Meditation blues...

                                                       Since the last post on this blog, my shakuhachi practice has slowed due to so many things. Then I realized how often I have typed that same whine over the last few years.                                           

                                                                                        Why?                 

                                                     
       Seriously, why is it so hard to practice and keep up with this beautiful instrument and play more? Well, as an extrovert with distractions and shiny things easily overtaking me, there is no wonder why I cannot progress!! Discipline!!! That is what I need most of all. How do I maintain that?

                             

                                                           For two years, between 2014 and 2016, I kept a daily log/journal of my practice times, what I played, songs, etc. And I was pretty good about that, sometimes skipping a day or two. But I never seemed to really progress past the same three or four songs and daily Ro or Tsu exercises. Granted those are very valuable and necessary. My budget isn't able to afford lessons again so I'm still on my own. If I could just keep from being distracted. The shakuhachi is a part of me. A bit of my soul, my mind and heart. And whether in simply meditative play, or learning  piece of honkyoku... it is not something that will be disappearing from my life. Being part of the shakuhachi community is also huge for me, though as of late I have not been delving into that, things being a bit of a mess in the busy sense. Therefore, something needs to change if I have any hope of progressing. A few possibilities:


                                                                       
                                         Mindset.

Why do I HAVE to learn songs and classic Japanese shakuhachi pieces? Well, I DON'T have to but they are an essential part of the repertoire and really need to be played.
But, that does not mean they are a daily goal. I have toyed with the idea of transcribing classical Western piano pieces into shakuhachi music, though sure, some notes need to be adjusted due to scale.



The photo at left truly calls me. We need to stop and take in our surroundings and be happy. Sometimes that means just blowing Ro or any other note we like, practicing breath control or meditating on the sounds, the connection with the soul, the heart. <3     This....this is what I will try to do. Not push myself so that I get discouraged. Enjoy, relax...play.




                                                                           Breathe

My focus has always been on trying to learn songs. But there have been MANY teachers, if not all, who focus us on breathing for the first lessons. In fact, a few have had their students do this for the first entire year before learning more. This, I believe, is sound and solid advice. And , definitely good for the player, whether in performance or meditation.


So, like lat time, I will be keeping a diary and journal of my playing, breathing/playing Ro or any other note to lengthen my breath. This admittedly worked well for me last time and I was able to get to a full minute in playing without taking a breath. though in songs, this was not necessary.






                                                                       Enjoy!


                                           The playing of the shakuhachi means different thing to every player or listener. As a musician of a variety of instruments over the years, none has captivated my like the shakuhachi. And the joy, the feelings and soul that it brings me are truly magical! Why make it a drudgery?



I'm not going to be some professional performer, nor even a busker on the corner. Though I admit the latter sounds fun if i get good enough. But, "getting good enough" is what i need to discount and not concentrate on. Just have fun, enjoy and move on at your own pace!







In final, the new year approaches and again I start with a list of "goals" to accomplish. None of them are absolute and that...makes me happy. Just be. Live. breathe. Enjoy!!  <3 <3 <3

Summer break is over!!

                                  The long break taken from summer's beginning till now is over!

The summer began with family related distractions that included my mother's cancer treatments, work on my photography business and an assortment of things. This seems to be a common thing with me and musical instruments, making it tough to really progress beyond the beginner stages to intermediate. So as usual, I immerse myself in the music, gaining back the desire and thrill that had
overtaken me before. Before you know it, I have returned to the place previously at. This is not a bad thing but not good either, certainly not positive. What I NEED is to have a daily practice routine that
takes my soul to another place. For two years I did this and enjoyed it.

Then, life and other interests creep in and there it goes. Add to this the hair dynamic. Yep, the hair dynamic. As has been mentioned before, adding lip facial hair to the appearance does NOT prove to be positive for playing. Simply put, it is difficult to get the embouchure right on the shakuhachi with a "soul" patch on my lower lip. But damn, I really like the look currently and need to practice and find a way around this. With my Celtic flute and whistles, this is never a problem at all. 

    So, now to work around this feature and make the shakuhachi sound good with said hirsute addition! This moustache combo is a mere 8 weeks old and isn't going anywhere for the time being. Time to accept it.


Well, there is an update. Now all I need to accomplish is a new calendar of practice times and get out the books, CD's and sheet music. Again, I am determined as usual, let's see how it goes.

Needed a break!

                                                       After the last post in March, things changed a wee bit with life and I took a much needed break from flute playing. Life can throw curve balls at one so the best way to deal with that requires adjustments and decisions. The flutes took a rest in their cases for almost two months and my focus went towards my mother and her cancer situation as well as genealogy and running. Admittedly, I have WAY too many interests that I try to devote time to and they need to be whittled down to a manageable number. But really, is that necessary? No, not at all. My focus simply needs to be on whatever I like at that moment. Having so many interests merely makes me a Seumas of all trades and master of none! Therefore, from now through the end of June, my dedicated focus will be shakuhachi, genealogy and Buddhist philosophy as well as running. And mum, of course. :-)

                                                          Shakuhachi wise, my task at hand is getting back to breathing exercises and maintaining a long Ro or Tsu pattern of at least 30 seconds with consistency as I have had some issues lately. My style and embouchure has changed a bit due to the growth of facial hair on my lip. Last month I mentioned how the look I enjoyed was causing some issues with sound production and embouchure obtain-ability. After some determined practice and experimentation, I found that I could indeed play with said hirsuteness and still maintain control. Granted, the level of sound volume and strength is not there as without the patch under my lip, but I shall work with this and see where it takes me. After all, many player including my former teacher, Larry Tyrrell have beards and facial hair in that area without issues. I just need to PRACTICE!

                                                            Music wise, my need to learn more songs and pieces is essential. I'm sad to be so horrible at this with only three small songs completed in all this time. I can improvise well, though , and therefore it has not been a waste of time. Larry's "The Alder Bough" and Koga's Shakuhachi manual will be ALL I delve into until I find I can move on further. Yes, as mentioned last year, "Tamuke" will still be the ultimate piece for me to learn. Still have my sights set on that!

Now....FOCUS!!! Do not let distractions sway me into doing other things. if is is shakuhachi related, that is fine to some degree. I still need to read the new book purchased in February: >>>>>>>>>

This I promise to do by the mid part of May and will report on soon. So many books, so little time!!


Now off I go to practice, read and stay away from electronic devices as much as I can without going insane!!

Springtime flute adventures!

                                                             In December I started to grow a moustache and patch to change up the look a we bit and really have enjoyed having them But, alas, they both completely affected my embouchure and blowing with the shakuhachi and the Celtic flute, making them unplayable and indeed a depressing thought. To NOT play my flutes and enjoy the music I love was simply not going to happen. It was tough to do but I shaved the combo off on Saturday evening and am smooth faced yet again.








What I WILL do this time is grow it back slowly and see at what point of growth the whiskers make the playing difficult. It could be that I'm able to have a few weeks growth and still maintain playability! Day one is starting today, 6 March 2017. Will update next blog post. :-{-)-








                                                              The newest addition to the study and playing guides is the Grey Larson volume on Irish flute and whistle. This successful and truly "essential" book has now found it's way to my collection affter a year of searching. Thank you Powell's Books!! The time is nigh to practice my a** off and get some songs under my belt. This has not been easy, primarily due to my own inability to schedule and stick to it. I have never been good at practicing no matter what instrument. The family tree/genealogy part has taken over a lot of the time I have. Now to readjust my schedule and time!! The Alder Bough by Larry Tyrrell is a great way to learn Celtic music on the shakuhachi!

New shakuhachi book!

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                             Admittedly, with all of the centuries of music, history and culture related to our favourite flute, there isn't a very extensive collection of books pertaining to it translated into English. Granted, just my personal opinion. Now, in Japanese, there are more options and volumes available to the player and aficionado. Some of us find every book that is available and add them to our libraries, enriching the knowledge as best we can.

                             So, a few weeks ago I noticed a post on the Facebook groups regarding a new book of shakuhachi history, entitled " Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance", authored by Izumi Takeo and translated by Philip Flavin. The dealer for these here in the US was KSK North America, and I had an order in to them right away. After a few days, this handsome, no...downright beautiful, book was in my hands. Now, this happened right before the holidays and with family,work obligations, I didn't get a chance to sit down and thumb through it until this week. The plan is a thorough ready next week with a review right here on this blog. Until then, a brief look:

   
            The cover reminds me a lot of the book by Christopher Blasidel, which is one of my all time favourites. Inside I see numerous colour photos and paintings of the shakuhachi over the years in Japanese art. Everything is lined up well and simply magnificent! There are only 145 pages here but that is plenty for us to sink our teeth into.

                                                Here is the link to the distributor in North America:

                                                                         KSK North America


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