Never enough time!

                                                              There really is NEVER enough time! therefore, one needs to make room for the important things . Priorities in life usually require one to take that time out, seek it and devote the moments necessary to what they have as passions, work or the things that make them happy. Shakuhachi playing and life is one of those things. In my own life, I find I do have to carve out time to play and practice. Admittedly, there has not been a lot of progress with my studies in the playing arena. Reading about the instrument, following posts and articles...sure. The student of the instrument, it's history and all there is to see and do has always been there. But making time for practice and really getting down to the actions of LEARNING and PLAYING new songs has been a struggle for me. By now, I'd hoped to have four or five new songs from my Koga book memorized and "under my belt".

 Alas, I have still only two learned from this delightful book and have had a difficult time in getting my head wrapped around learning more.
Is it my brain NOT being able to memorize or digest it? Not really, as I can listen to a piece and know it when I hear it. Perhaps it is the possibility that I cannot play them after all. No, I can. It is simply a matter of taking time, doing it over and over again and LEARNING the pieces.


  What I have is...monkey mind. It's all over the place, like a monkey from limb to limb. Jumping to and fro, never staying in one place. As soon as I start to play and learn something new, my mind moves to other things.  What is one to do when the brain refuses to calm down?





 
                                                                         A solution is available to me that will be put into place starting now. More meditation . This time, WITH the shakuhachi . Perhaps blowing Ro while I meditate, or even scales. Working on pitch, embouchure or the fluency of notes. Whatever it takes, this will have to be done. I have now been involved with and playing the shakuhachi for five years and things need to change if I'm going to progress. Many have suggested lessons again or getting together with others. While the former sounds delightful and I'd LOVE to do that again with my sensei, funds are not available for that as it is simply too expensive. But getting together with others...now THAT is a ;possibility. I shall look into announcing some sort of get together in Portland for all shakuhachi lovers and perhaps there are some things we can all share. The Pacific Northwest Shakuhachi group on Facebook has quite a few members now so maybe some would be up for meeting somewhere to play, share tips, enjoy the friendship.

                                                                         Until then, each day I shall try my best at meditation with the shakuhachi, Hideo for sure, and to better my playing and progress. This needs to happen if I'm ever going to play in public or at a Matsuri, which I hope happens this next year, either in Seattle or Portland. Might have to look into that.

A day out for Hideo and his little pal!! We visited the local park and had a great time playing and snapping photos!!

 I'm fortunate to have such a beautiful place located only half a mile away from the humble abode. Granted, it is popular for a lot of dog walkers so there is not a lot of privacy, but hey...it's a public park!  Think I shall go back there again later this week and spend some more time in practice near the trees. I LOVE to play towards the plants and beautiful trees in this park!

Moving between flutes...and breathing life.

                                                                  The fortunate part of owning more than one flute is that I have the option of different keys and dimensions in which to switch between. Hideo is my daily flute and it's with him I spend by far the most time. Yet, how fun to switch to the longer and deeper 2.1/2.2 shauhachi and play the same songs, scales and notes. Or, to play the 1.8 Earth flute that is a smaller bore and a wee bit tougher to play due to embouchure. either way, I get to practice.




After a few months of switching between these three, I have come to really value the Earth and Chikusing models much more than I ever have. While Hideo, my much more expensive, advanced and better playing

 尺八 is the model to spend most of my time on, my others are never far away and deserve to have life breathed into them. After all,to this player,a shakuhachi
does not really "live" until it is played and given life by the one connecting with it, the one breathing into it. No matter whether it is living by playing simple scales or the oldest and most sacred honkyoku, the  尺八 flute in front of you is part of this earth. And it can truly call back to where it was grown from if the soul and heart desire it. Sure, some just love the sound of the shakuhachi itself and have no Buddhist ties to it, either religious,philosophical or historical. And that is just fine. But, THIS musician feels every breath he sends to it, communicates with and listens to when the sounds are made. This...this is when the real meditative qualities of playing the shakuhachi, 尺八, mean something special. :-)



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尺八 related goodies !!

                                                                   With this post I don't want to focus on the playing nor the practicing side of things but rather the collectors angle. Not collecting shakuhachi flutes though as that is a rather expensive hobby and one that most players cannot afford. Well, at least the players that I know. :-)  What I'm referring to are the goodies that represent our beloved flute. The T-shirts, figurines, collectibles and assorted gems that we see and want the second it hits our brain that...HEY, it is a shakuhachi related item and those are rare and hard to find. OK, well perhaps in Japan they are not so tough to locate. My Japanese friends can respond to this and tell me if that is truly so but around the rest of the globe, I don't see too many shakuhachi related items for sale on ebay, Amazon, online stores and such. So... like many, I jump at the chance to snatch them up when available, if within my budget.  What do any of you have in this field? here are a few I have acquired since my journey began.


                             




                                     First off, here is this great little fella! He is a komuso from Kidrobot out of Japan and a tough one to locate! I was very fortunate to have been given him to me for my birthday last year and he sits on my shelf, overlooking my blogging and occasionally my playing. It is not common to find komuso related toys or figurines much less when they have a shakuhachi in their hand!





                                         
                               

Next up is this wonderful figurine I just bought off of ebay only last week. Never before have I come across such a treasure. Sure, I have looked at and admired the shakuhachi playing figurine from Lladro. That is an expensive piece at $400 and never going to be in my budget. but this Hakata shakuhachi player came up and I was really surprised no other bidders appeared. Not exactly sure of the date it was made but by the others I have researched, thinking the late 1950's , perhaps 1957. When Googled or searched online, nothing comes up at all except the sale on ebay.
He is 7" tall and in superb condition!



  And finally I have two T-shirts which I proudly wear when out and about sometimes. One from the 2014 Seattle Matsuri , which I attended and really enjoyed, and the other from the company of Ken Lacosse. There are a few other shirts I have located out there and I hope to secure those eventually or find something on ebay, which I check daily for shakuhachi related fun stuff!!!

      Those are the little treasures I own!! Besides books and CD's ,of course. Someday I'd love one of the komuso figurines that you see in museums in Japan. But my oh my are they expensive. Although..... I DO have something komuso and shakuhachi related that I take with me everywhere I go..... in fact a few.

 This komuso tattoo is on my left back calf and can be seen when I run or am in shorts. That and all of my tattoos were done by Doug Auld in Portland, Oregon.
The shakuhachi related tattoo at the right here is inked on my right rib cage. Yes, that was a tender spot and was the least happy place for me to get inked. But well worth the resulting artwork and design. In addition to these two, I also have the 尺八 at right
on the top of my left forearm, visible for all to see.

Yes, there are some shakuhachi goodies out there and sure, I suppose one can say I'm a wee bit obsessed. Ok. Go for it. Say it. I admit to another addiction!!!

Hideo and Shinji: practice time!

                                                                      As spring gets closer and closer, my desire to practice and learn grows. Winter is a tough season for me and even though stuck inside normally, this year has been different. Our "winter" has been so spring like that I SHOULD have been out and about a lot more. Alas, illnesses and other obligations have kept me inside and with severe cabin fever, which still seems to be affecting. As I get get better and stronger, the need to get back to practice is hitting home for me. I've been getting in at least ten minutes a day in practice, which is better than nothing,sure. But, it is nowhere near enough to progress. It simply keeps the edge there and is not doing much. What to do?

Ok, this seems like a good plan. Can one get better at practice than this? Yes! Thanks Bruce!

He seemed to have been rather proficient at his art form and in keeping fit. So as a role model, I think this is a delightful addition to the blog post. And perhaps this one, minus the clarinets and add the shakuhachi!! It is essential that I get back into a regular routine of practice and spending more time doing so. With the help of Hideo and Shinji, I shall try even harder to do this over this month of March.

Here they are, ready to go!! Time to practice!!

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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