Old Komuso Monks Shakuhachi

I am playing a Myoan Jinashi shakuhachi made around the turn of the century or as late the 1920's. It's has a sharp Chi and flat Ri, which is common on old flutes of this period. It's a bit of a struggle to play (in modern tuning), but I love the sound.



The funny thing is I was at a koto workshop with the extraordinary Yoko Hiraoko that morning and was just coming home on the subway. But as I waited for the train the tunnel it was the old flute that beckoned, not my modern 1.8 I' had been playing all morning. Go figure.



This old 1.7 Komuso Monk flute is available along with others.


The flutes pictured on my couch ranges from $300 - $2,000. The Nobe 1.8 and Choukan 2.8 YUNG flutes are spoken for. The others are Japanese made 1.8 Tensei Rebirth/Recycle instruments. Please inquire directly at perry (at) yungflutes (dot) com.

A deep bow, Perry

Vintage and Modern Shakuhachi Sounds

I recently refurbished two fine shakuhachi instruments. The first was made by Tadasuke around 1960 and the second by Gyokusui around 1990. I enjoyed discovering the voice of each flute and thought I share my discovery with you all. The Tadasuke has a larger bore and has more of a vintage sound. The Gyoksui has a standard modern bore profile and sounds brighter. The sound quality of this video, of course, is compromised by the mic and my playing :) Enjoy, Perry

Ivan Plays Shakuhachi in the NYC Subway

There are a few natural beginners on the shakuhachi. The flute is known to be one of the most difficult instrument of human kind, like the violin or human voice. It takes a lot of practice to just sound OK. Ivan was handed the flute and made a sound within seconds. Not everyone shares his experience :)

On another note, I've been contemplating whether or not I should keep this blog going. It was started as a temporary website when my old one was hacked and now that I have a newly designed one finished, I'm not suire what to do with this blogspot account. In the time being, those interested in viewing the new site can go here:

http://www.yungflutes.com

Namaste, Perry



Namaste, Perry

Florida ShakuhachI Camp

Hi all, here is an announcement from my friend Brian. If you've never been to one of Michael Chikuzen Gould's shakuhachi camps, I would highly recommend it.

Namaste, Perry

Great News!!!! We will be having a Florida Shakuhachi Camp in October of this year here in Florida. The camp will be taught by Michael Chikuzen Gould. It will be held October 9-11, 2009. For complete details see The Florida Shakuhachi Camp website located at: http://www.floridashakuhachi.com . The camp is limited to 7 participants to make sure that everyone who attends gets the full attention to their playing they deserve. Please check back often as the site will soon be updated with pictures of the cabins we will be staying in and the pieces we will be studying. I hope I see you there!

Balancing Shakuhachi

I've been rehearsing for a new La MaMa E.T.C. show the last two weeks and things are moving fast as usual. The show is Asclepeus, the Greek God of medicine. I play his father, Apollo. The cast is more than a cast. It is the Great Jones Repertory Group, some of the most daring actors, dancers and singers I know. I'm so happy to be working with them again. Here we are in the famous Annex theater in the East Village.


Although I'm in theater heaven, I've also been feeling a little schizophrenic with the shakuhachi. When the rehearsals first started, I was swept with a wave of frenetic energy that interrupted the solitude of working with bamboo. But, I think I found a great balance this week. I've been rehearsing for the Hot Peas and Butter show at the Tribeca Film Festival's Family Outdoor Festival and teaching more than I expected. For those in NYC who may want to hear some Latin pop Bamboo soul, come by Tribeca May 2nd 4pm - Main Stage on Greenwhich and North Moore streets.

Not sure if I can slip the shakuhachi into Asclepeus, but we'll see...

Here is today's Student level Wooden Japanese made 1.8 length shakuhachi.

I enjoy collecting these and fine tuning them so that they operate at a higher level in response and tone production. As a maker, it's interesting for me to see how I can improve them with simple adjustments, usually by undercutting the tone holes. Once they leave my shop, they produce a wider range of tone color, much closer to the dynamic qualities of a fine bamboo shakuhachi. It comes apart in the middle in two-pieces, just like the modern two-piece bamboo instrument.

When these wooden flutes were first made in Japan, the manufacturers hired professional musicians to fine tune them before they left the factory. These days, non shakuhachi players are employed to do the finishing work, resulting in flutes with less dynamic range. This one now plays like a fine hand tuned instrument.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions what so ever.
Have a great day! Perry

Tairaku is in the House!

Tairaku is in the house! Got a visit yesterday from Brian Tairaku Ritchie. Here he is trying a 1.2. Shorter flutes are more difficult to play in tune and usually requires the player to know the flute well as the "window" for blowing is smaller. I think Tairaku did a great job having just pick up this shorty for the first time. I ran out of memory on the video card just when Brian started to cook! Gotta get a 1GB card soon.