The Hawai'i Shakuhachi Festival 2006 (HSF06) will feature for the first time four workshop sessions exclusively on the
shinobue. This bamboo transverse flute is sometimes referred to as the 'festival' flute, as it is most frequently heard
accompanying the festive rhythms of the taiko, or Japanese drums.
Riley Lee has been playing the shinobue since learning it on Sado Island in the early 1970s as a member of the group now
known as Kodo. He will be teaching four 90 minute workshops exclusively on the shinobue during HSF06. The workshops
will be geared so that as wide a range of players as possible can benefit from attending them.
Absolute beginners with no prior experience will be shown how to hold the flute, how to make sounds, how to read the notation,
and how to practice in order to become proficient players as quickly as possible. Inexpensive, high quality shinobue instruments will be
available for hire or a purchase price of US$20.
Those of you who are more experienced players will also benefit from attending these workshops. You will learn how to correct any
bad habits you might have developed. In addition, you will learn about ornamentation and embellishments.
Pieces covered during the workshops
will include folksongs, orignal pieces, and pieces and rifts that can be used to accompany taiko. You will also be introduced to a number of
distinctive scales and modes that can be used to create original pieces.
Finally, in the final shinobue workshop, particpants will begin to learn the famous piece from the Edobayashi repertoire, Yon-chome.
How can both beginners and experienced players be able to benefit from the same workshops?
It's a matter of balancing the material so that
what may be new information to beginners will be worthwhile to review for proficient players. Likewise, material covered in some of the workshops
will be quite challenging for the beginner. With the more difficult pieces, the more experienced players may be able to play many of the
pieces fairly well be the end of the workshops, while the beginners probably won't.
The beginner will soon realise that patience is required. Even absolute beginners who may not be able to produce consistent sound by the
end of the weekend, will still have the skills and knowledge needed to learn those challenging pieces, over time with much practice.
In other words, while the experienced shinobue player is learning new pieces, the beginner can at the same time learn HOW to learn the same
pieces.
Click this link to view the full HSF06 timetable.
This timetable is subject to change.
Please note:
the shinobue workshops will be scheduled during workshop sessions #4, #6, #7 and #8, on Saturday and Sunday
November 11th and 12th.
The cost to attend the four shinobue workshops only is US$100. This also allows
participants to audit any of the shakuhachi workshops, and attend the Festival Concert Rehearsal on Nov 11, the Festival Concert
at Orvis Auditorium on Nov 15, and the Student Concert at the Japanese Cultural Center on Nov 12. The Gala Dinner, to follow the Student
Concert is not included in the registration fee.
Click this link for more information about REGISTRATION and ACCOMMODATION.
Click this link to return to the main webpage of the Hawaii Shakuhachi Festival.
