The Key Sound

One of the origins of honkyoku is Buddhist chanting (shomyo). In the liturgical chanting of almost all traditions, the melodies emphasize a single pitch, often the one that ends the phrase. The other sounds move toward it or around it melismatically, but the gravitational pull is always toward that central sound.

I believe the same is true in honkyoku. In each breath-phrase, you can identify a characteristic pitch that is the essential component. If you discover this key, you can make the phrase soar with the lightness of music rather than trudging through a labored collection of equally weighted sounds.

Try this:

Sing or play through a honkyoku piece reducing each breath to a few essential notes, or, if you can discover it, a single note. Eliminate all elements that you do not think are central.

Once you have played the skeleton of the piece this way, play it again, adding back the elements you eliminated. You might want to do a few passes, adding back a little at a time.

I think you'll find that the piece "plays itself" much more musically once you have gone through this exercise. It is also a useful aid to memorization.