"Buddy can you spare a shakuhachi?"

Part II in a continuing series of articles about shakuhachi and the enduring economic crisis

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about forward looking shakuhachi makers and dealers who were offering time payments on shakuhachi: Shakuhachi Prices: "Do you take unemployment checks?"

In the article I made special mention of the late Tom Deaver and his efforts to make Bei Shu shakuhachi available to customers the world over through time payments. Sadly with Tom now gone it is safe to say that no individual maker has a written policy in English on this practice if they do offer it.

In the past couple of days I noticed that Mejiro is offering time payments on shakuhachi for overseas customers. They have had an in-store policy for lay-away sales, but have never extended it to online overseas customers. Their no returns policy for their time payment plan might be reason for caution, but it does show some adaptation to the times in which we live.

As much of a pain in the ass it is to do bookkeeping on time-payments, and further complicating a maker's or dealer's life, having written and advertised payment plan policies only seems like good business sense for people who want to increase shakuhachi sales and cash flow.

It seems to be a preferable alternative to sitting on a lot of expensive inventory and hoping things wiil just "turn around."

Another thing I've noticed on Mejiro's site is that their recent additions of used shakuhachi seem to me starting at a prices about 10-percent lower than previously instruments of about the same grade. Just an observation, there, but something to ponder.

I don't think Darwin's theory ever actually said "only the strongest survive" but it most certainly explained that the most adaptable survive — and, in fact, thrive.

Shakuhachi Workshop with Peter Hill, July 25

Shakuhachi Workshop with Peter Hill
2:00 pm, Sunday, July 25
Media Center/Communication Bldg., UCSD

Peter Hill will be in San Diego the week of July 25 to 31 giving shakuhachi lessons and holding a workshop on the 25th.

Lessons will also be available during the week following the workshop.

Here's Peter's description of the workshop:

Most workshops and lessons on shakuhachi focus on learning traditional or modern pieces. This workshop will spend time on how to make every note one plays sound as good as possible, thus making the pieces sound as good as possible.

We will focus on three elements that are key to playing shakuhachi well:

1. How to make a good sound: embouchure and breath control.

2. How to make the traditional pieces sound authentic:what are the various aspects of the Japanese musical aesthetic; how does one produce them with the shakuhachi.

3. How to make the flute sing, that is how to play the shakuhachi musically.

--

This is a workshop that will be of value to all students, from beginner to advanced.

Lessons are $50. The workshop is $25.

For details and to schedule a lesson, contact:
Bruce Jones
bjones@ucsd.edu
619-823-8281

Rest In Peace, Tom Deaver

"A major figure in the transmission of shakuhachi ... One of my favorite shakuhachi Tomism's, 'Do what you think is right.' He's done his work well. Thanks Tom." — Ken LaCosse, Mujitsu Shakuhachi, San Francisco

Dressed layer
upon layer,
I wear a new bamboo hat
and go home.
— Jowa, 1785

Messages on the passing of Tom Deaver on Shakuhachi Forum

Yamaguchi Goro & Aoki Reibo II - Shika no Tone -one reel- shorter version

Waiting for Kiku, July 9

It seems like only Yesterday ...

Waiting for Kiku Day, July 7

http://shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?pid=32894

Shakuhachi Watch, June 30: Modern Komuso 2.0 Hocciku and a great 2.8 (UPDATED)

No self-respecting komuso should be without one: A 2.0 (C) shakuhachi-in-the-raw:

NICE 2.O HOCCHIKU SHAKUHACHI BAMBOO FLUTE PERRY YUNG

If you are interested in learning Nezasa Ha (Bamboo Grass sect) music with that penetrating, pulsing komi-buki breath, a 2.0 is a must and a well-tuned, raw jinashi (hocciku) like this one shouldn't be missed. Very hard to find, particularly one made by an experienced maker at an affordable price. This is such a one. Discounted from $600 to $450.

And then this Absolute No-Brainer from Perry if you are looking for a 2.8 and don't have 3-grand to spend on one:

2.8 nobekan shakuhachi with IVORY utaguchi inlay

Unbelievably good price.

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum GRAND RE-OPENING!

GO! shakuhachiforum.com

Shakuhachi Beat going to Pittsburgh; back on the 29th

New Age Nazi

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 10

BBQ Dancing

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 9

World's Biggest Turban

Shakuhachi Watch, June 23: Buying a shakuhachi good for lessons

1.8 Chikusen Tamai Shakuhachi from Perry Yung on Vimeo.

AUTHENTIC TOZAN 1.8 JAPANESE SHAKUHACHI BAMBOO FLUTE! MASTER made CHIKUZEN TAMAI Powerful Dynamic GUARANTEED

A flute like this starting out at $800 is a very good bet. It's a circa 1970 shakuhachi, meaning modern tuning but not without character. Perry offers a 30 day trial guarantee. If your teacher thinks this flute will work for you, it's a great way to learn (on a master craftsman piece of bamboo).

Also on eBay:

1.8 "D" shakuhachi japanese bamboo flute Kazan

I actually played this flute and liked it. At the time I was looking for a very loud, strong, hard sounding flute, so I didn't purchase it. It's thick but relatively lightweight, mellow in tone, but very, very capable. Great looks and feels good. I think it's at least a Cap size 8. I found it very comfortable to play. Made by an old Tozan master maker using the KAZAN hanko. As I recall it was culled from the collection of Yoshinobu Taniguchi and was resold through Alcvin Ramos of Ryuzen Shakuhachi in British Columbia. I'm not sure if the instrument is tuned A440, but I remember it being close enough. Ask for an audition for a week or two if your teacher thinks an older Tozan is okay for your lessons.

Other related topics

A few Kitahara Seika 1.8 shakuhachi are being seen on eBay. Very reliable maker. If you are buying this for lessons, ask if the shakuhachi is tuned to A=440 (A440). It is very important that when playing for most teachers that your shakuhachi be in tune to A440 give or take a couple of "cents". Some modern shakuhachi are tuned A442 even as high as A444. Ask your teacher if that is okay. Trying to take formal lessons on older shakuhachi tuned to A434 or A436 will prove very frustrating if that particular teacher is using an A440 tuned instrument. Older shakuhachi that are tuned lower than A440 are fine as long as your not using them for lessons, playing ensemble music or with fixed pitched instruments. Some of them sound even better tuned slightly lower. BUT if you're taking lessons, A440, maybe as high as A442, is the way to go.

You might be able to work with an A438 flute, but your teacher needs to accommodate for that. Most beginning students play too flat to begin with. A438 is about 8 cents flat.(A434 is about 25-cents flat). It takes time and effort to learn how to play up to the full tuning potential of your flute. If your flute is flatter than modern pitch (A440) then your learning curve may be steeper or worse, impaired. Shakuhachi asks of it's students to play some notes a semitone flatter (F to E), sometimes a whole tone (F-E-flat or D to C). Sometimes even lower! You need _room_ to adjust to these pitch changes, so the tuning of your flute is important. A good teacher will explain this to you.

(p.s.: I have run into one or two teachers who might attempt to sell you shakuhachi tuned lower than A440 because they say that the style you're learning requires very strong breath and you will learn to blow the shakuhachi "up to pitch". --This was told to me about a flute tuned to A434 which is about 25-cents flat of A440-- If I were you, I'd strongly consider a. Not buying that shakuhachi, no matter how 'old' or 'great' it is; and b. Finding a new teacher. There's only so much bullshit a shakuhachi student has to accept as gospel, no matter what degree, rank or license that teacher has. A good teacher will not try to sell you a "specialty" instrument for formal lessons, regardless of school, ryu or sect. I'll publish any and all challenges to that statement, too.)

Also seen on eBay recently: a couple of older shakuhachi refurbished by Monty Levenson of Tai Hei Shakuhachi aka www.shakuhachi.com. Monty is a stickler for pitch so a shakuhachi with his maker's hanko or repair-hanko are pretty sure bets for playability and usability in lessons (the repair hanko, although in kanji, looks like the initials "TCM" from a distance). Always double-check with your teacher and always get a returnable audition window of a couple of weeks; longer if your face-to-face teachers are difficult to get to.

Remember your job is to learn shakuhachi. Your job is not to purchase a shakuhachi to make a seller happy.

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 8

Twiddling Thumbs

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 7

Underwater brass band

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 6

Watching grass grow

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 5

Truck driving video

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 4

Playing Solitaire

Mujitsu's & Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ a.k.a. Shakuhachi Forum on Hiatus: DAY 3

Cute baby video

Shakuhachi Grand Master Kakizaki Kaoru in L.A. this weekend!

Kaoru Kakizakai will be in LA this coming weekend (6/19 & 6/20). The original plan was for him to be at the Windward School, but they're turning off the electricity (something about maintenance) so we're gathering at Bill Schultz's place in Marina del Rey.

Still some lesson slots available, and two good group classes are scheduled for late Sunday afternoon.

Contact Bill at shozan@prodigy.net for details.

Awesome opportunity, L.A. folks!

To learn more about Kakizakai-sensei:
http://www.kakizakai.com/
http://www.shakuhachi.com/R-Shaku-Kakizakai.html

Shakuhachi BBQ: No modicum of decorum on Forum

So maybe I was falling on my sword a bit when I was copping to being a contributing part of the recent disturbances at Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ aka "Shakuhachi Forum".

If you haven't noticed yet, the Forum is on a brief hiatus. This may have been what has prevented you from posting on your favorite topic for the past two days. Better cancel that service call to AOL. ;0)

I have been reassured from the forum admins that the hiatus will be brief.

As with the last time the Forum took a fishing holiday, the main reason lay in the utter exhaustion (and numbing boredom) of the admins dealing with "the usual posturing, grandstanding and general nastiness from and between a handful of members."

No names were mentioned. I'm almost sorry mine wasn't. My contribution to the forum is a steady spooning out of sarcasm-lite emboldened by a dangerously thin functional knowledge of shakuhachi. In-other-words, I'm generally not taken seriously. (Thus my self-image as a rabble-rousing rebel and innovative thinker has been thrown off the cliff of Higher Knowledge and dashed senselessly to the bloodied Rocks of Reality below where my ego writhes in pity and self-contempt, cast aside like a sucked orange. But I digress ...)

Brian and Ken actually "struggle" to maintain a balance between "Free Speech" and providing a modicum of decorum befitting a forum about shakuhachi (sorry for the rhyme scheme).

I wouldn't be anywhere near so generous. It's just too damn bad that we don't have software that has a good "IGNORE" function on the BBQ. I think some of the mutual poop-casting might diminish if it did.

The Forum does have a BAN function, however. It's just that the admins would have to play the damnable job of pulling the hangman's trap door: comparisons to Stalin, Mao or the H-name wouldn't be far behind. More trudging through the muck, more soul-sucking boredom. End of History.

Why bother?

In my deepest, darkest fantasy I await my appointment as Shakuhachi BBQ Judge-Jury-&-Executioner. That'll fulfill my Napoleon Complex (the true reason behind any blogger's motivation).

Then Brian and Ken can just blame me.

Until then, if you think you are part of the problem that is mucking up our Beloved Shakuhachi BBQ Forum, c'mon over to a little temporary Google Group called "International Shakuhachi Collective" that I have hastily set up and populated with a lot of smart-ass topic threads. Either respond to one of my teasers or start your own thread and give it your best. I really want to hear from you uncensored and out in the open. 'Kay? Love ya! xoxoxoxo

http://groups.google.com/group/international-shakuhachi-collective

The International Shakuhachi Collective (The People's Republic of Big Bamboo Love & Goodwill) will close upon the Grand Re-Re-Opening of Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ aka "Shakuhachi Forum."

For history on the first BBQ hiatus of 2009 read: http://shakuhachibeat.blogspot.com/2009/02/shaku-ouchy-forum-and-other-tails.html#comments

Enjoy your vacation, boys! Y'all come back now, ya' hear?