Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I would love to get a shakuhachi for christmas. Don't detract from the pleasure of getting the shakuhachi you ordered, you can use it to start off with, you won't need a top of the range flute at the beginning.

Most of us here (aside from those who are more privileged) started on a slightly more budget flute. You won't get the best out of a Shiro as a complete beginner, it's nice to upgrade your flute as you progress!

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Thanks for the replies.

radi0gnome wrote:

... 2.2 length is a big stretch for beginner fingers. Fortunately, your shakuhachi has inline holes, that will pretty much force you to use an alternate hold where you can't use the end part of your fingers to try to cover the holes. The problem with the offsets on those shorter "long" flutes is that the offset creates a temptation to cover the holes with the end part of your fingers and IMO is a recipe for repetitive stress injuries.

The second problem with the 2.2 length as a first flute is that if you decide to take lessons, most teachers want you to have a 1.8. There's a decent playing inexpensive plastic 1.8 called a "Shakuhachi Yuu" that many teachers like for students who bought something unsuitable for lessons.

I guess my thinking when choosing the 2.2 was that I wanted a slightly deeper tone, just to get mellower Hopefully the fingering won't be an issue; I have fairly long fingers and have played guitar for many years.  I appreciate the advice to avoid injury and stress.  I had heard that one should use the pads of the fingers rather than the tips, so I'll try to apply this approach.

My reading on this forum and other sites has pointed out how 1.8 is a standard for students and I am wondering if I'll be able to participate in group classes with this instrument.  I tend to think not.  It looks as if I am fortunate that Ronnie Nyogetsu conducts Beginners Honkyoku classes here in Rochester, but I may need to get a flute that plays well with others to participate.  If I take to my first shakuhachi as I expect, it may be not long before I look for another.

In the meantime, it will be a long two months of waiting and anticipation.

My original posting should have more appropriately been titled "Shakuhachi shallow dive" since I hadn't really gone far with my first inroad.  I found that I could not wait until the end of December to begin learning to play shakuhachi so I have now taken a much deeper dive into these waters.

I decided I wouldn't be comfortable playing a PVC pipe so I looked at other options and came upon a vintage shakuhachi with a low minimum on ebay and found myself the winning, and only, bidder. 



This shakuhachi was made around 1950 by Chikusen Tamai and was repaired by Perry Yung before the previous owner purchased it.  It is featured on Perry's History blog in a demonstration video comparing it with a wooden Tokyo-made shakuhachi.  The binding repair was changed from heavy cord to inlaid rattan sometime after that video was made to address additional cracking that arose from dry conditions in the previous owner's abode.

In addition to practicing basic tone generation and beginning notation reading now, as well as planning for lessons with Ronnie Sheldin next year, I'm also addressing the dry air in my house as we approach winter.  I purchased a couple hygrometers so I could see where things stand.  My music room is only at about 35% humidity so I just ordered a fairly inexpensive humidifier online. I have been keeping the shakuachi in the plastic sleeve that it came with and may add a homemade damp-it arrangement by putting a bit of sponge into a hole-punched zip-lock baggy.  I tried draping a damp washcloth in front of the heat register in the room but that had little impact on the room humidity. 

I really enjoy practice, although it is trying and moments of clarity often quickly crumble into despair.

llocust wrote:

I have been keeping the shakuachi in the plastic sleeve that it came with and may add a homemade damp-it arrangement by putting a bit of sponge into a hole-punched zip-lock baggy.

Room humidifiers are fine, but the most reliable solution is to keep the flute in a poly bag with a piece of dampened sponge (synthetic sponge, like dishes are washed with). No need for fabricating dampit-like objects, just put the flute into the sleeve, blowing end in first, insert the sponge chunk (need not be large or dripping) and fold over the open end of the bag so that the wet sponge is not in direct contact with the flute. Seal well with a rubber band. Done. Keep good discipline with this when not blowing, and your flute(s) will never crack. Not aesthetically all that pleasing, but it WORKS.

Moran from Planet X wrote:

You are a lucky person! My guess is that is a good if not very good instrument. I had a secret longing for that particular one ever since Perry put it up in a previous incarnation. So you've got a good instrument from a good seller and repairperson, and you're going to get a good teacher. Life is good.

Congratulations for taking a real plunge. Happy immersion!

Thank you, I do feel very fortunate to have 'scored' such a wonderful instrument.  If I can become worthy of 1/2 of its potential I shall be very happy indeed.

But to my real aim, and this should probably morph into another thread:  I live in Southern California, inland of Los Angeles by 40 miles, and have yet to have a flute dramatically crack on me in the several years I've played. I sometimes leave my flutes out, sometimes in a bag. I'll swab a flute once after I've played it for an hour or so. I've had several Chinese Madake unlacquered shakuhachi, my Japanese Madake 1.8 which is 50-some years old, and several antiques pass through my possession and never had one really crack other than from poor handling.

I wonder if the fact that I don't have central air conditioning plays a factor in my "luck"?

This thread can morph into a shakuhachi hydration discussion with no loss of value, IMHO.  Now it is my turn to tell you that you are very fortunate to live in such a climatically beautiful part of the world.  Those of us that bear the arctic winds in winter also find the moisture removed from the air in dramatic fashion.  It is not uncommon for acoustic guitars to develop large cracks if not properly cared for, and apparently bamboo flutes are subject to a similar fate.  This particular flute experienced such an issue after being sold to a musician in Indiana, hence the need for a follow-up repair by Perry replacing the bindings and restoring the integrity of the instrument.

It is good to know that playing and practicing regularly will maintain the moisture level in the bamboo; I wonder how much moisture actually penetrates the urushi lacquer.  I still plan to take extra steps in the late fall and winter months to try to keep from having other issues.  Besides, I have a few guitars around as well and while I put damp-its in a couple of the acoustics I'm not always diligent about keeping them moist.  So monitoring and adding humidity seems like a prudent step as I add to the instrument content of my home.

Hi llocust,
  I'm from right next door in Buffalo and I haven't had any trouble with the arctic winds and stuff when I've been home. I'm extra careful to keep it in a plastic bag and its leather case, but the lack of moisture hasn't really been a problem for me. Just treat them like your pets and give them some attention. The rest is out of our hands

We're not back yet, maybe mid January. Things are winding down though. Actually not really, I had a performance at APEC and also for the Columbian ambassador last weekend and some more concerts this weekend. Your student is actually staying with us this weekend in Nara, she had a great time studying and making with Kodama I think.
I wish I was closer, I would have definitely checked out your conference in Toronto. It's only a little over an hour away I think. And I feel the same about the cold and flutes. In the states most places are also centrally heated so I haven't had any problems, but I've heard a few unpleasant stories here in Japan of students leaving their flute on their heated carpet or in front of a heater that blows out hot dry air.

Not in Yokohama but when the gang came to Nara. Same thing though, kind of shut down the whole city.
Police dogs and metal detectors everywhere. It was a pain in the butt, but the stage was really cool. The background looked like the old imperial palace.

No-sword wrote:

Wait, they had shakuhachi at APEC? In Yokohama? That's where I work -- the extra cops, confiscated garbage cans, and overcrowded trains (can't get a car too close right now) have been driving me crazy all month.

I had to muscle my luggage all around Tokyo station on Tuesday because no coin lockers were available.

Every one of them was posted with a handbill saying they would be unavailable from the 14th to the 16th, but by some strange coincidence, all the keys had disappeared by the 5th already.