About the Shakuhachi

The shakuhachi is a Japanese end-blown flute, typically made of bamboo and having five drilled holes. Its name derives from itstraditional length (shaku is a unit of measure slightly less than a foot, hachi is the Japanese word for eight, here taken to mean eight tenths), 1.8 shaku. Though there are a great many instruments of similar make that are all collectively called shakuhachi, only those measuring 1.8 shaku are properly referred to by that name. The shakuhachi is still being played today in Japan, and has also become relatively popular in Western pop music and film scores.

Technique

The shakuhachi is typically crafted such that the player has access to a minor pentatonic scale simply by covering and uncovering the five holes. Other notes can be played through a combination of embouchure and partially covering the holes. An experienced player can be expected to have a range of about three octaves, though most shakuhachi music does not exceed two octaves and a fourth. Traditional playing involves a variety of articulations between notes, ranging from clear cutoffs to glissandi of various types. Vibrato is achieved by quickly moving the head side to side while playing, interrupting the air flow. This vibrato can be made very wide or very narrow and fast or slow to give a wide range of expressive techniques.

Notation

The shakuhachi has traditionally been divided into several schools of playing, with masters of each school passing their knowledge on to their students. Each school has its own unique style of notation, though they all have a few things in common. The notation is a combination of rote, stylistic directions, and emotional suggestions. More recently, composers have begun writing shakuhachi music using standard Western staff notation. This has the advantage of being universally readable by players of all schools as well as emphasizing pitch over fingering, though it loses some of the more expressive elements of traditional notation.

Styles

There are two primary types of shakuhachi compositions: honkyoku and gaikyoku. Honkyoku (which translates as “original music”) dates back to at least the 1500s, and possibly further. It is the music the Fuke monks used to meditate and beg for alms. Written for solo shakuhachi, it has no definite form and free rhythm. View a honkyoku example. Gaikyoku (literally, “outside music”) encompasses all traditional Japanese music played by an ensemble that includes a shakuhachi. View a gaikyoku example.

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