Process And Result

In playing sankyoku music (trio music with koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi), we have to get it right: the rhythms have to be precise, the intonation correct, and the dynamics well matched with the other instruments. In other words, the results of our playing are ultimately important.

In playing honkyoku, we follow particular forms: a particular posture, a particular way of breathing, particular ways of moving our head and fingers. The structure of the piece serves as an underpinning or frame on which we hang our articulation of these particular forms, but the expression of the music is very much of the moment. In other words, the process is ultimately important, not the result. The way you play Koku today might sound quite different from the way you played it yesterday, even though you go through the same motions in both performances.

The more you work on result-oriented music, the more confidence you will have when playing the process-oriented honkyoku. And, if you work on result-oriented techniques (accurate intonation and rhythm, flexible dynamics, etc.) in result-oriented musical styles, you can devote your honkyoku practice to process alone, not thinking about right and wrong. This give you an immense amount of confidence and freedom, and it may be why some shakuhachi schools concentrate on sankyoku for years before introducing honkyoku.