Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

mayberryjl wrote:

Hello everyone,

  So I just finished making my first pvc shakuhachi.  I have the feeling that was the easiest part of the process.  I've never played a wind instrument before as I'm a visual artist, but I decided the shakuhachi might be a good tool to use for meditation.  I've tried to read as much about the instrument as I can before going cross-eyed and viola now I have a lovely piece of plastic that makes a sound once in a bit before I need to draw another breath.

  Any tips or hints would be greatly appreciated (especially in the area of producing and sustaining simple notes and embouchure).

Until.

Joshua

Have a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRS49JqD … re=related

In getting a consistent initial sound, it's a good practice to play with ALL holes open. Quite a bit easier to get a sound that way. After you've worked that a bit, close hole 5 (the one on the back), do that for a while, then close hole 4, and so on, until all holes are closed. Take your time. Blow long tones, using full outbreaths. Breath from the lower abdomen/diaphragm, not the upper chest.

Oh, and welcome to the Forum...

Welcome to the board.

I like the title of your post. When I first started playing I called it the song of strangled frogs. The most correct would probably be "Sounds of the strangled crane".

Matt

Oh, the poor strangled creatures. I would be practicing right now if there weren't people trying to sleep.  Or, maybe I should say "If there weren't people I like trying to sleep"  ...

mayberryjl wrote:

Second day and thanks to your advice I have been able to produce sound with all the holes open.  After a few minutes it gets more consistent although I'm disappointed with my general lack of breath.  I used to sing with a choir and know how to use my diaphragm to support my voice. I guess I'm out of practice and will have to just keep working and the breath will come.

I believe that the breathing you use for singing in a choir is different than what you want to use for playing the shakuhachi. When playing the shakuhachi you want to use belly breathing. The chest should not move much when playing.

I try to count to five while inhaling to get a deep breath.It doesn't always work but I try.