« Match.com For Shakuhachi | Main | More on Jinashi and Jiari flutes! »
October 04, 2007
Jiari and Jinashi shakuhachi
Hi all, I have here in front of me two 2.4 shakuhachi. The Jiari is made by Kono Gyokusui, the senior. The other is my Chikusing 2.4.
Both flutes play very very differently. They feel different. They are constructed differently. In the shakuhachi world, this would be the difference between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. One thing that initially surprised me as I played them both back to back was how similar they both sounded. At least to my ears. When I first notice this, I started to examine the issue. Why did these two very very different feeling flutes sound so similar. I picked each one up and tried the same musical passage while comparing and notating the differences in playability. But time after time, I was stuck with the similar tonality even though the playing felt physically different. Then it occurred to me that I was playing them the way that I want a shakuhachi to sound. I was manipulating the tone to have the harmonic balance I like in a shakuhachi sound.
I am playing the Gyokusui first. I am sure you can hear differences but there seems to be more similarities.
As I thought more about it, I was reminded that my teachers sound the same even when playing on different flutes.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at October 4, 2007 08:06 PM