Shakuhachi

This track was recorded on a 1.8 jiari shakuhachi in 2013.
The piece is supposed to represent the overcoming of 
difficulties and is used for training, in order to practice
extremes.

Yamagoe (Reiho)

This is a Japanese folk piece (Minyo), performed solo on a 1.6 shakuhachi (rokusun).

Kaigara Bushi

Japanese folk piece performed (by me) on a 1.8 shakuhachi (hasun).

Komoro Mago Uta

This is the simplest of the honkyoku repertoire. It comes from a Buddhist piece called Choshi and has been reinterpreted through Watazume and Yokoyama Katsuya. I play it here on a nishaku (2.0 shakuhachi).

Hon Shirabe

A pilgrim's song for solo shakuhachi. Played on a hasun (1.8 shakuhachi).

Komuso Nagashi

Mount Horai is a mythical place from Taoist belief. It is a place where the dwellers are free from old age and death. This piece is from a rinzai Zen temple, Kokutaiji, located in Toyama Prefecture and is based on a chant. It was collected and notated by Jin Nyodo through monks in that temple. I'm playing it on a 1.8 jiari shakuhachi.

Horai

This is a solo shakuhachi piece originally from the Kanto
area. It is a basic piece in the Kinko repertoire, but my
version is one that has been interpreted through the
teachings of Katsuya Yokoyama (via his student Michael
Chikusen Gould). It is said to have been played by monks
while begging alms. Here I play it on a 1.8 Kinshyu shakuhachi.
Recorded March 10th 2016 in Naperville IL USA

Hifumi Hachigaeshi

This is a solo piece for shakuhachi that was based
on a traditional festival lion dance. I'm playing it on
a rokusun (1.6) shakuhachi.

Azuma Jishi

This is a personal interpretation of a very old and
traditional solo piece for shakuhachi. It is based on
the Taizan-Ha variation of the piece Kyorei. I learned
it from the version codified by Yoshinobu Taniguchi.
It is played on a rokusun (1.6) shakuhachi.

Soo Kyorei

This is one of many pieces inspired by the songs of cranes.
It is a solo work for shakuhachi and is played on a rokusun
(1.6) shakuhachi. This piece is sometimes called Koden
Sugumori (Crane piece in 5 parts).

Suzuru

This is a version of Choshi (Basic Tuning) a
piece in the solo shakuhachi repertoire that 
came out of the temples (this version from
the FudaiJi). I've recorded it on a 1.8 Jiari
shakuhachi.

Choshi

I've posted another version of HonShirabe before. That one
was played on a 2.0 shakuhachi (Nishaku). I'm posting this
one for my students. It is played on a jiari 1.8 shakuhachi
(hasun). This is one of the most fundamental pieces in
the solo shakuhachi repertoire.

HonShirabe (Hasun)

This is a Reibo ("yearning for the bell") melody
transmitted by the monks of the Fuke sect at the
Shoganken temple in Iwate Prefecture.
I'm playing it on a jiari 1.8 shakuhachi (Hasun).
The notation I used was from Yokoyama Katsuya's
school of playing.

Shoganken Reibo

This piece is supposed to conjure up the state of
being as expressed by the Chinese poem: "The enlightened
soul is like the solitary moon, its light engulfing all". I'm
playing it here on a 2.4 shakuhachi (nishakuyon). It comes
to me via the Katsuya Yokoyama score and his school of 
playing.

Shin Getsu (Nishakuyon)

This piece was written by Jin Nyodo, the shakuhachi master and collector of traditional Buddhist pieces in 1941. It is very much in the
style of traditional Buddhist meditation pieces. The title
translates to "Big Harmony" and refers to the cycle of life. The
piece depicts the life of an individual from birth to passing and
rebirth. It was performed on a 1.8 Kinshu shakuhachi.

Daiwagaku

Traditional Honkyoku (Japanese Buddhist Piece) Performed on Shakuhachi.
The title refers to "Unhindered Purposeful Inaction". I recorded this on a
standard 1.8 length shakuhachi using a Zoom H4 recorder in 2010. This
piece is said to have originated around 700 years ago.

Koku

A piece that is supposed to focus the player on his or her breath (in order
to grasp the essence of one's own mind).

Sokkan

This is a short Japanese folk piece (Minyo) recorded on a Kinshu hasun (shakuhachi)

Kaneyoshi Bushi

Traditional Japanese shakuhachi solo piece (Honkyoku). This is
said to be one of the three oldest pieces in the repertoire. It's played
on a 1.8 jiari flute.

Mukaiji

Koku performed on a 2.4 shakuhachi. This is from
the Yokoyama school (i.e. I learned the piece from
Yokoyama Katsuya's notation)

Koku (2.4)

I am, on the maternal side, Haplogroup T
(Subclade T2) and, on the paternal side,
Haplogroup Q (M242)!
I have been walking the earth since the
early '50s. I am an ex-mill-rat,
ex-(Calumet)region-rat, ex-chemist,
dead-mathematician, ex-programmer,
musician, composer, earth-walker.
I have two musical directions, I play,
perform, and teach traditional Japanese
classical music for the shakuhachi
(an end blown bamboo flute), and I play,
compose, and perform experimental
electronic music. All the electronic music I
compose and perform is and can be done
in real-time (i.e. I don't use multi-tracking
or computer manipulation for my compositions).
Whenever I record anything, either electronic
or on the shakuhachi, it is done in real-time
just as it would have been done on the stage
or in an intimate setting.

Shakuhachi

mafirman