Excavation

This shakuhachi journey is a long one.

You can approach the shakuhachi from any of a number of different ways - all seemingly futile at first ;-D.

Right now I am playing my longer flute - the 2.4 - and trying to find all its "spots". I am trying to dig down deeper into the flute and understand how I must conform to the bamboo to produce the sound I want to hear.

This is complicated because that sound itself is somewhere off into the future. You can't produce it yet, so all you have to go on are recordings, other players you may hear and your teacher.

All you can do in the beginning is practice and be patient. More of the former, less of the latter will help speed you along, but there are - as they say - no shortcuts.

I haven't played my 2.4 much since getting it a couple of years ago. This is why I am thinking in these terms now. I've played the 1.8 (the "regular" sized flute) a lot and that definitely helps to a degree, but the 2.4 is still a different animal.

The 1.8 is used in almost all the ensemble music and the longer flutes are used for the zen honkyoku. Their lower, mellower tone is perfectly suited for that music.

So this is where we get into the power of practice.

It seems an impossible task at first. The sound you are making versus the sound of great players with their fully developed tone and technique. And even if you can achieve a modicum of the vibe you're attempting, it will quickly leave you - in mere days - if you don't stay on top of it.

It is definitely a lifetime commitment, but one that is beyond gratifying if you can stay with it.