Ryo on vs. Kan on: What are two different things you do when playing them?

Secrets to achieve a beautiful kan on tone

Trying to play kan on can be frustrating for beginners. I bet many people feel like giving up the shinobue at this point. But with practice, you will be able to produce beautiful kan on, too!

Before you try this, be sure that you have a good ryo on tone.

Discover the distinction between a great ryo on tone and a not-so-great one. Check out this video to see how to practice for a fantastic ryo on tone! Ryo on is the foundation for kan on. Without it, your kan on will not be good.

Once you consistently have a great ryo on tone, you can start playing kan on. Here are two steps to help you create a beautiful kan on tone.

1. Create space between your upper teeth and upper lip.

To do this, first, you lengthen the distance between the bottom of your nose and your upper lip (You should be playing ryo on this way too). See my thumbnail picture above? The distance between the bottom of my nose and upper lip is stretched out and I look kind of like a horse.

Here is the shinobue master, Mr. Motofumi Yamaguchi. Observe the distance between the bottom of his nose and his upper lip.

Next, you lift the circled area by activating the muscles in the solid red area.

Activate the muscles here and…

Lift this area to create space between your upper teeth and upper lip.

This "lift" is very slight and is NOT visible (you just feel it). So, Your embouchure should look the same when playing from ryo on to kan on. If your embouchure looks different, you are probably creating the kan on by tightening your lips and blowing hard, which results in a harsh and windy tone you do not want.

2. Use your core muscles to propel the air (not your lips).

Instead of tensing up your lips to blow air with your mouth, focus on propelling the air using your core muscles, particularly the muscles around your belly button and your buttocks.

There you have it! That's the secret to having a beautiful kan on tone. This is easier said than done, and you will need a lot of practice to achieve this. So don't give up, even if you can't do it right away! Keep on going even if you don't hear any immediate changes. If it were easy, then anybody could do it. How special would that be? Spending time with the shinobue is a beautiful thing. Enjoy the process and each little step forward and even backward at times. That's the nature of the shinobue journey! 💕