Playing Ro-Buki

In case there's some new players who don't know the term RO-Buki, here goes.

Starting with the RO part of this, RO is the first note on a shakuhachi with all finger holes closed. "Buki" is the Japanese verb stem from "fuku", meaning "to
blow". So "RO-buki" is to blow RO. To be blown without meri (flat) or kari (sharp).

It can be used as a warm-up to prepare your embrochure. Also because of its simplicity I feel it can also be very Zen meditative, easy to get lost in.

Just to clarify Chuck, the concept of meri and kari mean flat and sharp only in the way that they relate to each other. Perhaps they should not be compared to the terms 'flat' and sharp', though. For example, tsu no meri is certainly 'flat' of tsu no chu no meri, and that note is 'flat' of tsu which is known as a 'kari' note. In this case 'flat' means below the relative pitch but should not be confused with the note Bb, for example. And by the same way of thinking tsu is 'sharp' of tsu no chu no meri as is that note of tsu no meri. That being said, we cannot say that tsu no chu no meri is 'kari' of tsu no meri, or tsu no meri is 'meri' of tsu no chu no meri. I believe that your comment was a generalization to make something understandable for those who might not otherwise understand the terms, but this is where misconceptions begin. I think it's best to accept the terminology of techniques in shakuhachi just as they are and assimilate them through practice rather than trying to find close approximations in a better known system. It's true that trying to deal with 'foreign' concepts might seem unnatural, uncomfortable and even confusing for a while, but with adequate use, those terms and concepts will soon become understood on their own merit. Growth often require challenging and stressing the boundaries. Good luck with your ro-buki project.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your comment and yes when it comes to the shakuhachi's concept of meri and kari they may be akin to western notation's concept of sharps and flats but they are not necessarily a refference to spicific western notation like Bb. And yes, shakuhachi's meri and kari does not denote the same concept of sharper or flatter could as in western music.

To rip off Forest Gump a bit. "kari is as kari does and meri is and meri does. And that's all I got to say about that".

Thanks,

I'm not too good with the spoken Japanese note names, but isn't Bb a typo meant to be Eb? Ie., tsu no meri is close to a Western Eb. Am I correct?

Hello Charles,

You are write, western Eb is a reasonably close equivalent to tsu no meri.

In my post I was just using Bb as an example of a western flat note. I did not intend to make a reference to any specific shakuhachi meri note.

Some people think tsu no meri is Eb, but in many contexts it's actually higher or lower in pitch than that note. Jeff's advice is correct, it's best not to make those equivalents unless you're intending to play Western music on shakuhachi.