Hideo meets the guitar.

                                                                There are some instruments that pair very well with the shakuhachi  and those that most certainly do not. Sure, this is subject to the ears and magic of the listener ,so it is all relative. The koto and other Japanese instruments are among the most likely to be appreciated in duets or ensembles. And many western style instruments pair well also. I feel the classical guitar belongs in this group. Well, both the classical and standard steel stringed acoustic work well with the range of the shakuhachi and in the right key can be beautiful together. I'd LOVE to explore this relationship someday and to bring these two together. Currently, I own two guitars: a fender stratocaster electric from 2000 and a beautiful classical guitar from Cordoba.

 This Fender is not really going to be a duet partner any time soon. Just a bit too harsh for me and I'm going to save that for later when I have been able to improve my classical guitar playing. but I must say, I adore this guitar and with the Fender amp, sound sampling and various effects I can play with, it's a delight to play. I have had this guitar twice: I sold it way back in 2004 and regretted it greatly. So I bought it again a few years ago and will not do that again.







    Now, my Cordoba "Dolce" classical guitar is something I truly cherish. I looked high and low for a reasonably priced classical that was not only a wee bit smaller in size, to accommodate these smaller hands, but also was beautiful to gaze my eyes upon. This is what I found...

 Is this not a stunning guitar?!

   

 So, I was able to find something that would be a perfect fit with any other instruments I could play and be in my price range. I've now had this Dolce since 2009 and adore it! While not exactly the best classical guitarist by any means, when I'm playing well and the fingers work, it is a joy.  The left hand fretting fingers have never been the same since almost losing the hands in a cat bite incident in 2013 and subsequent week long hospital stay. My fingers on both hands had bites to the bone as well as major infections within. They still have trouble bending on some days so that makes any guitar playing problematic and difficult. But...working on that issue and hopefully can get back to where I was with it a few years before the feline kiss.



  So there you have it. Perhaps I can marry these two instruments together someday and lay down tracks to play them. There are some wonderful pieces for both that could be fun to duet with. Could be interesting to find someone to play with and experiment. :-)

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Back to normalcy.

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                                                            The last three weeks have been a disaster a far as shakuhachi practice and study go. No excuses other than the meds I'm on as well as a feeling of not being myself...well, they all have combined to make my favourite instrument something less than desirable.
So, a few days without practice happened. Now, I'm finally on the track to healing as the strep and viruses have been eliminated. Time to get back to practice and playing!

I'm very fortunate to have the small collection of flutes that I do. In addition to the shakuhachi I own, my collection also includes many Native American flutes as well. I started on these years before embarking on the journey with the shakuhachi, and they remain in my collection, never to be sold.


These include flutes made by Michael Allen, Geoffrey Ellis and Butch Hall. All are works of art and highly treasured. >>>>>>>>>>>>

So, onward I go , ready to get back to where I was before the grip of strep and ick.

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Practice time when sick...ugh.

                 
                                                                            This last weekend was the first time since October 26th that I had not played my flute.I knew eventually it would happen due to something. This time, it was moving weekend for my sweetie, from West Linn to north Portland. This will make her so much closer to me in distance and only a 15 minute drive away instead of an hour or so. So due to the moving, I just didn't have time to play or practice.

                      Then, I came down with a nasty upper respiratory virus that is making me feel horrible and breathing not so great. And it does not help with the embouchure at all, either.
So, now what does one do if practice is tough and not something really all too productive?
Well, first off, I DID play a wee bit to get the streak started again and hope to keep it going this time.



                                                                             



Time to get out the history books and search for new tidbits, or watch some Japanese films, trying to spot a shakuhachi or komuso monk! Yeah, this is a day (or two, three) for simply getting over this bug. First book to peruse....shakuhachi porn!!!
Of course it is not REAL porn, but Monty Levenson's Shakuhachi Sourcebook, a grand catalog for players and students to drool over and dream of. So many goodies in here I'd love to own, especially more books and sheet music. While shakuhachi materials can be had in some many places, I have never seen as large a selection available anywhere.

                  http://www.shakuhachi.com/

That's about all I'm going to blog today. Now to head back to resting up and getting over this damned virus.


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