Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

amokrun · 2006-09-18 21:05:07

I was trying to pick between this forum and buy/sell, but this seemed more appropriate...

I was reading through some older threads about really large flutes. This one, in particular:

http://www.shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?id=390

Although a somewhat silly question, does someone around here actually make flutes around that size? I understand that the flute in question was something in between a joke and a great experiment, but I still can't help but to think that someone somewhere must have tried to make one or two of these things. I find that not only do those things look absolutely lovely, but they might also make for nice instruments, especially for more suizen-like activities where ability to play complicated melodies isn't needed.

So, anyone have any experience on these? I would try to make one myself, but I'm horrible when it comes to crafting things and bamboo isn't very easy to find around here.

Thank you for your time in advance.

Tairaku 太楽 · 2006-09-18 22:11:01

Our own moderator/administrator Mujitsu Ken LaCosse is the main for these huge flutes. In fact I'm recording an album next week that will showcase his gigantic flutes exclusively.

amokrun · 2006-09-19 06:28:56

Tairaku wrote:
Our own moderator/administrator Mujitsu Ken LaCosse is the main for these huge flutes.

I checked his website (again.. :-), but could not find any pictures of really wide flutes. There were many beautiful long flutes there, but as far as I could tell, they weren't quite as gigantic as the one you are holding in the picture. Granted, it's occasionally hard to tell if the picture only contains either one flute or several flutes of roughly the same size. Does he sell such flutes to us mere mortals? I would love to get my hands on one at some point once it fits into my price range or I make my price range fit the flute.

There is just some magic in a flute that is the size of a tetsubo and has a sound of one octave below bear's growl.

Tairaku wrote:
In fact I'm recording an album next week that will showcase his gigantic flutes exclusively.

Please let us know when it is on sale somewhere. That sounds like something at least I would enjoy, both as background music and source of ideas.

Tairaku 太楽 · 2006-09-19 07:00:28

The one in that photo is only playable in the low octave. We made it from a piece of bamboo we bought in a hardware store in Japan Center, San Francisco. It was common bamboo, not madake. I don't think there are many people who would be able to play it. His Taimu flutes are not to that dimension, but they play in tune throughout and are as long and with wider bores than the flutes anybody else is making on a regular basis. This gives them a unique sound. If you'd like to purchase a recording featuring them, I play his 2.7 on 2 songs and a massive 3.0 on another here:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/btritchie

He does sell shakuhachi to anybody who wants one, and he's working on a new batch of Taimu flutes as we speak.

amokrun · 2006-09-19 08:06:45

Tairaku wrote:
The one in that photo is only playable in the low octave.

I may be in the minority here, but I don't see that as a flaw in any way. My logic goes somewhere along the lines that having less options means that you need to put those into better use than you would otherwise. I find it to be an interesting concept, at the very least.

Tairaku wrote:
We made it from a piece of bamboo we bought in a hardware store in Japan Center, San Francisco. It was common bamboo, not madake.

Personally I'm mostly indifferent about the material used in a shakuhachi. I prefer bamboo, naturally, but the type of bamboo doesn't matter so much to me. I presume that since you perform to others professionally, quality of the flute and thus the quality of the materials means more to you than it does to me. I could still enjoy a flute that was totally out of tune whereas it might not be of much use when playing for an audience that expects a lot from you. I also have no formal training (yet, that is), so all my opinions on the matter are my own and probably misguided.

Tairaku wrote:
I don't think there are many people who would be able to play it.

Heh. Now I'm just tempted to try to make one.

Tairaku wrote:
His Taimu flutes are not to that dimension, but they play in tune throughout and are as long and with wider bores than the flutes anybody else is making on a regular basis.

Interesting. I've been thinking of getting a larger flute at some point in the near future. My 1.8 is very good for playing pieces of all kinds, so I rather want to go all the way with the larger flute and pick one that is as large as I can handle. I'll most certainly consider his flutes once I figure out what kind of lengths are still playable for me.

Thank you for your time and assistance. If, by any chance, you happened to take any more pictures of that particular flute, I would love to see them.

Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

#1 2006-09-18 21:05:07

Anyone making really large flutes?

#2 2006-09-18 22:11:01

Re: Anyone making really large flutes?

#3 2006-09-19 06:28:56

Re: Anyone making really large flutes?

Tairaku wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

#4 2006-09-19 07:00:28

Re: Anyone making really large flutes?

#5 2006-09-19 08:06:45

Re: Anyone making really large flutes?

Tairaku wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

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