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The Shakuhachi
By Graham Ranft (teacher of flute and clarinet), TheWorldJournal.com

The shakuhachi is a 5-holed Japanese flute of some antiquity. Its predecessor was bought to Japan from China. It was developed into an instrument of great simplicity, yet its music is deep and profound, and haunting. Indeed its very construction reflects its Zen origins, simple, yet maximum effects from minimal means. It is played like a recorder or blockflte but blown like a western flute, but here the similarity ends.

It comes in many sizes and in fact the very name is its size: shakuhachi means a measurement of 1.8 - in today's terms approximately 54 cm. This size shakuhachi has as its bottom note D above middle C - the same pitch as the western flute. The other size that I play is the deeper toned 2.4 which is the same pitch register as the alto flute - its bottom note is A below middle C.

Despite its simple construction it is capable of great tonal variety and expression, from fierce rough notes to very soft tones with breathy timbres to add eloquence to the music. To produce differing sounds requires great concentration and subtle changes to the player's embouchure, or how the lips are shaped, when blowing as well as breath pressure and angle. Some notes, notably A flat and E flat are blown with the lips closer to the blowing edge giving a much softer note. This is again part of the quality of the music and this tonal variation is a part of the very fabric of the music. As also the loud breathy nearly un-pitched noise, which gives emphasis and dramatic colour.

There are many types of grace notes, ornaments and sound qualities to draw on, including different types of vibrato and head shakes to add a kind of grace note. Since tonguing is not used in the Honkyoko finger re-articulations are used - these sound like very short grace notes and all of these give the shakuhachi its characteristic sound.

Generally each phrase of the music takes one breath and whilst the notes are notated with rhythmic notation the duration of the notes are not strictly held, as in western music, but are learnt by the student. There is also the concept of space, "Ma", between the notes and phrases that is as much a part of the performance as the notes. The player tries to play each note in the right way at the right time. This is not indicated by the notated score, it is learnt from the teacher.

The term "honkyoko" means 'original music' or if you like, 'classical music'. Some pieces are brief and descriptive, some of great length and often austere or having spiritual overtones. In fact the monks who originally played this instrument - the Komuso - wandering monks, used these as a means of meditation called "Suizen" - blowing meditation.

Today there are three major schools of shakuhachi, Kinko, Chikuho and Tozan. Each has their own style of notation and repertoire. The main differences in notation styles are in the assignations of 'kana' or Japanese letters to the notes and the basic scripting style. Chikuho, which I am learning, is more like western notation in respect to rhythmic notation. In all systems the 'kana symbols indicate which hole to close or open, not the note. However the rhythmic notation in honkyoko is more a guide to note lengths than to strict rhythm.

The honkyoko are sometimes played as a way of personal spiritual development. A well-known phrase is "Ichi on jobutsu" - enlightenment in a single sound. Many of the titles have meanings that are a part of Zen Buddhism - "Reibo" Yearning for the Bell or Yearning for Enlightenment; "Sagari Ha: Falling leaves, alluding to the impermanence of all things.

For more information about the shakuhachi go to: www.shakuhachi.com for information and links to other shakuhachi sites including sound files.

I would like here to indicate my deep gratitude to my teacher Dai Shihan Riley Lee.

I acknowledge Monty Levenson's kind permission to use a picture of one of his shakuhachi.

September 18, 2000

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