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Greetings!
My name is Mark, and after years of being part of this community, I would like to finally introduce myself:
I have been a sideline observer of the Shakuhachi Forum since 2006. This forum helps sometimes for inspiration, and always for entertainment.
I've been playing shakuhachi on my own for 4 years, after making PVC flutes based on Carl Abbott's recipe, and the extensive, educated ramblings of the Shaku Master Index on navaching.com. I have received no instruction in shakuhachi; it has been a personal journey. I followed Carl Abbott's book, "Blowing Zen," to a point. About a year ago I purchased a yuused Yuu 1.8, and have enjoyed the instrument. I dabbled a little bit in constructing a bamboo instrument, but to no satisfactory results yet.
I'm on & off with playing, but enjoy it as a meditative practice, and as a good pre-amble to a sitting meditation. When I play, my practice is as follows:
- I blow ro, sometimes doing sasa-buki a la Perry Yung (Thanks for the tutorial Perry!), and I play different sound shapes ( <> , <] , [> , >< , [-] , __ ).
- I play Honshirabe/Choshi (thanks to Alcvin Ramos' instruction), and play Kojo No Tsuki (Moonlit Castle Ruins) all over the flute (otsu & kan, starting on ro or re or ri or chi).
- I've also played Kyorei some, and just recently played along with some recordings of Kyorei and Choshi, which I found very helpful. I listen with headphones, so the sounds of the flutes merge.
- Sometimes I play whatever the flute and my fingers want to play.
I have found these simple practices to provide more than enough material to keep me occupied.
Though I have discovered a lot on my own, I'm sure that my practice would benefit from the input of an experienced player. I had contacted Phil Nyokai James, and he & I had planned a meeting in cyber-space for my first lesson. That was before his recent stroke; very sad news, and my prayers are for his swift healing. I still hope to meet him, perhaps this summer, and play together.
I am not interested in the shakuhachi as an instrument of musical performance, but rather as a meditation tool. I have not yet played shakuhachi for anybody's ears, except those few who may have overheard my practice. I don't even really care to listen to shakuhachi music, except to learn from it how to play.
I am a musician on other instruments as well: The celtic flute (PVC, via Doug Tipple); the ukulele (a difficult instrument to put down once you've picked it up - careful); the guitar; the Bansuri (bamboo flute) and the Sarod (sister to the Sitar; like a Banjo with 25 strings), both instruments of North Indian Hindustani classical music. Mostly I play music for fun; though I have performed a few times in my life on a public stage, it is not an aspiration of mine.
I have never gathered with other shakuhachi players, but I have read posts on shakuhachi Erin's blog about blowing long tones with other players, and I thought that sounded like it would be a great practice! Until I find other players to play with, I am quite content to be blowing on my own...
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Welcome to the posting side of the forum!
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Welcome Mark. Sounds like you are "intheshakuhachiworld" now!
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Hello Mark, its really quite refreshing to read of your very relaxed and gentle relationship with the shakuhachi. Life has a strange way of offering unexpected twists and turns in its path, perhaps it will bring you in contact with a few shakuhachi folks who can play some long tones with someday. In the meantime, please continue to enjoy the flute along with your other instruments and post here again when you feel so inclined.
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markintheworld wrote:
Greetings!
....I'm on & off with playing, but enjoy it as a meditative practice, and as a good pre-amble to a sitting meditation. When I play, my practice is as follows:
- I blow ro, sometimes doing sasa-buki a la Perry Yung (Thanks for the tutorial Perry!), and I play different sound shapes ( <> , <] , [> , >< , [-] , __ ).
- I play Honshirabe/Choshi (thanks to Alcvin Ramos' instruction), and play Kojo No Tsuki (Moonlit Castle Ruins) all over the flute (otsu & kan, starting on ro or re or ri or chi).
Hi Mark, Welcome to the Forum! I'm happy to hear that my tutorial was useful. I too discovered Al's Honkyoku instructions many years ago. It was extremely helpful. In fact, Al contributed greatly to my desire to make the experience of the shakuhachi more accessible.
Looking forward to hearing more about your discoveries! Perry
Last edited by Yungflutes (2010-03-20 10:54:47)
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Thank you Erin, Perry, Ken & Brian for the kind welcome! I will be making an effort to post my thoughts and experiences on the forum from time to time, and I continue to follow with interest all of the various discussions and personalities here in these pages. This is a great community - my gratitude to Mujistsu & Tairaku: keep up the good work!
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