The Shakuhachi

One of Kakizakai sensei's Australian students, David Dixon, a viola player at the Sydney Opera House told me about when he and a couple other of the Aussie students were wandering through an antique shop near here. They came across some second hand shakuhachis which they tried but turned out to be of very poor quality. There was a man there who did restoration work and upon discovering that they were students of shakuhachi sat down with a paper and his brush. With two strokes he drew Mount Fuji. At the foot of Fuji, he drew a squiggle representing a snail. He then said "To learn shakuhachi is like a snail trying to climb Mt Fuji."

David told me this story after a lesson when I had not been able to make a sound on my shak. I spent the half hour just moving my fingers and blowing in time with the music. Kaoru (Kakizakia sensei is called by his first name by his foreign students) had assured me that I had done fine. At that point, my rhythmn and fingering were most important. "When a master has a bad day, we wouldn't recognise the difference. When a student has a bad day the difference is very evident."

I later went through a minor freak out about it and hence David's story. That story has become important to me. It helps me to appreciate every little improvement in my playing. It had only been a few weeks and there is quite a bit that I had learned in such a short time. Shakuhachi study is measured in years, not weeks.

Perhaps the intensive way in which I am studying and living has caused me to think of my time with the instrument as being longer than it really is. I have three lessons a week. Monday and Wednesday here in Chichibu and Saturday I ride into a Tokyo suburb where Kaoru teaches at his in-laws house.

Saturday's lesson is when we tend to sit in on other student's lessons. For me, I enjoy it and learn from it. I get to hear more advanced pieces. A woman student is learning a duet at the moment. Very beautiful. I also get to hear Kaoru playing live, which is very important in the learning. To hear his playing helps me to tune my ear to the sound of the shak and the possible variations of sound available.

When I began my studies with Kaoru, it was the beginning of my real learning. I had been blowing on my shak for six months and had had two lessons in Oz, however, I started from the beginning with Kaoru. He puts a lot of emphasis on the embouchure. That's the shape of the lips but also the inner mouth as well. It was my seventh lesson before he told me that I had a basic understanding of the different elements. That was many lessons ago and I'm still working on my embouchure. It has improved alot, however, to hear me play 'ro' (the lowest note) and hear him play the same note...

One of my biggest challenges has been to relax while playing. I am moving closer and closer to this state and as I do so I discover many things. Of course, during my lessons, the fantastic abilities that I had reached at home magically disappear.

A little about the music notation. Each traditional instrument in Japan has it's own notation system. And, for each instrument, there are several schools. The Shakuhachi has three current ones that I know of. Each school has it's own notation system as well. So, when different traditional instruments play together, I have been told that they use the western notation system, which is very different from what I am learning. The notation system that I am learning uses symbols from the phonetic alphabets. It's sort of like "do", "re", "mi" in the west. Time is marked with small slashes and different octaves of the same note are like wise indicated with various marks. Partial tones are indicated with marks across the note symbols. I find it easy, most of the time.

Having only five holes in a piece of bamboo means that various notes are created by uncovering parts of holes and tilting of the head. Having Kaoru demonstrate helps immensely.


Now to the picture. That's my new shakuhachi. Last September, I purchased a shakuhachi made in Australia out of Tasmanian Tiger Myrtle. My first lesson with Kaoru, he asked to play it. I passed it right over. He quickly discovered that one tone was flat. He asked if I would like him to fix it. I said, "of course". He went to his tool kit, pulled out a knife and started carving the inside of one of the holes. Several scrapings and blowings later, he was satisfied. He then carved the outside of the bottom hole to make it more oval. This, he explained, would make it easier to play some notes. I asked him about buying a new shakuhachi while I was here. He told me that he would recommend the shakuhachi's made by Miura-san. If I could not afford that then for half the price, he knew another maker in Tokyo whose flutes were of consistent quality. I thought on it for a few days. At the next lesson, I spoke with him again about buying a new shak. He gave the same recommendation. He said, "A student should play a Stradavarius. A master can play a lesser instrument." I asked him to order a Miura for me. I said that I would transfer the money to his account the next day. He said to wait until the shakuhachi had arrived. He then said, "One never knows how long it will take him to have the shakuhachi ready for you. I will explain that you will be leaving in six months and maybe it will be ready before you leave." !!!

I later learned that people expect to wait up to a year for one of Miura-san's shakuhachis.

Next lesson, Kaoru explained that he had spoken to Miura-san. The price of his flutes had gone up by $1000.00. However, he happened to be making a 1.8 shakuhachi at the moment and he would let me have it at a discount. I considered for half a second and said, "Yes". Two weeks later I had my new 1.8 shakuhachi. I took it home and couldn't stop playing it. It was like having a new lover. The sound is beautiful and it is easier to play.

I should explain that shakuhachi come in different lengths. The longer the shak the lower the tone. A "shak" is a measure roughly equivalent to a foot (30cm). "Hachi" means eight. So, 'shakuhachi' actually means 1.8 shak. The 1.8 is the length that one begins with. Most of the shakuhachi music that you hear is played on longer shakuhachis; 2.2, 2.4, 2.7. 3.0. I asked Kaoru if you needed more power to play the longer shaks and he said that the real difference is that you need to be more precise. Hence the beginning with the 1.8. Though most recordings are of the longer shaks, the 1.8 makes a beutiful sound and is also a pleasure to hear.

At the end of my last lesson til next October, Kaoru said, "Beginners do not increase their skill gradually. They go along at the same level and then jump suddenly. To keep going until that jump happens is very difficult. You made that jump." I know exactly the day when that happened. About ten days ago, during a lesson, a part of the puzzle fell into place that made a huge difference and brought so many elements together. I'm feeling ready to be away from my teacher for three months.