Shakuhachi
Woodwind instrument | |
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Classification | Woodwind |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.111.12 (Open single end-blown flute with fingerholes) |
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A shakuhachi (Japanese: 尺八, pronounced [ɕakɯhat͡ɕi]) is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the shakuhachi was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the fuke shakuhachi (普化尺八).[1][2] A bamboo flute known as the kodai shakuhachi (古代尺八, ancient shakuhachi) or gagaku shakuhachi (雅楽尺八) was derived from the Chinese xiao in the Nara period and died out in the 10th century.[3] After a long blank period, the hitoyogiri shakuhachi (一節切尺八) appeared in the 15th century, and then in the 16th century, the fuke shakuhachi was developed in Japan. The fuke shakuhachi flourished in the 18th century during the Edo period, and eventually the hitoyogiri shakuhachi also died out. The fuke shakuhachi developed in Japan is longer and thicker than the kodai shakuhachi and has one finger hole less. It is longer and thicker than hitoyogiri shakuhachi and is superior in volume, range, scale and tone quality.[4] Today, since the shakuhachi generally refers only to fuke shakuhachi, the theory that the shakuhachi is an instrument unique to Japan is widely accepted.[5]
The shakuhachi is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in
The instrument is tuned to the minor pentatonic scale.
Etymology
The name shakuhachi means "1.8
- shaku (尺) is an archaic unit of length equal to 30.3 centimetres (0.99 ft) and subdivided in ten subunits.
- hachi (八) means "eight", here eight sun, or tenths, of a shaku.
Thus, the compound word shaku-hachi means "one shaku eight sun" (54.54 cm (21.47 in)), the standard length of a shakuhachi. Other shakuhachi vary in length from about 1.1 shaku up to 3.6 shaku. Although the sizes differ, all are still referred to generically as shakuhachi.
Overview
Shakuhachi are usually made from the root end of madake (, and other modern pieces.
Much of the shakuhachi's subtlety (and player's skill) lies in its rich tone colouring, and the ability for its variation. Different fingerings,
Unlike a recorder, where the player blows into a duct—a narrow airway over a block which is called a "fipple"—and thus has limited pitch control, the shakuhachi player blows as one would blow across the top of an empty bottle (though the shakuhachi has a sharp edge to blow against called utaguchi) and therefore has substantial pitch control. The term utaguchi (歌口) literally translates as "to the mouth that sings", referring to the upper and main hole of the flute where the mouthpiece or blowing edge is created by a natural diagonal cut in the bamboo.[citation needed]
The history of the shakuhachi shows a variety of designs of inlaid mouthpieces that vary between certain traditional Japanese schools of shakuhachi. Thus, the Kinko Ryu, Myoan and Tozan Ryu, differ in different features in their line of mouthpiece design, coinciding in them the total non-use in their inlay of the semi-circumference formed by the natural cut of the mouthpiece in the bamboo. Beyond the fact that these inlaid forms were a hallmark of styles and schools, the fact of inlaying a mouthpiece historically could respond to a way of repairing the instrument due to wear or damage in particular in its blowing edge.[citation needed]
The five finger holes are tuned to a minor pentatonic scale with no half-tones, but using techniques called meri (メリ) and kari (カリ), in which the blowing angle is adjusted to bend the pitch downward and upward, respectively, combined with embouchure adjustments and fingering techniques the player can bend each pitch as much as a whole tone or more. Pitches may also be lowered by shading (カザシ, kazashi) or partially covering finger holes. Since most pitches can be achieved via several different fingering or blowing techniques on the shakuhachi, the timbre of each possibility is taken into account when composing or playing thus different names are used to write notes of the same pitch which differ in timbre. The shakuhachi has a range of two full octaves (the lower is called 乙/呂 otsu, the upper, 甲 kan) and a partial third octave (大甲 dai-kan) though experienced players can produce notes up to E7 (2637.02 Hz) on a 1.8 shakuhachi.[6][7] The various octaves are produced using subtle variations of breath, finger positions and embouchure.
In traditional shakuhachi repertoire, instead of tonguing for articulation like many Western wind instruments, hitting holes (oshi (押し), osu (オス)) with a very fast movement is used and each note has its corresponding repeat fingerings; e.g., for repeating C5 the 5th hole (D5's tone hole) is used.[7]
A 1.8 shakuhachi produces D4 (D above Middle C, 293.66 Hz) as its fundamental—the lowest note it produces with all five finger holes covered, and a normal blowing angle. In contrast, a 2.4 shakuhachi has a fundamental of A3 (A below Middle C, 220 Hz). As the length increases, the spacing of the finger holes also increases, stretching both fingers and technique. Longer flutes often have offset finger holes, and very long flutes are almost always custom made to suit individual players. Some honkyoku, in particular those of the Nezasaha (Kimpu-ryū) school, are intended to be played on these longer flutes.
Due to the skill required, the time involved, and the range of quality in materials to craft bamboo shakuhachi, one can expect to pay from
History
The shakuhachi is derived from the Chinese bamboo-flute. The bamboo-flute first came to Japan from China during the 7th
In the 15th century, the hitoyogiri shakuhachi (一節切尺八) appeared. It is characterized by a single bamboo joint in the middle of the tube. Although it flourished in the 17th century, it gradually fell into disuse due to the development and popularity of the superior fuke shakuhachi, and was no longer used by the 19th century. The average length was 33.6 cm (13.2 in), the outer diameter was 3 cm (1.2 in), and there were 5 finger holes – 4 at the front, 1 at the back.[2][4]
The flute now known as the shakuhachi was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the fuke shakuhachi (普化尺八). This style of shakuhachi is longer and thicker than the older shakuhachi, and its volume, range, scale, and tone are superior to those of the older shakuhachi. It is made from the base of the bamboo, and the average length is 54.5 cm (21.5 in), which corresponds to 1 shaku 8 sun; the outside diameter is 4 cm (1.6 in), and there are 5 finger holes – 4 at the front, 1 at the back.[4][1][2]
During the medieval period, shakuhachi were most notable for their role in the
Travel around Japan was restricted by the
In response to these developments, several particularly difficult honkyoku pieces, e.g. "Distant Call of the Deer" (鹿の遠音, Shika no tōne), became well known as "tests": if one could play them, they were a real Fuke monk. If they could not, they were probably a spy and might very well be killed if they were in unfriendly territory.
With the
When the
The shakuhachi has traditionally been played almost exclusively by men in Japan, although this situation is rapidly changing. Many teachers of traditional shakuhachi music indicate that a majority of their students are women. The 2004 Big Apple Shakuhachi Festival in New York City hosted the first-ever concert of international women shakuhachi masters. This festival was organized and produced by Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin, who was the first full-time shakuhachi master to teach in the Western hemisphere. Nyogetsu also holds 2 Dai Shihan (Grand Master) licenses, and has run KiSuiAn, the largest and most active shakuhachi Dojo outside Japan, since 1975.[
The shakuhachi has grown in international popularity in recent decades.[12] The first non-Japanese person to become a shakuhachi master was American-Australian Riley Lee. Lee was responsible for the World Shakuhachi Festival being held in Sydney, Australia over 5–8 July 2008, based at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.[13][14] Riley Lee played the shakuhachi in Dawn Mantras which was composed by Ross Edwards especially for the Dawn Performance, which took place on the sails of the Sydney Opera House at sunrise on 1 January 2000 and was televised internationally.[15]
Acoustics
The shakuhachi creates a harmonic spectrum that contains the fundamental frequency together with even and odd harmonics and some blowing noise.[16] Five tone holes enable musicians to play the notes D-F-G-A-C-D. Cross (or fork) fingerings, half-covering tone holes, and meri/kari blowing cause pitch sharpening, referred to as intonation anomaly.[17] Especially the second and third harmonic exhibit the well-known shakuhachi timbre. Even though the geometry of the shakuhachi is relatively simple, the sound radiation of the shakuhachi is rather complicated.[18] Sound radiating from several holes and the natural asymmetry of bamboo create an individual spectrum in each direction. This spectrum depends on frequency and playing technique.
Notable players
The International Shakuhachi Society maintains a directory of notable professional, amateur, and teaching shakuhachi players.[19]
Recordings
The primary genres of shakuhachi music are:
- Honkyoku(traditional, solo)
- Sankyoku (ensemble, with koto and shamisen)
- Meiji period compositions influenced by Western music)[20]
Recordings in each of these categories are available; however, more albums are catalogued in categories outside the traditional realm. As of 2018, shakuhachi players continue releasing records in a variety of traditional and modern styles.[21]
The first shakuhachi recording appeared in the United States in the late 1960s. Gorō Yamaguchi recorded A Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky for Nonesuch Explorer Records on LP, an album which received acclaim from Rolling Stone at the time of its release.[22] One of the pieces featured on Yamaguchi's record was "Sokaku Reibo", also called "Tsuru No Sugomori" (Crane's Nesting).[23] NASA later chose to include this track as part of the Golden Record aboard the Voyager spacecraft.[24]
In the film industry
Shakuhachi are often used in modern film scores, for example those by James Horner. Films in which it is featured prominently include: The Karate Kid parts II and III by Bill Conti, Legends of the Fall and Braveheart by James Horner, Jurassic Park and its sequels by John Williams and Don Davis, and The Last Samurai by Hans Zimmer and Memoirs of a Geisha by John Williams.
Renowned Japanese classical and film-score composer
Western contemporary music
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2022) |
- The Australian shakuhachi master and composer Jim Franklyn has composed a number of works for solo shakuhachi, also including electronics.
- British composer John Palmer included a wide range of extended techniques in Koan (1999, for shakuhachi and ensemble)
- In Carlo Forlivesi's composition for shakuhachi and guitar "Ugetsu" (雨月), the performance techniques were remarked as "[presenting] notable difficulties in a few completely novel situations: an audacious movement of 'expansion' of the respective traditions of the two instruments pushed as they are at times to the limits of the possible, the aim being to have the shakuhachi and the guitar playing on the same level and with virtuosity (two instruments that are culturally and acoustically so dissimilar), thus increasing the expressive range, the texture of the dialogue, the harmonic dimension and the tone-colour."[25]
- American composer and performer Elizabeth Brown plays shakuhachi and has written many pieces for the instrument that build on Japanese traditions while diverging with more modern arrangement, orchestration, melodic twists or harmonic progressions.[26][27][28]
- New York-born musician James Nyoraku Schlefer plays, teaches, and composes for shakuhachi.
- Composer Carson Kievman has employed the instrument in many works from "Ladies Voices" in 1976 to "Feudal Japan" in the parallel world opera Passion Love Gravity in 2020-21.
- Weed Records.
- Welsh composer Karl Jenkins features prominent shakuhachi solos in his 2005 Requiem, specifically in the movements where the texts are death haikus.[29]
- American multi-instrumentalist and composer progressive-jazz album Fulfillment, as well as playing it on the score of Just Cause 4 and the promotional album for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, from Magic: The Gathering.[30][31]
- "Nobody's Listening", a 2003 rap rock song from the album Meteora by Linkin Park, features the shakuhachi flute.[32]
- British jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings performed shakuhachi on the André 3000 album New Blue Sun
Synthesized/sampled shakuhachi
The sound of the shakuhachi is also featured from time to time in electronica, pop and rock, especially after being commonly shipped as a "preset" instrument on various synthesizers and keyboards beginning in the 1980s.[33] The General MIDI standard assigns the shakuhachi to programm number 78.[34] One of the best known pop songs of the 1980s that uses this sound is Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
See also
- Hotchiku (a similar, end-blown bamboo flute)
- List of shakuhachi players
- Quena (a similar flute from South America)
- Sankyoku
- Shakuhachi musical notation
References
- ^ a b Kotobank, Fuke shakuhachi. The Asahi Shimbun
- ^ a b c d Kotobank, Shakuhachi. The Asahi Shimbun
- ^ a b c Kotobank, Kodai shakuhachi (Gagaku shakuhachi). The Asahi Shimbun
- ^ a b c Kotobank, Hitoyogiri shakuhachi. The Asahi Shimbun
- ISBN 978-4473034892
- ^ "Getting started | The European Shakuhachi Society". shakuhachisociety.eu. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
- ^ ISBN 978-1535460705.
- ^ Levenson, Monty H. "Origins & History of the Shakuhachi". www.shakuhachi.com. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- ISBN 978-1933606156.
- ^ Keister, Jay (2004). "The Shakuhachi as a Spiritual Tool: A Japanese Buddhist Instrument in the West". Asian Music. 35 (2): 104–105.
- JSTOR 4098447.
- ^ "People - The International Shakuhachi Society". The International Shakuhachi Society. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "World Shakuhachi Festival - 2008 Sydney, Australia".
- ABC Radio National, accessed 24 October 2008
- ^ "Dawn Mantras (1999)". Ross Edwards. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
- ISBN 978-3-319-47292-8.
- doi:10.1250/ast.7.99.
- ^ Ziemer, Tim (2014). Sound Radiation Characteristic of a Shakuhachi with different Playing Techniques (PDF). International Symposium on Musical Acoustics (ISMA). pp. 549–555. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "People whose speciality is shakuhachi". The International Shakuhachi Society. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ^ "Shakuhachi Terms – WSF2018". wsf2018.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ Nelson, Ronald. "The International Shakuhachi Society". www.komuso.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ "20 Sixties Albums You've Never Heard". Rolling Stone. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ Nelson, Ronald. "The International Shakuhachi Society". www.komuso.com. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ "Voyager – Music on the Golden Record". voyager.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- ^ ALM Records ALCD-76
- ^ Sullivan, Jack. "Elizabeth Brown, Mirage," American Record Guide, January/February 2014, p. 83.
- ^ Carl, Robert. Elizabeth Brown – Mirage, liner notes, Brooklyn, NY: New World Records, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Elizabeth Brown website. Pieces with Shakuhachi or Traditional Japanese Instruments. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "Karl Jenkins - Requiem". www.boosey.com. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ "Profile". Zac Zinger ザック・ジンガー. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ "Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Official Soundtrack". magic.wizards.com. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ISBN 9791254580837.
- Keyboard Magazine, October 1995
- ^ "GM 1 sound set". www.midi.org. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
Further reading
- Henry Johnson, The shakuhachi: roots and routes, Amsterdam, Brill, 2014 (ISBN 978-90-04-24339-2)
- Iwamoto Yoshikazu, The Potential of the Shakuhachi in Contemporary Music, “Contemporary Music Review”, 8/2, 1994, pp. 5–44
- Tsukitani Tsuneko, The shakuhachi and its music, in Alison McQueen Tokita, David W. Huges (edited by), The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music 7, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2008, pp. 145–168
- Riley Lee (1992). "Yearning For The Bell; a study of transmission in the shakuhachi honkyoku tradition", Thesis, University of Sydney
- Seyama Tōru, The Re-contextualisation of the Shakuhachi (Syakuhati) and its Music from Traditional/Classical into Modern/Popular, “the world of music”, 40/2, 1998, pp. 69–84
- Zapata, Ricardo (2021). "Blow your mind Ride your tone; The conquest of shakuhachi discovering your inner singing", Ebook, Colombia, 2021