April 1997

Scales

I have heard that the world famous cellist Pablo Casals practiced his basic scales until late in life. That a musician as accomplished as Casals practices something as basic as scales so unfailingly reveals how important they are. This is just as true for the shakuhachi as it is for the cello. Unfortunately, many players skimp on this part of their practice.

In fact, it is harder than most people realize to even play a truly correct "Ro-Tsu-Re-Chi-Ri". You cannot just blow through the flute and lift your fingers one by one. Try it yourself with a tuner and see if doing it that way leads to "D-F-G-A-C-D". The nature of the shakuhachi is such that individual notes often need to be slightly adjusted. The adjustments will differ for each shakuhachi. Polishing your ear for correct pitches is crucial both for honkyoku or modern pieces.

There is one particularly useful method of practicing scales. This is to play the "Ro-Tsu-Re-Chi-Ri" scale on the 1.8 for each half pitch away from the basic scale. In other words, play the "Ro-Tsu-Re-Chi-Ri" pitches for a 1.7 flute, then for a 1.6 flute, etc. all on a 1.8 [translator's note: I'll be posting the exact pitch sequences for these sometime after all the translations are complete]. Another method is to play Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do, then shift the sequence up by a half tone at a time. This will help you gain confidence with notes like Tsu-chu-meri and Ri-chu-meri.

There are many kinds of scales that are good to practice on. Playing them by shifting the sequence up by half a tone at a time is very beneficial for your playing. You will see a dramatic difference in your skill as a performer.

Try including these methods in your daily practice along with your 10 minutes of Ro and see how beneficial they are to your playing.