Practicing Shinobue Alone? Here is How You Can Stay on the Right Track.
"Is this correct? Am I practicing right??"
Many of us didn't grow up hearing shinobue, so it's natural that you don't know what shinobue should sound like. As you practice, you may be thinking, "Does my tone sound good, or am I way off?" "Am I improving?" "Why am I so inconsistent?" or even "Is my shinobue broken???"
Confusion and self-doubt can lead to giving up shinobue altogether.
The best approach is to take lessons so someone can provide objective feedback and guide you to improvement. I offer online lessons if you are interested.
But not everyone is able to take private lessons, so many of you are learning to play shinobue alone at home. Here is a list of things you need to think about to improve steadily when studying alone.
If something hurts, you are wrong.
During or after practice, if you experience any pain in your shoulders, face, wrists, back, or anywhere other than your core muscles, something is wrong. If you are doing it correctly, you should not feel pain in those areas. The only place you might feel discomfort is in your core muscles, as those are the ones you need to use, train, and strengthen. Pain in other areas could lead to injuries.
Playing the bamboo flute is an art form that has thrived for thousands of years. It should not cause pain or injury, or else it would not have survived this long.
Loud is not always good.
When we first started playing the shinobue, we couldn't produce any sound. Therefore, it's easy to assume that more sound is always better, but that's not the case. A loud shinobue playing is not good if it sounds piercing to our ears, ugly, or overly aggressive (unless the composition specifically calls for those characteristics). The goal should be to produce a round, full, and beautiful tone.
A clear tone is not always good, either!
When you're just starting out, you might find it challenging to eliminate excessive airiness or "windiness" from your tone. However, in shinobue music, an overly clean tone is not considered ideal. A bit of "windiness" is normal and aesthetically pleasing in traditional Japanese music. You can listen to Shakuhachi to understand this better. While shinobue does not use airiness as much as Shakuhachi, if the tone is too clear (often also tight and even piercing), it usually means that the performer is too tense, causing the tone to be too tight.
When is windiness too much? If there is no core sound in the tone and there is only windiness, then that's too much windiness. You must have a core sound, and there should be a little windiness around it. That's considered beautiful.
Record yourself
With the widespread use of smartphones, recording yourself is now a simple task. Do not take what you hear personally and judge yourself by saying things like, "It sounds terrible," or "Why do I suck so badly." Instead, listen to the recording objectively and practice the problem areas. There's no need to criticize yourself. Recordings are simply tools you use to hear yourself objectively!
Listen to many great shinobue players and learn from their tone.
To understand what shinobue should sound like, the best thing is to listen to as many great shinobue players as possible that you can emulate. (That is why I am introducing shinobue masters like Bunta sensei, Ms. Sarah Akiyoshi, and more.) Go to YouTube and search using "篠笛". That is shinobue in kanji, and you will get many shinobue videos made by Japanese people. You can also use "篠笛奏者” (shinobue player).
To be objective, play for others, and suddenly, you hear how others hear you.
When practicing alone, it's easy to lose perspective. Playing for others helps you see your areas for improvement and your strengths. (However, be selective about your audience. Choose people with positive energy!)
And most importantly:
