[NetBehaviour] no-hole shakuhachi!

[Alan Sondheim]

no-hole shakuhachi!


http://www.alansondheim.org/nohole.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/nohole.mp3
http://www.alansondheim.org/nohole1.mp3


today, Perry Yung visited us, and brought us two e-flat no-hole
shakuhachi. this is, as it says, a shakuhachi flute with proper
mouthpiece and internal coating, but without fingerholes. it's a
wonderful and amazing gift! I had spoken to him about one
earlier; I wanted to see what I could do with a tube, how my
breathing would be affected, whether I could play it at all. I
also wanted to use it for breathing and thinking breathing.

the instruments were made from bamboo bought locally at Job Lot;
the interiors aren't smoothed, but similar to jinashi
shakuhachis. very simple instruments with four bindings. the two
use different bamboos; one has a wider bore and warmer tone, and
the other is heavier, with a narrower bore. they make beautiful
music, I think; reverberation has been added, that's all. these
pieces are probably as close to enlightenment as I'll ever get!

the nohole.mp3 is on the wider bore instrument, which surprised
me; the other is on the narrow bore. for listening, the first is
probably more successful, but for playing, they both raised me
off the floor.

(Perry made one for me and one for Azure; perhaps we can play
duets!)

with immense gratitude to Perry!