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Does any one know of a good koto forum(s) on the web. I've googled and found a couple of forums that were either set up but not in action or no body had posted or some such weirdness. I'm specifically looking for a source of scores for arrangements of shakuhachi and koto. I have tons of sankyoku. I guess I'm looking for folks songs and shinkyoku or? Do koto players communicate the way we do on this forum or they all barracaded(sp?) up defending their schools?
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Thankyu.
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Jim Thompson wrote:
Does any one know of a good koto forum(s) on the web. [...] Do koto players communicate the way we do on this forum or they all barracaded(sp?) up defending their schools?
Granted, this is an old post, but as a new member enjoying browsing my way through here, I thought I'd answer, since I know some forums.
To answer your second question first, yup, some koto players do actually communicate, when and where they can (especially those who have figured out that sharing is a far better way to "spread the koto word" than barricading..... <g>) But after many years and long nights trolling the internet looking for koto forums, I can tell you they're few and far between. And, barring one (Kotoworld), there's nothing like the quality or quantity of those you can find for shakuhachi communities around the globe.
The best, and I believe the longest-running, forum is the Kotoworld Group on Yahoo at http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=kotoworld. Members are of all performance levels and interest levels, and they're a friendly, knowledgeable bunch from all over the place. That's my go-to forum for anything koto that you can't find elsewhere. (And they can often discuss other instruments as well, such as shamisen, shakuhachi, etc.) There are also some places on Facebook now, some less active and some more so. The more active ones are: Koto and Other Traditional Japanese Music, Gaku-so -- Le Forum des Musiques Traditionnelles du Japon, and *~ I Play 日本傳統古箏 Japanese Koto ~*.
So hopefully that gives you a few places to check out. If you come across any other good ones, please do share!
Last edited by sokyoku (2010-11-13 12:21:49)
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Thanks, Sokyoku. I tried the link but it said it was gone. At the time I posted I was looking for a source for scores of pieces for koto and shakuhachi. I got some help from friends on the BBQ forum. That seems to be my best source to date.
Anyway, I find it interesting comparing the shakuhachi world with the koto world. They seem very different even though the instruments have a long history together. They read totally different notation which can make things more difficult to sort out.There seems to be a lot of large koto and taiko groups but the shakuhachi world seems to be more a solitary situation. Thus the need for a forum. Koto doesn't need a forum because they have large groups.
By the way fellas, those of you who complain about no babes in shakuhachi land are merely experiencing the wrath of the cosmos for avoiding sankyoku and ensemble playing in general. When I play with kotos the female- male ratio is anywhere from 6 to 1 or with larger groups 40-3. Get hip fellas. If you start playing with kotos it'll be nothing but women as far as you can see. But I digress.
If I find any interesting koto sights I'll pass them on to you Sokyoku.
Jim
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Jim Thompson wrote:
By the way fellas, those of you who complain about no babes in shakuhachi land are merely experiencing the wrath of the cosmos for avoiding sankyoku and ensemble playing in general. When I play with kotos the female- male ratio is anywhere from 6 to 1 or with larger groups 40-3. Get hip fellas. If you start playing with kotos it'll be nothing but women as far as you can see.
I seriously thought you were talking about babies for a while there Jim. It was very confusing.
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That speaks well of your character.
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Jim Thompson wrote:
Thanks, Sokyoku. I tried the link but it said it was gone.
Ah, sorry about that - Yahoo keeps changing/deleting the point one can access the forums from. I've edited the link now to something that should work. (If not, just go to groups.yahoo.com and use kotoworld as your group search term).
At the time I posted I was looking for a source for scores of pieces for koto and shakuhachi.
We get people coming to the koto forum asking for things like that too, and again, the members of Kotoworld are happy to share. (That's how I managed to get some music for a friend who was looking for a hard-to-find score.)
I find it interesting comparing the shakuhachi world with the koto world. They seem very different...
That's very true.
They read totally different notation which can make things more difficult to sort out.
Just so you know, *all* the Japanese instruments read different notations from each other. There are several different notations (and/or styles within those notations) for each of koto, shamisen, biwa, shakuhachi.... <sigh> Yes, makes things more difficult to sort out. However, learning new things/skills is supposed to be a way to stave off Alzheimer's, so perhaps these differences across the hougaku scores can be looked at as a preventative treatment for aging..... (I'm reaching a bit there, aren't I??? <smile>)
There seems to be a lot of large koto and taiko groups but the shakuhachi world seems to be more a solitary situation. Thus the need for a forum. Koto doesn't need a forum because they have large groups.
Well, the koto groups that are large may not need a forum, but there are lots of very small koto "groups" (eg. less than a handful of members) and also many solitary players, where "solitary" is due to the nature of their circumstances, rather than the nature of koto. Many non-Japanese koto players find themselves alone once their teachers get called back to Japan, or once they return from Japan (where they began their studies) to their home countries, particularly if they come from small cities and towns where no one has yet heard of koto. Also, as you mentioned at the top of this post, there are some schools or teachers who restrict the activities of their group members (that "barricade" and "protection" thing), and so sometimes, the only way for members of such groups to experience players, opinions, music, etc. outside their immediate group is to do so anonymously online through something like a forum. So koto players certainly benefit from their forums in much the same way as everyone does here.
By the way fellas, those of you who complain about no babes in shakuhachi land are merely experiencing the wrath of the cosmos for avoiding sankyoku and ensemble playing in general. When I play with kotos the female- male ratio is anywhere from 6 to 1 or with larger groups 40-3. Get hip fellas. If you start playing with kotos it'll be nothing but women as far as you can see. But I digress.
<Wide grin>
If I find any interesting koto sights I'll pass them on to you Sokyoku.
Thanks Jim.
Best,
Linda.
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Linda,
Thanks for your input. It's great to have access to someone in the koto world here on the forum. Hopefully we may be able to access scores through each other should the need arise. If I'm ever in Toronto or you in L.A. let's play.
Cheers
Jim
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I had the delightful experience of meeting Linda the other day. She is an amazing woman: knowledgeable and passionate about music and a VERY nice person! Yes, it's great to have a koto person here on the forum. I, unfortunately, did not have the chance to play with Linda as I was very busy with the conference I was attending in Toronto. Next time - I hope!
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@Kiku:
Awww, thanks so much for those lovely words. <blushing> Hope your booth was well-received at the conference. And yes, let's make it work next time!
@Jim:
Hopefully we may be able to access scores through each other should the need arise. If I'm ever in Toronto or you in L.A. let's play.
For sure - you're welcome any time. And btw, altho' I don't play shakuhachi myself, I do have quite a bit of shakuhachi sheet music in my collection - mostly Tozan scores, some Kinko, and a fair amount in Western notation. I don't have any honkyoku, but I do have pieces from the classical koto/shamisen repertoire, and a fair amount of contemporary pieces, especially for works by Chikushi Katsuko. So if you are looking for anything in particular, let me know.
Speaking of scores, yesterday I was thinking of ordering a couple of pieces of shakuhachi music for my local shakuhachi associate. If anyone has a copy they wouldn't mind passing along, that would save me having to order them from Japan. I'm looking for Chikushi Katsuko's "Hagoromo" and also for Miyata Kouhachirou's "Kibitaki no mori", in either Kinko (first choice) or Tozan style. (I already have staff notation for Kibitaki.) So if anyone has either piece and would be willing to share, that would be great.
Thanks again for making me feel welcome here (even though I can't play...). :-)
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sokyoku wrote:
For sure - you're welcome any time. And btw, altho' I don't play shakuhachi myself, I do have quite a bit of shakuhachi sheet music in my collection - mostly Tozan scores, some Kinko, and a fair amount in Western notation. I don't have any honkyoku, but I do have pieces from the classical koto/shamisen repertoire, and a fair amount of contemporary pieces, especially for works by Chikushi Katsuko. So if you are looking for anything in particular, let me know.
Speaking of scores, yesterday I was thinking of ordering a couple of pieces of shakuhachi music for my local shakuhachi associate. If anyone has a copy they wouldn't mind passing along, that would save me having to order them from Japan. I'm looking for Chikushi Katsuko's "Hagoromo" and also for Miyata Kouhachirou's "Kibitaki no mori", in either Kinko (first choice) or Tozan style. (I already have staff notation for Kibitaki.) So if anyone has either piece and would be willing to share, that would be great.
Thanks again for making me feel welcome here (even though I can't play...). :-)
I've got Kibitaki in Tozan notation. Should I sent to the e-mail address on your web site? I've got lots of shakuhachi scores of all kinds so don't hesitate to ask. As far as I'm concerned, koto players are very welcome to post here. It is to our mutual benefit. It is already starting. It's good to know that you have shakuhachi scores.
Jim
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I've got Kibitaki in Tozan notation. Should I sent to the e-mail address on your web site?
That would be great Jim, thanks for sharing! And yes, the email on my website is the correct one to send to (you can just click the "E-mail" link under my avatar in this post, it'll take you to the same address).
Linda.
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Linda,
You'll get it soon. I have to wait for help as I am a digital idiot.
J.
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Linda,
I e-mailed you the score. I'm wondering if you got.
J.
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Hi Jim:
Thank you very much for sending the score - yes, I just (i.e. today ~noon) received both your emails, as well as the forum email notifying me about this post. Sorry for the delay in replying to you, but fwiw, I had a very busy corporate day yesterday, with meetings that ran thru to late evening, and only just got a chance to get to my personal email now. I really do appreciate you sharing, and I'll answer your email soon.
Best,
Linda.
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At your leisure please. I've had e-mail sending issues and just wanted to be sure my rig is working.
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Jim Thompson wrote:
At your leisure please. I've had e-mail sending issues and just wanted to be sure my rig is working.
Get a Gmail account Jim. If you're using Earthlink's client email (with whatever, Outlook or some other disaster), copy get your address book, stop using it and open a web-based email account like Gmail, which is the best I can see. Web-based email like Gmail is wondrous and almost pain-free compared to client based email. Just say kNOw.
I stop using client-based email 10 years ago and have never looked back.
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