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February 19, 2008
Lunar New Year Photos
Here's a couple of shots from the Lunar New Year gig at Springfield Central High in Massachusetts. It was a lot of fun playing to the young crowd. Tony Silva accompanied on percussions.
Explaining the origin of the shakuhachi, how it probably originated in India and migrated through China, Korea and finally into Japan.
Most Chinese celebrate their ancestors on the Lunar New year. I am improvising in honor my great great grandfather who migrated here from Guangzhou, China but was stuck on Angel Island, San Francisco in the 1880's.
Happy 4075th new year of the Rat!
Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2008
Rattan Inlay Binding Saves Shakuhachi
Here is a repair this week where one single rattan binding saved the flute from completely splitting open along the top section of a two-piece 1.8.
Notice how the single inlay stopped the crack from going through to the top. It was originally added as a preventative measure and it certainly did it's job. It was bound very tight. Had it not been for this, the crack could have forced it to come apart and come through the top. I've seen that happen many times.
Even though through the crack was huge on the exterior, the bindings on each end prevented the ji paste inside from cracking open.
If you look carefully, you can barely see the presence of the binding inside the bore pressing into the Ji paste. It's very minimal but it's there. This is a sign that the binding was performed with a lot of tension.
Ji paste is plaster. Like plaster on the wall of an old house, it will crack if there is movement on the foundation. The best thing to do is bind the bamboo as tightly as possible to stabilize in order to prevent more movement. This may result in the interior walls showing the pressure of the bindings slightly protruding in. I've seen this on many old flutes repaired by masters. I always ask everyone I've done inlays for whether the flute plays differently afterwards. No one has every siad that there was. The usual response is, "It plays great!" My own opinion is that it's very difficult to tell if there is a difference resulting from the bindings. A flute feels different to some degree from moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day, season to season, on stage or off. To be able to attribute any difference in playability to the bindings would mean that the player probably only plays that one flute and has a very special connection with it. Most players I know plays several flutes.
Have a great day and keep your flutes humidified to about 50%.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 09:44 AM | Comments (0)