Sometimes beginners wonder what the point is of learning sankyoku, the classical ensemble music for voice, shamisen, koto, and shakuhachi. At first glance there are some very good reasons not to study sankyoku:
- The shakuhachi, added after the fact as a supporting instrument, plays a secondary role.
- The music has very little to do with the Zen tradition.
- The music is completely alien to Western culture, and therefore has little connection with our daily lives.
- Because it is hard to find string players to play with, we are often practicing solo a type of music that really only makes sense when played by an ensemble.
But I think the reasons for studying sankyoku outweigh these objections:
- Sankyoku is excellent practice for pitch accuracy, breath control, and dexterity. I don't know of any better exercises for these skills.
- The music familiarizes the player with many aspects of Japanese culture. It provides a window on the underlying aesthetics of all Japanese art forms, including honkyoku.
- The language-based rhythms of sankyoku help us understand the rhythms of honkyoku.
- The scales that form a "behind the scenes" structure in honkyoku are made explicit in sankyoku. This helps us understand honkyoku better.
- The occasional opportunity to play the sankyoku repertoire with string players exercises many aspects of our musicianship: sensitive listening, good ma, precise articulation, and letting go of ego. (There are also many good recordings to play along with, by the way.)
- As a challenging but fun exercise, it lightens up our shakuhachi practice, takes us out of "spiritual pomposity."