Shakuhachi online lessons
The shakuhachi (尺八) is the traditional Japanese bamboo flute played by Komusō Buddhist Zen monks (虚無僧, monks of emptiness and nothingness) to achieve enlightenment. The Zen repertoire is called Koten honkyoku, and contains very old pieces of deep spirituality such as Hon shirabe, Tsuru no sugomori, or Shingetsu.
I started studying shakuhachi in 2004 with Horacio Curti. Currently, I continue the in-depth study of the Koten honkyoku repertoire with Kakizakai Kaoru sensei. I love teaching students this wonderful repertoire steeped in the oldest Zen spirit!
Do you want to learn how to play the shakuhachi, the koten honkyoku repertoire, and the practice of mindfulness of sound and breathing? I offer both online and face-to-face lessons at the Vila-seca Conservatory.
Send me a message if you want more information or want to start shakuhachi lessons!
Silenci (Silence)
Seven easy meditative pieces for shakuhachi beginners in traditional Japanese notation
This is a notebook of very easy pieces inspired by my shakuhachi students. The pieces are very easy, in the low register of the instrument, and have an expression very close to honkyoku. They are pieces that can be performed in concert with a shakuhachi of any size. Enjoy!
- Silenci | Silence
- Cucut | Cuckoo
- Somriure | Smile
- Vent de tardor | Autumn Wind
- Bambú | Bamboo
- Ecos llunyans | Far Echoes
- Respiració profunda | Deep Breath
Publisher: Universal Edition
Sō-Gū I
Maki Ishii
Sō-Gū I is a work by the Japanese composer Maki Ishii originally for shakuhachi and piano, dedicated to Katsuya Yokoyama. The work suggests, with a very spaced and diaphanous approach, an encounter between two instruments from very different cultural traditions: the shakuhachi and the piano. This piece is very wisely conceived to make the encounter between the two instruments a fruitful musical dialogue.
Desert | Concerto for shakuhachi and symphony orchestra
Ramon Humet
“Desert”, for shakuhachi and orchestra, is a work commissioned by the National Orchestra of Spain to commemorate the bicentenary of the Museo del Prado, and premiered at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid on June 17, 2019.
Horacio Curti: shakuhachi
Orquesta Nacional de España
Paolo Bressan, conductor
👉 Score available at Universal Edition
Gekko Roteki (Flute in the Moonlight)
Fukuda Rando
Gekko Roteki (Flute in the Moonlight) is a beautiful melancholic piece by composer Fukuda Rando. There is a version for koto and shakuhachi, and also for piano and shakuhachi, but it is a very suitable piece to play in the solo flute version. This piece is ideal for playing in the woods on a full moon night.
Vent de tardor (Autumn Wind)
Ramon Humet
Vent de tardor (Autumn Wind) is a meditative solo shakuhachi piece composed for absolute beginners of this beautiful instrument. It is very easy to play and introduces you directly into the spirit of honkyoku and the Zen mind. Playing this piece surrounded by the lush autumn forest of the Vall Ferrera is a joy.
Publisher: Universal Edition
Kokū
Koten Honkyoku
Kokū is one of the oldest Koten Honkyoku pieces in the repertoire. Kokū is made up of two ideograms. “Ko” (虚) refers to the Absolute, to what cannot be expressed in words. “Kū” (空) can be translated as “sky”. Kokū can be translated as “Empty Sky”. It is a piece that conveys deep serenity and evokes the Absolute through the infinite sky.
Shingetsu
Koten Honkyoku
Shingetsu is a very quiet and serene Koten Honkyoku piece for shakuhachi. The first ideogram (心) means mind, heart, and spirit at the same time. The second one (月), the moon, has a special significance in Buddhism related to enlightenment. We shot the footage at sunset in the stunning bamboo forest of Konsenji Zen Temple, surrounded by the mountains of Chichibu National Park (Saitama). Ramon plays Shingetsu according to the KSK lineage founded by Katsuya Yokoyama.
Yamagoe
Koten Honkyoku
Yamagoe is one of the most energetic pieces in the Koten Honkyoku repertoire for shakuhachi. The title can be translated as ‘Crossing the Mountain’ and it is meant to encourage the overcoming of difficulties.
In the caves of Farlete, natural elements fill the landscape: the blue sky, the ocher tones of the mountains, the vastness of the desert landscape, the solitude of the caves, the deep silence, … The Zen bamboo flute traverses the desert space with this melody that the Komuso monks played as sound meditation to achieve enlightenment, following the path of Buddha.
Hon Shirabe
Koten Honkyoku
Hon Shirabe literally means “basic melody”. It originates in Hamamatsu district (Japan). According to Katsuya Yokoyama, it has “a melody of pure simplicity and intuitive power”. The austerity of this melody calls for a stable, rooted and deep sound.
Autumn Inside
Improvisation
The Zen flute and crystal singing bowls are deeply twinned with each other in meditation at this beautiful forest in the Catalan Pyrenees, where the golden colours invite introspection and inner silence. The harmonies of the singing bowls surround the descending melody of the shakuhachi, while the beech leaves fall gently around us.
Ramon Humet: shakuhachi
Sílvia Vidal: crystal singing bowls, tingshas, Dharma bell, wind chimes, rainstick