Shakuhachi Fingering Charts

Here are a number of wonderful fingering charts.

 

Tozan Fingering Chart by John Kaizan Neptune : Left part / Right part / Entire

Kinko Fingering Chart from Shakuhachi Society of B.C. : Left part / Right part / Entire

Kinko Fingering Chart from Japan World Music : Entire

Tozan and Kinko (old & new) Fingering Chart : Left / Center / Right

Very simplified chart (only ロツレチリ), can be useful for initiation workshops : Entire

From a posting in the ESS Shakuhachi Forum, http://www.shakuhachiforum.eu

 

Also Check out the Phoenix AZ Shakuhachi Friends web site at http://phoenixazshakuhachi.com/

 

 

Shakuhachi glossary 101

Here’s some basic 101 shakuhachi glossary terms. More to come!

• Atari To strike a finger hole
• Furi A rapid meri/kari head dip.
• Kan Upper register
• Kari Blow by putting the chin up, to raise the tone
• Komi Buki Big breath, the pulsing characteristic of playing.
• Meri Blow by putting the chin down, to lower the pitch.
• Muraiki Blowing so as to create a windy, roaring, effect
• Nayashi To begin pitch meri and rise to standard pitch
• Otsu Low register
  Suri Glissando
• Suri age A slide upwards
• Tsuyutoshi Cloth for wiping the bore
• Utaguchi The sharp blowing edge of the shakuhahi
• Yuri Vibrato

Shakuhachi glossary, Meri & Kari

Kari, in shakuhachi music, is both a property of a note and a technique. To play a note kari means to play it with raised pitch, relative to playing the note meri. In addition to sharpening the pitch, playing a note kari also modifies the tone color or timbre of a note.
The usual technique to play a note kari is to raise the chin, increasing the angle and distance between the embouchure and utaguchi (blowing edge).
The opposite of Kari is Meri where the chin is lowered to and the pitch becomes lower.