Sighing

Honkyoku is all about a free, relaxed out-breath. But sometimes when we work very hard on a piece we can lose this sense of freedom and relaxation. Here's one way to get it back:

In the middle of a practice session, put your flute down. Get still and take a very deep breath, the sort of breath that precedes a yawn. Now go ahead and yawn, but instead of a regular yawn make it a musical one: rather than the customary downward pitch glide, color your breath with whatever pitches want to come out. Intuit a free, relaxed yawn-melody, a sort of semi-musical sigh. It may include growls and head-shakes if you need to relax your face and neck. It may end with unvoiced breath. If it is true to your body's needs, I bet it will sound quite a bit like a fragment of honkyoku!

Once you have done this a few times, return to practicing with your flute. Try to invest your playing with a feeling of sighing.

Note: investing your playing with a feeling of sighing does not mean blowing weakly. To get a good shakuhachi tone you often need to blow with a good deal of power. Try to achieve the relaxed, free out-breath without sacrificing power. This requires excellent posture and a strong confident sense of your center, or core.