Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hi Perry.

I am, of course, not one of the interesting persons to get an answer from, as I only play ji-nashi. Well, I do play ji-nuri now and then, but certainly not well!
However, I will try to write anyway.

I feel there is a softer quality to the sound of your second flute. But I also find that the qualities of the ji-nashi get lost quite a lot from recordings. How is your experience when playing and listening back? I feel quite a lot of the complexities of the ji-nashi gets lost.

More and more ji-nashi shakuhachi makers make them as if they were ji-nuri flutes. The mouthpiece is cut just as deep as modern ji-nuri, which makes a huge difference in the sound quality. I find, the deeper the mouthpiece is cut, the more focused, but harder sound it gets. how do you view this?
Then there is the whole bore business...

Kiku

Tairaku wrote:

I had an interesting experience today. I went to Ronnie Seldin's dojo. He wanted to trade a "Myoan" jinashi by Shugetsu for a "Kinko" Shugetsu jinashi I had. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing because I thought the only difference would be the shape of the utaguchi inlay.

But on further examination I saw that the two styles of flutes actually had different characteristics. The "Myoan" one had a shallower utaguchi and the face the utaguchi was much larger. The angle is a bit sharper on the "Myoan" one and the overall width of the flute and the bore are bigger.

Guess which one I liked better?

I do a similar thing when I make jinashi flutes. If the flute reveals a tone that is similar to a certain style of music I know, I would do the utaguchi inlay for that ryu. I tend to put Myoan inlays on larger bore flutes. Here's one that was done recently:



I even like to shave the root.



I would do a Kinko inlay on a standard sized bore.  On a super wide bore, I would do a Sogawa style inlay or none. I would also fashion the angles accordingly, which leads to Kiku's response:

Kikuday wrote:

Hi Perry.

...More and more ji-nashi shakuhachi makers make them as if they were ji-nuri flutes. The mouthpiece is cut just as deep as modern ji-nuri, which makes a huge difference in the sound quality. I find, the deeper the mouthpiece is cut, the more focused, but harder sound it gets. how do you view this?
Then there is the whole bore business...

Kiku

Thanks for responding Kiku. Your input is quite valuable.

As both you and Brian pointed out, the Myoan utaguchi dip is shallow compared to other schools.  This is also my understanding as you can see in my photo above where I left the dip quite shallow. I would say the utagcuhi dip and angles influence the sound and playability of a flute. But, most of the tone color comes from the shape of the bore and how the other tone holes are fashioned. I often use the automobile as an example, the utaguchi being the steering wheel and the bore being the engine.

I feel there is a softer quality to the sound of your second flute. But I also find that the qualities of the ji-nashi get lost quite a lot from recordings. How is your experience when playing and listening back? I feel quite a lot of the complexities of the ji-nashi gets lost.

I studied with Kinya. We played on Jinashi 2.4s. I took my lessons like every one else in Japan, trying to imitate the sensei. I made a lot of recordings of our lessons and I am always surprised at how powerful his sound is on my MDs. Kinya is also one of the top Tokyo shakuhachi studio musicians whose playing is heard everywhere from commercials and Nintedo games to Japanese and Hollywood films (his latest is Hannibal Rising) Kinya is very specific with his sound. When he chooses to record with Jinashi, you hear everything he wants you to hear. In my own experience with recording, I use headphones, get right up to the mic and adjust my playing accordingly.  I've had the good fortune to have recorded for some film. I'm always amazed at how well the sound was captured. In general,  a good studio technician and good (expensive) mics will most likely do the job.

geni wrote:

that`s a tricky one.
I felt that you were more familiar with the second flute..it sound it more easy to play.
I like the sound of the second flute better.

I am more familiar with my flute. But actually, it required more effort to play. That's what I mean on the entry when I wrote that they felt very different. The Gyokusui was like riding in a Mercedes and my particular flute was like a stick shift 1973 Rally Sport Camaro. But, both got me where I wanted to go!  Don't get me wrong, I like riding in luxury cars, especially if I'm going on a long trip. But often times I like to feel the bumps.

You should raise your prices:-)

Geni, I have a flute here with your name on it
Thanks for your input everyone!
Namaste, Perry

Last edited by Yungflutes (2007-10-12 23:31:15)

As a western flute and recorder teacher, I always recommend beginners to start with a beginner level flute and plastic recorder. I have had mature pupils who are ready to spend a fortune on top of the range instruments but I still recommend a good basic model. These instruments are easier to control and respond less to slight variations of wind pressure.

The professional flute I use for performing took me months, maybe years to 'tame.' To continue with the car analogy, it was like driving a farrari after many years in a mini. I have always preferred instruments (flutes, wooden recorders and shakuhachi) that always have more secrets under the bonnet for me to explore.

Several pro shakuhachi players have turned up their nose after trying the main hassun I play. It is a Gyokusui and extremely bland on first playing. However, I felt an instant rapport with it on first blowing and am still discovering new aspects of its' character.