Lesson 2 and 3

Lesson 2 and 3 have passed, on writing this.


The focus was mainly on playing Kan notes:
* playing Ro, Tsu, Re, Ri and Go no Hi start blowing and halfway blow 'over' to kan-register. Sometimes moving the thumb just a little will help to get the tone.
A tip, or more a technique, (I think of vital importance) is this:
http://www.shakuhachiflutes.com/blow.htm
This technique of not blowing helped me a lot getting the right pressure behind my breath. Its the feeling in your abdomen of blowing a balloon.
A beautyfull song is is Wooden Ship from Uttara Kuru. Listen to it on I-meem:
http://www.imeem.com/runtor/music/U8UG1dmC/uttarakuru_wooden_ship/
Just try to play along (with a 1.8 D), it doesn't have meri notes of any kind, just the standard pentatonic ones...It goes up high though...but it is good to practise the change of otsu to kan (and it's a pretty song)...
* On the lessons I have several sheet music I play as well, those you will not find here. But on a few of them starting out with the beginning try to improvise in the feel of the music, use all you have learned or know in it.
* Also in these lessons I learned or attempted to play the B and E; one semitone down of C (Ri) and F( Tsu).

Lesson 1 and first post

Monday 17 November. My first message in this Blog! This is a Blog about the wonderfull flute called the shakuhachi. I started to have lessons 3 weeks ago and bought my Shakuhachi Yuu.
See for more details: http://www.shakuhachiyuu.com/



As you can see I painted the Yuu look more original and bamboo-like with a stainer.
I didn't use any lacquer, so the stain will slowly become more faint.

First lesson for this month:

* play ro loud as long as possible on one breath: otsu ro. Repeat. Do the same but then as soft as you can, trying to let the sound 'ring' inside your head.

* Play ro, tsu, re, chi, ri as loud as you can on one breath, think a wide breath.

* Play those same note's, start in de lower otsu register then overblow to kan register (2nd register).

* Play re, then by tilting the flute make it sound lower: meri and by doing the opposite make it higher: kari.

* Play re meri softly and slowly make it louder en less meri, so you go from re meri to re on increasing volume.

* Practise the articulating of these notes.

These are the starters with some additional sheet music.