Sold: Mujitsu 2.5 Ab Jinashi

For sale I have my 2.5 Ab\ G# jinashi nobekan shakuhachi made by Ken LaCosse (Mujitsu). It is completely unadorned piece of Chinese Madake: so no lacquer in the bore or ji. The sound is mellow and breathy, the tuning very good.
Pictures and a song soon will be posted.
Price: 250 usd, sending 25 usd worldwide.

Here the sound of this flute:

European Shakuhachi School 2010 Praha

The European Shakuhachi Festival this year was awesome! The grand old city centre was an excellent spot to host an event like this. Literaly you could find concert sold at every corner of the street. There were even girls selling the 'shakuhachi'-concerts on the street which were held at the venue HAMU.  The selling theme was: music you haven't heared. For certain parts for me this was very true. The concerts were held in this old dungeon-like room (where also the group picture was taken): 

The acoustics were great, the music even greater! I have heared a lot of new musicians, new honkyoku, modern music for shakuhachi and contemporary music as well with other instrument like strings. Lovely! I posted a little about the latter in a previous entry.
This festival was the second bigger festival I attended, first was in Leiden in Holland. Both were quite different in ways but what is most special is the people who are present there. They all like of have some connection to the flute and are interested in the richness of its past: the essence of sound, stillness, the cultural background, Japan and zen to name a few; many more could be derived probably. It inspires me a great deal to be present and to be part of this energy.
To show some more:

Ro buki every morning:

Lectures to be had:

about cyber-shakuhachi this was...Maybe I'll write a bit about that later.

Workshops to be followed (and numerous they were, hardly time to eat...)

This one was held by Kees Kort about Indian Raga and the shakuhachi. 

But also about relaxing and having fun:

 Well relaxing? Not by my look of it...must have been the dark beer ;)
All in all a very succesfull and worthwile happening...Now I should start saving for 2012...

More free scores

On the site of Kurahashi I found many free scores, free to use. When checking the site lately I see there are even a bit more of them! How nice.
The scores can be seen on Kurahashi's page. Have fun with them.
Respect for 'tha man' who promotes the flute and the songs so boldly and humble.

Contemporary music

When joining the European Shakuhachi festival in Prague there was one concert dedicated to contemporary music. Intuitively I am not specifically fond of it, but I have to confess I am not highly aware of that field. I play shakuhachi mainly for the tradiotional pieces, aka honkyoku. But it came as a good surprise I really liked the concert! Maybe even most of them all (three were held). My grand favourite of that evening was the piece 'Mirage' composed by Elizabeth Brown for shakuhachi and string quartet. I also heared it was first performed at the International festival in Australia. Well I loved it! I was able to experience something when hearing it. Some contemporary song are so abstract that for me it hardly qualifies as music, more as art. But not for this song. See also: E. Brown's site.  The song can be listened by streaming audio at this location: Mirage Song for shakuhachi and string. It is pretty on the pc as well, but nothing like the real deal though.

Back on tracks

After pondering about some time about playing the shak and learning I've reached a decision: I don't want to go on the old way. I want to put more time in it! I guess it came all down to just choosing to get on with it. I had stopped my lessons for a while to see if I would go on without them, I did but missed the lesson and guidance as well. I had few lessons when I first started to play, then I was very entousiastic about it. Looking back I feel it has to do with a clear goal at that time: getting able to play the flute. Knowing it was hard was something that drived me. Currently I can 'play' the notes (which is a whole lot different then playing the flute) I hit a sort of plateau where progress was not so visible. I think I need to set a different goal this time. I was some time without. I hope to be able to specify this goal though, but I am in no hurry. Maybe a goal isn't very zen-like, but I don't care, the flute isn't all about that. I like to have some goal if it helps me to be kept inspired. I decided to start up the lessons, maybe even have a go at jinashi lessons sometime. I think the comming of the anual European School, which has passed when writing this I need to make a choice. And I did. The ESS (European Schakuhachi School) helped tremendously in energizing this choice. I only hope to keep this feeling sometime. I'll post some pics and thing I've learned at the ESS somedays later. Let's roll!

summer slowness

Hiya,

After some shakuhachi rest in the sense of playing less on a daily basis and also taking a break from lessons I try to get it up to my old inspirational level. Most of the times the break of it feels ok, but sometimes I feel bad about it. Interests in things waver naturally through time, but in starting to play this flute I din't expect this to happen to this...well it did. I still consider it 'my instrument' though. It just is a thing that need to be kept alive I guess.
Next event that comes up my path is the European Shakuhachi summerschool in Prague! I am already enthousiastic about it! To meet others and play together is perhaps the best thing to keep the spirit of playing and wanting to practice alive.

To sell or not to sell...?!

To sell or not to sell; that is my question. I have gathered some small collection of flutes. Some I play more then others, soms I enjoy playing more then the rest. Some are nominated for selling\ trading. But this time when I am the point to actually put it on the market again I begin to have doubts, I make a recording and listen and think: hey that has some special character to it. Maybe I should keep it. The afforiomented flute this time is the one pictured above: a Taisho era 1.9 Jinashi, two piece flute. It bears one hanko, probably of the owner, not a makers one. It has a white horn inlay and the sound is smooth and round. Not at all agressive. It is my 3rd Jinashi flute next to a Chinese madake version and a Kyotaku. If you want to take a listen, I recorded a personal version of Tsuki. Haven't  learned this one officially, so it is my interpretation.
Maybe when in doubt about parting with a flute...keep on to it a little longer (or make me an offer I can't refuse, ha ha).