SHAKUHACHI:
JAPANESE
FLUTE
Heidi Schuster
MUSE 207
May 30, 2012
Common Japanese
Traditional Instruments
Shakuhachi
Biwa
Koto
Flutes
• shakuhachi bamboo flute
• nokan used in noh performances
• takebue side-blown
• shinobue side-blown
Drums (taiko)
• odaiko big drum
• tsuzumi hourglass-shaped drum
• kotsuzumi held on right shoulder, player alters
tone by squeezing laces
• otsuzumi held on the left thigh
Stringed Instruments
• koto 13-string zither
• shamisen 3-string lute
• biwa short-necked lute
(Japan Zone, 2011)
The Sakuhachi
Representing the elegance of traditional Japanese culture
• The instrument is made from the root of the bamboo with a
precisely crafted bore.
• The end-blown flute is tuned to a pentatonic (5-note) scale. By
fingerings of half- and quarter-holings and by controlling the
angle of mouthpiece against the lip, all twelve tones of the
western chromatic scale can be produced.
• The mouthpiece consists of an oblique blowing edge enabling the
player to control the pitch by changing the angle being blown
creating the characteristic sounds of the traditional music.
• Alterations in embouchure, intensity of blowing, and cross
fingerings allow wide variety of subtle and incredible sounds.
• The timbre of the instrument is mellow in low tones, but can be
loud, penetrating and breathy in middle and upper registers. Little
can be said of the sound of the shakuhachi without first hearing
its hauntingly beautiful ring.
• Traditional music played reflects sounds of nature: summer rain,
autumn breeze through the bamboos, a wild duck, spring runoff.
("Tai hei shakuhachi," 2012)
The Sakuhachi History
• Japanese music’s major genre Honkyoku is the "original music" of the shakuhachi
• The name shakuhachi is derived from an ancient system of measurement i shaku ha
sun means 1.8 feet, the length of the classical flute.
• Origin of the family of end blown reed flutes has been traced back as far as ancient
Egypt, migrated through India and China, then entered Japan in the latter half of the
Seventh Century. In the Thirteenth Century it was revived by the Fuke sect of
Buddhism.
• In the Edo Period (1603-1867) the shakuhachi was favored by uprooted samurai
warriors (ronin) who joined the ranks of itinerant preachers known
as komuso ("Priests of Emptiness and Nothingness").
• The komuso wore large baskets (tengai) over their
heads to symbolize their detachment from the world.
Clan struggles, in the Sixteenth Century forced some
komuso into a society for self-protection. Members
of Fukeshu forged documents giving them exclusive
rights to play the shakuhachi for money. In return,
they agreed to spy on other ronin.
• Forbidden to carry their swords, these komuso
redesigned the shakuhachi, making it longer and
stouter for use as a club.
("Tai hei shakuhachi," 2012)
Honkyoku: Original music of the shakuhachi
• Japanese music’s major genre Honkyoku is the "original music" of the
shakuhachi
• In Japan, Zen Music is known as Koten Honkyoku.
• The largest and oldest collection of shakuhachi music was written centuries
ago by Komuso monks.
• Zen Honkyoku music is specific, individually named
and written pieces of music with demanding technical
requirements from both the player and the flute.
• Not all shakuhachi flutes are suitable for playing Zen
Honkyoku music. It’s complexity does not work on
lesser shakuhachi-like flutes.
• Honkyoku can sound atonal to Western ears
because of the micro-tonal pitch bends and old
Japanese musical intervals.
• The term Zen music is often mistakenly interchanged with"SUIZEN", which
means "blowing zen" in Japanese. Suizen is a non-technical way of playing the
shakuhachi for Zen meditation. Suizen is about meditating, not playing music.
It does not require any musical playing techniques. The simplest of bamboo
flutes will work for "blowing Zen" but only a fine shakuhachi instrument will
work for Koten Honkyoku.
("Shakuhachi," 2012)
Sakuhachi Musical Sound
• Sound subtlety lies in rich tone and ability for variation.
• Different fingerings, embouchures and blowing angles can produce notes of the same
pitch, but with subtle or dramatic differences in the tone.
• Holes can be covered partially (1/3 covered, 1/2, 2/3, etc.) and pitch varied subtly or
substantially by changing the blowing angle. The honkyoku pieces rely heavily on this
aspect of the instrument to enhance their subtlety and depth.
• The shakuhachi player blows as one would blow across the top of an empty bottle
(though the shakuhachi has a sharp edge to blow against) giving substantial pitch
control.
• The five finger holes are tuned to a pentatonic scale with no half-tones, but techniques
called meri and kari, where the blowing angle is adjusted, push the pitch down and up.
• The shakuhachi has a range of two full octaves (the lower is called otsu, the
upper, kan) and a partial third octave (dai-kan). The various octaves are produced
using variations of breath and embouchure.
• A 1.8 shakuhachi produces D4 lowest note with all five finger holes covered, and a
normal blowing angle.
• Because each piece of bamboo is unique, shakuhachi cannot be mass-produced, and
craftsmen must spend much time finding the correct bore shape for each individual
flute to result in correct pitch over all notes.
• Plastic, PVC or wood are available, costing less than bamboo but nearly all players
prefer bamboo, citing tonal qualities.
("Shakuhachi," 2012)
Sakuhachi Musical Behavior
• Historically played by court musicians, and peasants enjoyed it as folk instrument.
• Buddhist monks used it as a spiritual tool, hoping to attain not only a momentary
sensation of peace, but a complete transformation of mind and heart: Buddhism,
liberation or enlightenment
• Chanting Buddhist sutras was replaced by playing the shakuhachi, becoming Fuke
monks. Fukes wore basket on their heads, representing their detachment from the
world. Komusô traveled with their shakuhachis, playing the meditative music as they
stood alongside their begging bowls.
• Today the shakuhachi is primarily a "secular" musical instrument played in ensembles
with stringed instruments such as the koto and shamisen.
• Still popular for layman who plays folk music at family gatherings and festivals.
• Practitioners (almost allmen) collected and wrote down hundreds of honkyoku pieces
• Only a few hundred Westerners have studied the shakuhachi.
("Tai hei shakuhachi," 2012)
Sakuhachi Musical Ideas
• The role of silence is an essential part of Japanese sound. This is a concept
of time and space called ma. Moments of silence in music or empty space
in ritual and performance contexts can be more important than the
moments of sound.
The old pond, ah!
A frog jumps in:
The water’s sound!
• This haiku of Bashô epitomises the
Japanese conception of sound
and silence. We are given the
visual image of an old pond, the
random action of a frog and the
sound of water, which shatters
the silence.
• The space and silence between
one-breath tones represents
the ma in honkyoku.
(Horan)
Shakuhachi compared to the Nay
• The shakuhachi developed at the edge of West Asia, and can be traced back to an
origin in ancient Egypt. The nay came to the Middle East in the 3th century.
• Both flutes are reed-less woodwinds, vertical, and
endblown.
• The nay is a rim blown flute while the shakuhachi has
a blowing edge cut at a downward angle towards the
outside from the inner rim of the flute.
• The shakuhachi is constructed of bamboo. The plant
traditionally used for the nay is a yellow cane reed called
Arundo Donax, a pseudo bamboo which resembles "real"
bamboos in appearance.
• The length of the nay varies according to the region in
which it is found. The shakuhachi 1.8 flute with D as the
base note predominates.
• The shakuhachi is pitched at the note made when all five
finger holes are covered, as is the Turkish nay, while the
Arabic nay is pitched at the note made with the first
fingerhole (the one nearest the bottom end of the flute)
open.
• The modern shakuhachi and the nay have four finger holes in front and one thumb
hole in back, situated higher up on the flute. The Persian nay has five finger holes in
front and one thumb hole in back.
(Bennitt, 2010)
References
• Japan Zone. (2011). Japan-zone.com. Retrieved from
http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/instrument.shtml
• Tai hei shakuhachi. (2012, May 25). Retrieved from
http://www.shakuhachi.com
• Shakuhachi. (2012, May 25). Retrieved from
http://www.shibuiswords.com/shakuquestions.htm
• Shakuhachi. (2012, April 16). Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuhachi
• Horan, P. (n.d.). In one moment of silence, become the buddha!.
Retrieved from http://www.shakuhachizen.com/ma.html
• Bennitt, J. (2010, April 04). The shakuhachi and the ney: A comparison
of two flutes from the far reaches of Asia. Retrieved from
http://myoanflute.blogspot.com/2010/04/shakuhachi-and-ney
comparison-of-two.html