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Ro-buki literally means 'blowing ro'. It is used as a warm-up exercise, but traditionally there is more to it. Blowing a single note has a strong connotation in shakuhachi music due to the concept of ichion jôbutsu or 'enlightnement through a single note', which the komusô ('monks of nothingness' from the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism) aimed at when playing. We will start the day with ro-buki together with Okuda, Atsuya. He will then teach the whole group the Zensabô version of 'Hifumi Hachigaeshi', which is a beautiful honkyoku that stays in the otsu (lower) register and everybody of all levels can enjoy. A beautiful and relaxing way to begin the day. ^
Kinko-ryû was the first lineage of honkyoku (fundamental pieces) established at the time of Kurosawa, Kinko II (1747-1811) to contrast the Kinko-ryû from that of the contemporary Ikkan-ryû. Kurosawa Kinko I (1710-1771) was a komusô who wandered across the country and gathered honkyoku from different regions and temples. Kinko-ryû has become highly formalised, at its best creating a highly abstract and detached feeling. Kinko-ryû honkyoku received a formalised structure in the late 19th century, when Araki, Kodô II (Chikuô) had his disciple Miura, Kindô write down the honkyoku transmitted from Kurosawa, Kinko I, for the sake of Araki's son Araki, Kodô III.
As in all honkyoku, the artistic, aesthetic and ethical centre is the master performer/transmitter. The Chikuô - Miura Kindô honkyoku has been transmitted along a number of lines, and during this Summer School, Kinko-ryû will be represented by Gunnar Jinmei Linder and Michael Coxall, both students of the late Master and Living National Cultural Treasure, Yamaguchi Gorô (1933-99). They will teach Kinko-ryû honkyoku from basic fingering to advanced ornamental techniques (beginners, intermediate and advanced).
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"Dôkyoku" is a general term referring to the honkyoku repertoire as practiced by Watazumi Dô, a famous Zen master and excellent shakuhachi player. Various players gleaned material from this influential figure, and perhaps the best-known of these is Yokoyama, Katsuya, who integrated and unified the different styles he had learned: Azuma-ryû, Kinko-ryû and Watazumi Dô. Yokoyama, Katsuya transmitted his work to many Japanese and non-Japanese players, and at the Summer School his lineage of honkyoku is represented by Jim Franklin and Véronique Piron. Together they will be teaching honkyoku from this repertoire at beginners', intermediate and advanced levels, including the techniques, philosophy and aesthetics which underlie the pieces. ^
1. Philip Horan: Irish music on shakuhachi
Philip Horan was born in Dublin, Ireland and became interested in the shakuhachi through his interest in the performance of contemporary flute music. He studied Tozan-ryû with Hanaoka Seizan in Hiroshima-ken for two years (1999-2001), and was awarded menjô. His other teachers include Sunny Yeung from Hong Kong and Kiku Day. Philip Horan completed a Masters in ethnomusicology in 2002, focusing on the conceptualisation of tone in the shakuhachi tradition. He also plays the Irish flute, ryuteki and bansuri.
In this workshop, he will play a selection of ancient melodies from the Irish seán-nós tradition on shakuhachi. These are free in rhythm and contain elaborate ornamentation much like the honkyoku tradition. He will also include a performance of honkyoku on the Irish flute as well as dance tunes from the Breton and Scotish traditions. There will be opportunities for audience participation.
2. John Kaizan Neptune: Ideas to put into Practice
John Kaizan Neptune will give us his definite suggestions on ways to organize practice time to improve any style of playing
3. Tilo Burdach: Meian-ryû Kyotaku
Tilo Burdach, a social scientist who did research on Latin America, has studied quite a wide range of different musical instruments since early childhood (flute, violin, classical guitar, piano, tampoora, dillruba, svarmandal, santoor). However, he found his real love about 20 years ago when he met the kyotaku and his flute-master Nishimura, Kokû in Kumamoto, Japan. This meeting ideally combined his love for music and his spiritual search (during the 10 years prior to the meeting, he had studied various meditation techniques with different masters and teachers and is himself teaching T’ai Chi as a meditation since 30 years).
He has been teaching kyotaku, making them the last 10 years, and giving concerts throughout Europe. He has released 4 cd’s: 3 that combine the kyotaku with other Eastern and Western instruments and one with mostly traditional honkyoku pieces.
Burdach will play some pieces handed down in this Kyûshû branch of Meian-ryû shakuhachi, talk about his experiences with his charismatic teacher and the differences between kyotaku (the type of shakuhachi, Nichimura Kokû used) and other types of ji-nashi shakuhachi.
Tilo Burdach will be available during the summer school for private lessons!
www.tilopa.de
4. Richard Stagg: Shakuhachi Maintenance and Repair
Climate and seasons; Humidity and how to control it; Storage; Assembly and disassembly;Cleaning; Emergency measures; Repair and refinishing;
Re-tuning and tuning modifications.
Richard Stagg is a Western-trained flute player and a member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. He started to learn the Shakuhachi in the beginning of the 1980s by himself, from books and records. Later on, as his interest and love for the instrument grew, he became a pupil of Yoshikazu Iwamoto, a former pupil of Katsuya Yokoyama, then residing in England. Since the beginning of the 1990s, he has given numerous concerts, including several appearances in Japan. He is member of the Yamato Ensemble, which gave its first concert in Yokohama in 1990, the other members being Kikuko Satoh and Aiko Hasegawa, both on koto, shamisen, and voice.
5. Jim Franklin: Breathing Techniques
To play shakuhachi, you have to breathe! But it helps to do it properly. A common misconception is that this means having huge lungs. This would help, of course, but in addition to developing lung capacity, we need to work on utilizing and implementing the capacity we have as effectively as possible. There are a number of exercises and approaches to this. In this talk, Jim Franklin discusses the topic of breathing, and presents suggestions for exercises and breathing practice. He developed these out of exercises that were given to him by his first shakuhachi teacher, Riley Lee.
6. Discussion: The future of Shakuhachi Summer Schools in Europe and the creation of the European Shakuhachi Society
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Zensabô Honkyoku
The Zensabô style was created by Okuda, Atsuya after many years of research into older styles of honkyoku by travelling around Japan visiting elderly shakuhachi players and komusô temples. According to Okuda-sensei, the sound of the ji-nashi shakuhachi (shakuhachi with a unlacquered bore) is the sound of 'real' honkyoku. He has aimed at playing honkyoku at the highest level as close to what the music of the komusô may have sounded like. Okuda-sensei's approach to honkyoku is very esoteric. It is not about creating the biggest sound because when playing honkyoku there is no audience nor is there a player, just an internal experience. This class will be taught by Okuda, Atsuya sensei and Kiku Day, both specialising in long ji-nashi shakuhachi with large bores. It is not necessary to have a ji-nashi shakuhachi to take this class. They will be teaching all levels (beginners, intermediate and advanced), focusing on the flow of the pieces, the techniques and the aesthetics of this style of honkyoku.
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Teacher: Clive Bell
'Esashi Oiwake' is a Japanese folk song (min'yô) for solo voice accompanied by shakuhachi, although Clive's teacher (Miyata, Kohachirô) used to play it as a shakuhachi solo. This struck Clive as a good idea and he will teach it as a solo shakuhachi piece. The class will also take a look at pieces such as 'Komoro Bushi', 'Itsuki no Komoriuta', and, if everybody is feeling adventurous, 'Hanagasa no Ondo'.
'Esashi Oiwake' has a highly ornamented style while other tunes can be played in a very simple way. Some tunes may also be used as a launchpad for improvisation. Clive will bring Japanese notation of the tunes, although he recommends, that if your memory is in a better condition than his, to learn the tunes by ear.
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The classes for koto and shamisen will mainly focus on learning to play some pieces in the sankyoku and shinkyoku repertoire and practice ensemble playing with the shakuhachi players. Playing techniques and singing will also be taught in classes for all levels.
The main teacher for shamisen is Okuda, Kazuko (Masako) and the main teachers for koto will be Iwamoto, Michiko (Gayue) and Nakagawa, Noriko (Toshiyu). Arisawa, Shino and Okuda, Satoshi (Utanoichi) will help both teaching and accompanying.
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Teacher: Brian Ritchie
Brian will be teaching several specific pieces, transcribing them into Kinko notation and also providing Western notation. Pieces will be determined when the number of students and their general level of playing is known. After learning the melodies of the songs, Brian will teach how to improvise within the structure of the piece paying attention to the chord changes and/or scales used. He will also teach how to approach some jazz tunes as honkyoku and apply a meditative stance to their performance. Improvisation is something anybody can do, regardless of their background, and he intends to make it accessible to every student. Learning jazz, rock and improvisation is not as mysterious as it seems. Playing this kind of music can be a lot of fun and at the same time it can access deep inner resources and develop character. ^
Sankyoku is a generic term for the practice of performing songs accompanied by the string instruments, koto and shamisen, together with either the bowed kokyû or the shakuhachi. Within the shakuhachi tradition, the pieces are referred to as gaikyoku (outer pieces) in contrast to the honkyoku (fundamental pieces). This vocal/string tradition developed from the late 16th century, with a peak during the 19th century, and it is still a living tradition today.
The komusô of the Edo period were not allowed to take part in any secular activities, but it seems doubtless that some of them actually did. When the Meiji government abolished the komusô Fuke-shû sect in 1871, many komusô soon turned into accomplished sankyoku performers.
Within the Kinko-ryû, the tradition of sankyoku performance has developed as an outer tradition, parallel with the Kinko-ryû honkyoku, in an all-win relation.
Sankyoku will be taught by Gunnar Jinmei Linder and Michael Coxall, both students of the late Master and Living National Cultural Treasure, Yamaguchi Gorô (1933-99). They will teach kinko-ryû gaikyoku (sankyoku) from elementary patterns to high level ensemble playing of these classical pieces (beginners, intermediate and advanced).
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Following from the koten (classical) sankyoku pieces dating inítially from around the 18th century, there arose the 'Shinkyoku' repertoire, 'new' pieces composed up to around World War II. Many of these show a European influence; among these are the pieces by Fukuda, Rando (Azuma-ryû), one of Yokoyama, Katsuya's masters. Additionally, there is a repertoire of Gendai kyoku, modern pieces composed since World War II, many of which show parallels with Western avant-garde and contemporary classical music.
Véronique Piron and Jim Franklin will be teaching pieces from both Shinkyoku and Gendai kyoku repertoires, with an emphasis on pieces which exemplify the aesthetic of the 'inner life' of the sound of the shakuhachi, and the Japanese sense as expressed in music. Works to be studied include shakuhachi solo pieces and pieces with koto accompaniment at different levels (beginners to advanced).
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This is an opportunity for everybody to share their music with the European shakuhachi community. There will be limited time, but hopefully everyone who wants to perform have the opportunity.
The evening will end with a jazz/rock jam session with Brian Ritchie and John Kaizan Neptune playing shakuhachi.
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Thursday 20th July 2006. Khallili Lecture Theatre, SOAS main building
Hvor mange Bambus er der?
- Kiku Day
Shin-musume dôdôji - Nakagawa Toshiyu, Arisawa Shino, Michael Coxall
Improvisation - Clive Bell
A Lattice of Winds - Jim Franklin
Improvisation - Okuda Atsuya
San'ya - Jim Franklin, Véronique Piron
Isô Chidori - Gunner Jinmei Linder, Okuda Kazuko, Iwamoto Gayue
Blues for Aida - Brian Ritchie
Friday 21st July 2006. Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS
Tsuru no Sugomori - John Neptune
Ame - Véronique Piron, Iwamoto Gayue
Min'yô - Clive Bell, David Hughes
Chidori no Kyoku - Michael Coxall, Nakagawa Toshiyu, Arisawa Shino
In Gentleness and Suddenness - Jim Franklin
Yûgure no Kyoku - Gunnar Jinmei Linder
Onoematsu - Okuda Kazuko, Iwamoto Gayue
Zensabô Honkyoku - Okuda Atsuya
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An opportunity for students to perform the pieces they have learned during the Summer School ^ |
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