The flute was more expensive than all my flutes put together. It was old. Its maker well known. My friend was kind enough to allow me to play it.
I thought that as a beginner I probably wouldn't be able to appreciate such an excellent flute. I thought that I wouldn't notice many of the nuances that made this flute so superior to the ones I had played and owned in my short time as a shakuhachi student. I thought the flute couldn't do much to affect the sound of my playing.
I thought wrong!
The flute's humble appearance belied its sound potential. There was nothing that immediately struck the eye when looking at the 1.8. Nobe, there wasn't even a fancy joint to dress this instrument up. And as I turned it around in my hands, it didn't feel special.
But, oh when I blew that first Ro....yes, already with the first Ro I knew my hypothesis about this flute was all wrong. It was so smooth. With lots of tone colour, the flute made even the most simple combination of notes sound interesting and full. It was easy to play, every note just danced out of the holes, no straining, no struggle. It was a rather pleasant momentary experience to realise that it was my embouchure that was meeting with this flute to make those sounds.
Yes, I had totally underestimated this flute. Amazing that it could make the most unskilled student sound...well, let me tell you honestly,....pretty darn good!
Perhaps you underestimate your own skill along with the flute. Or could it be that it is a magic flute that only needs to be held up to ones mouth and plays beautiful sounds on it's own.You decide.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin, after playing many flutes, one typically starts to measure them by their own idiosyncracies and not by the player's ability which out of necessity becomes the constant in the equation. The hanko on that one is a little obscured, but it looks like a Kitahara. If so, a nobekan is somewhat unusual for that maker.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin, I probably know your lovely friend and have played her flute. It was my first time to try Yamaguchi Shiro's one-piece flute. It was enlightening... Now that I study kinko I am curious to see how kinko pieces sound on that flute.
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