« October 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
November 23, 2005
Yung Flutes Workshop out for Dim Sum
Hi all, I'm in Hong Kong from Nov 13th - Dec 14th. The workshop is closed so if you have a repair you've been meaning to send, please wiat until I return to the States on Dec 19th to send it.
The first thing that always blows me away is the bamboo scaffolding all over this island.
Just walking around town makes me think of all the shakuhachi that can be made.
I see a couple os 2.9's in there!
Everywhere you look in HK, you see the modern next to the ancient.
The view from our hotel window in Kowloon. That's the Cultural Center and Hong Kong Arts Academy in Wan Chai where Maura is teaching and over to the right is IM Pei's Bank of China.
Sasa would rather have her binky than a plate of chow mein.
Scared of the Chinese clown. Who could blame her?
Jet prepares for his Hong Kong audition after seeing all the HK movies posters.
I found a Xiao player to work with. More on the show soon.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2005
Care for your Shakuhachi
Here is is a great way to store your shakuhachi.
Cut a regular sponge into a 1"X1" square
Moisten the sponge and squeeze out the excess. Make sure it is not dripping wet.
Twist the plastic bag after you place the flute in it. The idea is to create a second chamber to put the sponge in so that not too much moisture is in the same space as the flute.
Keeping it away from the bamboo can prevent mold.
Just twist the bag at both ends and secure it with a rubber band.
With a little care, you can enjoy your flute for a life time, or more.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 04:27 PM | Comments (1)
November 04, 2005
Reworking Old Shakuhachi Flutes
Here's an old flute I recently upgraded from a nonfunctional flute to one that works in the tradition of the shakuhachi as a music instrument. There is much confusion about the shakuhachi instrument. The shakuhachi was never made as a meditation flute. it either worked as a shakuhachi or it didn't depending upon technical fingerings. Suizen practitioners used real shakuhachi instruments as part of their practice, they just didn't play music. If you understand the Japanese culture, you will know that the Japanese have an aesthetic based on refinement. The earliest users took the Xiao, which the Chinese already made into a functional flute, and brought it into another sphere with the bore worked. Those who made and blew on bamboo poles with holes drilled into them did not do so with any formal guidance or from any tradition. To say that these simple types of flutes were used by Suizen practitioners in Japan is perpetuates further misunderstandings of the shakuhachi outside of Japan.
Back to this little beauty. I found it in a dusty antique shop in Kyoto three years ago and only recently had a little time to work on it. When I first blew into it in, I knew right away it was a simple flute. Although beautiful as it was, it didn't play as an instrument. The Ou san didn't work nor did Chi Ru. And Chi Meri was impossible. I bought it anyway because I wanted the challenge of bringing it into the standards of a well playing shakuhachi flute. I was going to show it to Kinya and ask his advice but never got around to it since time in the shop was always so busy.
Three years later, I found that simple removal from resonance spots made a dramatic difference.
Originally, I thought I would have to open up some of the finger holes but it really came down to internal bore work. Just some removal from a few resonance spots and the notes began to ring. The Ou San worked and the Chi Ru and Chi Meri became possible. I love the process of discovering the amazing rich timbres these old flute have, which is very different from the modern shakuhachi. When people ask if I can make their old flute play to the specs of the modern shakuhachi, I say yes but why don't you buy a modern shakuhachi instead? The old ones have so much to offer if it can handle the traditional fingerings and if that's what you want, I can make your old flute play shakuhachi music
If I were to make this into a modern bore flute, it would'nt
SOUND LIKE THIS.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)