Shakuhachi 2.1 - Rootless Bamboo Flute Shakuhachi Style - B Bass

The shakuhachi is a flute tuned to a pentatonic scale (5 notes). Through various fingerings – half and quarter holes – and controlling the angle of the mouthpiece against the lip, all twelve tones of the Western chromatic scale can be produced. The mouthpiece consists of an oblique blowing edge whose design is unique, as it allows the musician to control the tone produced by changing the angle at which the flute is being blown. This, in turn, produces a delicate change in intonation – a swelling or bending of notes characteristic of traditional music. Changes in embouchure, blowing intensity and cross fingerings allow the musician to create a wide variety of subtle and incredible sounds. The instrument’s timbre is soft in low tones, although it is equally capable of producing high, piercing and breathy tones in the middle and upper registers. Little can be said about the sound of the shakuhachi without first hearing its hauntingly beautiful playing. With this in mind, the notable ethnomusicologist Fumio Koizumi concluded: “Due to the religious origin of its music, the sound of the bamboo flute leads the mind directly to spiritual thought. Thus, a single tone of the shakuhachi can sometimes lead one to the world of Nirvana.”

Traditional Japanese music played on this instrument reflects the many voices of nature. Soft and warm, the summer rain. Worn and stormy, the autumn breeze through the bamboos. Shrill, like the cry of a wild duck with winter on its heels. Tranquil and sweet, like a mountain lake fed by early spring runoff.

Honkyoku, the “original music” of the shakuhachi, represents one of the main genres of traditional Japanese music. The name of the instrument is derived from an ancient measurement system, with shakuhachi being a corruption of i shaku ha sun, which literally means 1.8 feet, the length of the classical flute. Instruments ranging in size from 1.3′ to 2.4′ are used in concerts and flutes up to 3.2′, although less common, are also played.

(Source: www.shakuhachi.com)