are also flatter.

Choshi is a wonderful piece. Enjoy the breathing.
Namaste, Perry

Last edited by Yungflutes (2006-10-16 13:23:13)

Yungflutes wrote:

The Dokyoku version also has a note where the Kinko version does not. The Dokyoku Choshi has a Ro Otsu played Komi Buki after the first Tsu Re in Kan. The Kinko version just starts with Tsu meri. That extra note is, or can be, shocking to some. The Dokyoku Tsu Meris are also flatter.

Hi Perry.  I play a ro otsu with muraiki where you describe.  (And later, a ro otsu with komi buki after the last tsu re in otsu.  Second to last line in Furuya's notation if my mental image is correct.)  Proving your point about variations, I guess...

I love honshirabe very much, and despite having (poorly) studied it for a couple of years it humbles me regularly.  As Al can attest to... 

-Darren.