ARTS: The Treeleaf Music Hall is now open

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  • Bion
    Senior Priest-in-Training
    • Aug 2020
    • 4961

    ARTS: The Treeleaf Music Hall is now open

    Hello everyone!

    Your friendly neighborhood music man, Bion here. Some of you might already know me from around the zendo and some might not (shame on me for not reaching out to more of you, but I will do better from now on). When Jundo wrote and asked me if I would be your host here in the MUSIC HALL of the TREELEAF ARTS & MUSIC CIRCLE, I said yes without giving it a second thought. I did not however do that because I think of myself as a musician. As a matter of fact, I know some of you are ACTUAL musicians, who´ve put their sweat and tears in mastering their instruments/voices. I am but a simple songwriter and music producer. That means basically that I rely on talented and skillful people to help bring my vision to life, whether it´s musicians playing instruments or singers performing what I write. So you see, even in my day to day work, I still host other people and their talents.

    I´ve been involved in music for most of my life, really. First time I ever recorded in a studio was when I was just turning 14 and by that time I had been singing on stages for years. Then I became a teenager and, well... we have to skip a few years to get to the moment, as an adult when I decided to actually make music my career. So here we are, over a decade later, having written a couple hundred songs and in my own recording studio.

    But enough of that.. let´s get to this funny business of the TREELEAF MUSIC HALL (I have just come up with that and I feel it´s catchy, just go along with it ???? ).
    This is my open invitation to all of you dear sangha members who are interested in, or actually creating, or maybe just very good at finding amazing music, to help this humble person give life to this little project. If you´re in the music business or maybe you create music, or play an instrument, or sing, or feel like you have an unexplored talent just waiting to be brought to light, come say hi and let me know what interests you. I´d love to know what this side of the ARTS & MUSIC CIRCLE could become, but it belongs to all of you, so again, I find myself humbly asking for help. I hope you answer my call!

    Ok, let´s plug everything in its place, tune what needs tuning, and crank it up!

    WELCOME TO THE TREELEAF MUSIC HALL
    _15481288-bda4-4d2e-8eb6-aa361ad36a5c.jpg



    Gassho
    SatToday lah
    Last edited by Bion; 11-11-2024, 06:15 AM.
    "Stepping back with open hands, is thoroughly comprehending life and death. Immediately you can sparkle and respond to the world." - Hongzhi
  • Ryumon
    Member
    • Apr 2007
    • 1818

    #2
    I've been playing music for, well, about 45 years. I got my first guitar when I was 16, and have played several instruments over the years. Guitar, viola da gamba, keyboards (ie digital piano), and now shakuhachi. This last one has to be the most difficult instrument I've ever played, but it is without doubt the most satisfying. I had always loved the sound of the shakuhachi, since I had first heard it, probably on some early "world music" album in the 1980s, and about three years ago, I decided it would be interesting to try.

    It's a humbling experience, and I kind of suck, but I really do enjoy the process of learning.

    Here's a video of Kodama Hiroyuki, who made one of my shakuhachis, and who, together with my teacher, Kiku Day, is a student of Okuda Atsuya, who leads the small Zensabo school of shakuhachi. While my instruments are much shorter, I love the sound of these very long instruments, and I aspire to this style of playing.

    【 チャンネル登録が日本を元気にします!ご協力お願いします!】→ https://bit.ly/2x3BN2i演奏:地無し尺八 伝へ手【竹坐(Chiku ZA)】演奏曲:虚空■ホームページ【ディスカバージェイチャンネル】・地無し尺八(伝へ手 竹坐)チャンネルhttps://www.changare.com/chi...


    Gassho,

    Kirk

    sat
    I know nothing.

    Comment

    • Bion
      Senior Priest-in-Training
      • Aug 2020
      • 4961

      #3
      Such a nice coincidence that just last week Kotei talked to me about his Shakuhachi playing and recommended some pieces. it turns out I already had quite a few in my music library that I´d listened to, I just didn´t know what it was. Not having a tuned instrument, or a tempo or a rhythm must be a tremendously difficult challenge when it comes to learning and performing the pieces, right? What do you find is the most difficult thing for you when it comes to playing it?
      Last edited by Bion; 01-19-2021, 11:35 PM.
      "Stepping back with open hands, is thoroughly comprehending life and death. Immediately you can sparkle and respond to the world." - Hongzhi

      Comment

      • Gareth
        Member
        • Jun 2020
        • 217

        #4
        Hello,

        I can offer electric guitar enthusiasm Here is a recording from a few days ago. I would enjoy collaborating on something. Heavy Mettal?!



        Gassho,
        Gareth

        Sat today, Lah

        Comment

        • Jundo
          Treeleaf Founder and Priest
          • Apr 2006
          • 40961

          #5
          Hmmm ... Kirk, maybe we need our own Shakuhachi area? What do you think?

          Gassho, Jundo

          STLah
          ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

          Comment

          • Ryumon
            Member
            • Apr 2007
            • 1818

            #6
            Originally posted by Jundo
            Hmmm ... Kirk, maybe we need our own Shakuhachi area? What do you think?

            Gassho, Jundo

            STLah
            I'm sure Kotei and I could discuss the instrument, and perhaps let others learn about it...

            Gassho,

            Kirk

            sat
            I know nothing.

            Comment

            • Ryumon
              Member
              • Apr 2007
              • 1818

              #7
              Originally posted by Bion
              Such a nice coincidence that just last week Kotei talked to me about his Shakuhachi playing and recommended some pieces. it turns out I already had quite a few in my music library that I´d listened to, I just didn´t know what it was. Not having a tuned instrument, or a tempo or a rhythm must be a tremendously difficult challenge when it comes to learning and performing the pieces, right? What do you find is the most difficult thing for you when it comes to playing it?
              The most difficult thing is mastering the sound. You blow across the wedge-shaped bit at the top of the flute, and getting a clean sound takes some time. There there are ways of playing sharp and flat, somewhat microtonal sounds, which need to be mastered, because when you play flat your breath has to be different. Even as you play the different notes up and down the instrument, your breath has to be slightly different: for the deeper notes, you need a "warm" breath, and for the higher notes a "cooler" breath.

              It's not that the instrument is not tuned. There are two types of shakuhachi, one is jiari, which is bamboo with something in the bore, usually a sort of paste to make it smooth, but also to tune it. Jiari shakuhachis can be used in conjunction with other instruments, so they must be in tune with a standard (the most common shakuhachi, a 1.8 length, is tuned so the lowest note is a D). Jinashi shakuhachi, which I play, are not tuned to play with other instruments, but are tuned to themselves. The maker has to work the bore to ensure that each note is in tune, though the instrument's fundamental note may not be perfect to play with other instruments. My main flute is a 2.0, so that is technically one tone lower than the standard 1.8, and it should be a C, but it's a bit flat.

              Some schools do play with a semi-fixed tempo, but mainly, the type of music I'm playing - honkyoku, which is the oldest solo repertoire - is built around the breath. Each phrase is designed to be played in one breath, and that's the rhythm of the piece. So if you can have long breaths, you could play a piece longer. There's something interesting about this way of playing, that each phrase is (sort of) self contained. So the rhythm as you play is that of breathing, rather than some continuous flow of music.

              There are of course exceptions: there are some people who practice circular breathing, but that is not the traditional way of playing.

              Gassho,

              Kirk

              sat
              I know nothing.

              Comment

              • Bion
                Senior Priest-in-Training
                • Aug 2020
                • 4961

                #8
                Originally posted by Ryumon
                The most difficult thing is mastering the sound. You blow across the wedge-shaped bit at the top of the flute, and getting a clean sound takes some time. There there are ways of playing sharp and flat, somewhat microtonal sounds, which need to be mastered, because when you play flat your breath has to be different. Even as you play the different notes up and down the instrument, your breath has to be slightly different: for the deeper notes, you need a "warm" breath, and for the higher notes a "cooler" breath.

                It's not that the instrument is not tuned. There are two types of shakuhachi, one is jiari, which is bamboo with something in the bore, usually a sort of paste to make it smooth, but also to tune it. Jiari shakuhachis can be used in conjunction with other instruments, so they must be in tune with a standard (the most common shakuhachi, a 1.8 length, is tuned so the lowest note is a D). Jinashi shakuhachi, which I play, are not tuned to play with other instruments, but are tuned to themselves. The maker has to work the bore to ensure that each note is in tune, though the instrument's fundamental note may not be perfect to play with other instruments. My main flute is a 2.0, so that is technically one tone lower than the standard 1.8, and it should be a C, but it's a bit flat.

                Some schools do play with a semi-fixed tempo, but mainly, the type of music I'm playing - honkyoku, which is the oldest solo repertoire - is built around the breath. Each phrase is designed to be played in one breath, and that's the rhythm of the piece. So if you can have long breaths, you could play a piece longer. There's something interesting about this way of playing, that each phrase is (sort of) self contained. So the rhythm as you play is that of breathing, rather than some continuous flow of music.

                There are of course exceptions: there are some people who practice circular breathing, but that is not the traditional way of playing.

                Gassho,

                Kirk

                sat
                That is fascinating. Sounds like something I could try and probably very much enjoy!! I am glad I discovered this beautiful art! For a “music” guy, I am genuinely too ignorant!!!
                Thanks for the great introduction to the shakuhachi!!

                [emoji1374] SatToday
                "Stepping back with open hands, is thoroughly comprehending life and death. Immediately you can sparkle and respond to the world." - Hongzhi

                Comment

                • Bion
                  Senior Priest-in-Training
                  • Aug 2020
                  • 4961

                  #9
                  Originally posted by bad_buddha_007
                  Hello,

                  I can offer electric guitar enthusiasm Here is a recording from a few days ago. I would enjoy collaborating on something. Heavy Mettal?!



                  Gassho,
                  Gareth

                  Sat today, Lah
                  Well, that is just awesome! Nice band you got there!!! [emoji1] I don’t know much about Heavy Metal but ai can definitely learn.. All I ask for is that we avoid invoking any creepy poltergeists or what not! I don’t do well with demons [emoji23] [emoji1787]

                  [emoji1374] SatToday
                  "Stepping back with open hands, is thoroughly comprehending life and death. Immediately you can sparkle and respond to the world." - Hongzhi

                  Comment

                  • Gareth
                    Member
                    • Jun 2020
                    • 217

                    #10
                    thank you! In terms of guitar type music I like it all and am happy to have a go, though I have been trying to learn blues and neoclassical shred guitar lately (long way to go, just doing some exercises each day for 10-20 minutes or so).

                    This has been posted elsewhere I think, or maybe his Metallica cover:



                    Gassho,
                    Gareth

                    Sat today

                    Comment

                    • Soka
                      Member
                      • Jan 2017
                      • 167

                      #11
                      I'm not musically adept, but always fascinated by music. I did my PhD in the acoustics of percussion, looking specifically at how modern drumkits are tuned. I'd love to get back into learning to play again one day, but drumming in a shared house is frowned upon (especially over the last 12 months with lockdowns). Instead at the moment I'm playing with Sonic Pi / live-coding of music as a way to scratch that itch and also to teach my nieces a bit about programming, and I'm also thinking about trying to build a musical instrument using a small jet-engine.

                      Sam Aaron, and Postdoc Researcher at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, will be discussing the idea of programming as performance, examining th...

                      (for those interested in programming music)

                      Gassho,
                      Phill /Sōka
                      sat

                      Comment

                      • Bion
                        Senior Priest-in-Training
                        • Aug 2020
                        • 4961

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Phill
                        I'm not musically adept, but always fascinated by music. I did my PhD in the acoustics of percussion, looking specifically at how modern drumkits are tuned. I'd love to get back into learning to play again one day, but drumming in a shared house is frowned upon (especially over the last 12 months with lockdowns). Instead at the moment I'm playing with Sonic Pi / live-coding of music as a way to scratch that itch and also to teach my nieces a bit about programming, and I'm also thinking about trying to build a musical instrument using a small jet-engine.

                        Sam Aaron, and Postdoc Researcher at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, will be discussing the idea of programming as performance, examining th...

                        (for those interested in programming music)

                        Gassho,
                        Phill /Sōka
                        sat
                        Ooooh that sounds quite impressive!!! A musical instrument using a small jet-engine .. That made me go: “huh?!!”. How would that go? What made you think “this might be a good idea”?

                        [emoji1374] SatToday lah
                        "Stepping back with open hands, is thoroughly comprehending life and death. Immediately you can sparkle and respond to the world." - Hongzhi

                        Comment

                        • Soka
                          Member
                          • Jan 2017
                          • 167

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Bion
                          Ooooh that sounds quite impressive!!! A musical instrument using a small jet-engine .. That made me go: “huh?!!”. How would that go? What made you think “this might be a good idea”?
                          [emoji1374] SatToday lah
                          A friend of mine has always wanted to build a jet engine, and so we were wondering what we could do with one once we had it. Lots of people have attached them to bikes and go-karts, so we're thinking of something a bit different. If you look at pulse jet engines, they're essentially a tube with air going through them - like a woodwind instrument. I'm not sure how feasible what we are planning is at the moment, but will be fun finding out .

                          I've just been reading up on the shakuhachi. The first article I read was interesting, "Sacred Abjection in Zen Shakuhachi" https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.e...e/17/piece/585 . I can't comment on the validity of anything there, unfortunately the two spectrograms of a "non-musical" and a musical" oriented player use two different pieces of music: Hifumi no Shirabe and Gekko Roteki, so I have no idea whether one is meant to be a more harmonic piece than the other anyway.

                          Comment

                          • Ryumon
                            Member
                            • Apr 2007
                            • 1818

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Soka

                            I've just been reading up on the shakuhachi. The first article I read was interesting, "Sacred Abjection in Zen Shakuhachi" https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.e...e/17/piece/585 . I can't comment on the validity of anything there, unfortunately the two spectrograms of a "non-musical" and a musical" oriented player use two different pieces of music: Hifumi no Shirabe and Gekko Roteki, so I have no idea whether one is meant to be a more harmonic piece than the other anyway.
                            Um, okay...

                            First, beauty, within the confines of Japanese esthetics, is clearly essential in the playing of the shakuhachi. The instrument is all about tone colors, timbre, and contrasts between strong, powerful notes and soft, breathy notes. The author of the article is clearly a learned man, and I will certainly not contest what he says, but it's important to note that not much is known about how the komuso actually played the instrument, nor about how the instrument was made (in its finer details).

                            Comparing spectrographs of two pieces played on the shakuhachi without saying which type of instruments they were - jinashi or jiari - and not even mentioning the differences, is an academic sin, IMO. As I mentioned in my post above, jinashi are rougher instruments, and jiari are much smoother. It would be normal for a jiari to have a totally different spectrograph from a jinashi.

                            Anyway, I've asked my teacher, who is an ethnomusicologist, for her opinion on the article.

                            Gassho,

                            Kirk

                            sat
                            I know nothing.

                            Comment

                            • Tomás ESP
                              Member
                              • Aug 2020
                              • 575

                              #15
                              Great initiative! Music has also been a big part of my life since I was a child. I played the acoustic guitar and sang for many years, although I haven't been keeping up with that lately. But my parents are professional violinists and play in the Symphonic orquesta of the Balearic Islands (In Mallorca, where they live). Here is a short sketch of what it looks like when they play:



                              Gassho, Tomás
                              Sat&LaH

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