Notation and Devices for Shakuhachi

Hey,

I'm writing a piece with Shakuhachi but I don't know the instruments limitations, scale etc

I presume it is pentatonic, but is it in any particular key?

How high and low can it play?

etc

And any other useful information regarding this instrument.

Thanks!

Chris

The following may be of use to you:

How to compose for shakuhachi - resource pages. Shakuhachi Chamber Music Composition Competition

More info can be found at:

Shakuhachi Forum - World Shakuhachi Discussion

Approach the latter like a thrift/op shop or garage sale; lots of junk, some of it interesting, much of it not, and occasionally just what you want. You just need the patience to search through the clutter.

Thanks.

I've decided to write for Piano, Shakuhachi and a single-person percussion section with gong, cymbals, timp, chimes etc

I'll see what happens and post a copy.

It is based on a painting by Sidney Nolan called "Chinese Mounatin Landscape" (1982)

Thanks,

Chris

I guess you can find a shakuhachi player and ask them. Clive Bell is quite an accomplished Shakuhachi player so you can send him an e-mail through his website (Welcome to the Clive Bell web experience). There is also a section in his website where he writes about various instruments (their history, construction, performance, repertoire etc) including, of course, the shakuhachi: Sounds (just click on the first button at the very top).

Also, wikipedia:

Shakuhachi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shakuhachi musical notation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lastly, I would personally urge you not to attempt to write for Shakuhachi if you don't know the instrument very intimately. Just because you like the sound of it doesn't mean you are excused for misusing the instrument or writing non-idiomatic music for the shakuhachi because you don't know how to do so. If you want to write non-idiomatic music for the shakuhachi, first know the shakuhachi and its capabilities, and then choose not to use them. I don't mean to know how to play the shakuhachi yourself (although that'd be a bonus to writing for shakuhachi), but know where it comes from, how it's played, the techniques, listen to a lot of shakuhachi music, understand its historical and cultural context, and see how other western composers have written for the instrument (Takemitsu, although not a "western" composer, used the shakuhachi in a few of his compositions and used more or less western notation for it, so finding some Takemitsu scores would be invaluable - there is no reason to re-invent the wheel if someone else has done it before you).

Lastly, I would personally urge you not to attempt to write for Shakuhachi if you don't know the instrument very intimately. Just because you like the sound of it doesn't mean you are excused for misusing the instrument or writing non-idiomatic music for the shakuhachi because you don't know how to do so. If you want to write non-idiomatic music for the shakuhachi, first know the shakuhachi and its capabilities, and then choose not to use them. I don't mean to know how to play the shakuhachi yourself (although that'd be a bonus to writing for shakuhachi), but know where it comes from, how it's played, the techniques, listen to a lot of shakuhachi music, understand its historical and cultural context, and see how other western composers have written for the instrument (Takemitsu, although not a "western" composer, used the shakuhachi in a few of his compositions and used more or less western notation for it, so finding some Takemitsu scores would be invaluable - there is no reason to re-invent the wheel if someone else has done it before you).

I understand what you're saying, but when it all comes down, an instrument is just an instrument - there's no culture in simply a piece of carved wood. While a modicum of research is needed, insofar as range, ease of linearity, common articulations - which if memory serves is a decent clip - possibilities of extended techniques, there's no reason to avoid "abusing" the past, since the past only serves as a guide, and real men don't read manuals.

Takemitsu's a beast... check him out, even just to listen to him.

Following what Juji said, check out traditional "scores" too; you'll get a better understanding of what is important for the instrument in that cultural context. Several world music survey books have sections on shakuhachi...