Someone: Psst….
Linfamy: Who’s there? Oh no… not…
Someone: Omae wa mou, shindeiru.
*punches* *glass breaks*
Shawn: That was for taking my boba tea!
Hey everyone, sorry about that.
I had some business to take care of.
That guy has really bumped up security since the last video hi-jack.
I am Shawn Renzoh Head, shakuhachi player from Renzoh Flutes on YouTube.
Today we are doubling down and going over two traditional Japanese flutes,
the Ryuteki and the Shinobue!
Okay, so why this time are we doing two flutes instead of one?
Well the answer is simple, the Shinobue comes from the Ryuteki.
Which is to say, Shinobue may be our first instrument that was designed
and made originally in Japan!
Let’s start with the Ryuteki.
Not going to lie, the Ryuteki has a pretty awesome name.
Dragon Flute.
The dragon flute like most instruments in Japan is made from Bamboo
but bound with cherry bark.
It is used in Gagaku, Japanese Court Music.
The sound of the ryuteki is said to represent the dragons which take flight in the skies
between the heavenly beams of grace and also between us mere mortals.
The ryuteki is a transverse flute, it has seven holes, and is about 1ft 4 inches long.
This is an open holed flute with sizable holes which allows for EXTREME pitch bending.
An interesting fact about the ryuteki, is there is a weight put near the mouthpiece,
that helps balance the sound of the instrument.
The Ryuteki’s main job is to play the melodies in Gagaku.
Seishonagon, a famous author from the Heian Period, once threw some major shade at the
hichiriki saying it sounded like noisy crickets.
Listen to how her mood changed for the Ryuteki.
「笛は横笛が、大変すばらしい遠くから、
聞こえてくる音色が、
だんだんと近づいてくるのも趣があるし、
遠のいていき、
微かに聞こえるというものとても風情がある。」
I feel amused when I listen to a flute as its sound approaches you
gradually from a distance.
I also find it deeply appealing when the sound slowly goes away to an almost inaudible point.
Shawn: I have a tear in my eye… How about you Linfamy?
Linfamy: mmmm mmm!
Shawn: Yeah, I know, it is beautiful… now for the Shinobue.
Shinobue is also Japanese woodwind instrument.
Unlike the Ryuteki, which was mainly for the upper-class aristocrats and samurai, the shinobue
has very little decoration and art.
This is most like because it’s a plebian instrument.
Since Shinobue is a common musical instrument, the appearance, tuning, and variation
are abundant throughout Japan.
It is also made from Madake bamboo but lacks the cherry bark rings like the Ryuteki.
Here is what a Shinobue sounds like.
Okay let’s go on to the history.
The "Shinobue" is thought to be the offspring of the "Ryuteki ",
which was introduced from
the Chinese mainland as a horizontal flute for Gagaku,
then it spread to the common people and was simplified.
There are two types of finger holes in Shinobue, which are currently used most often:
"Six holes" and "Seven holes".
So, what type of music does shinobue play?
First is Festival music.
Shinobue is one of the most common flutes for festival music.
Most of the time Shinobue is paired with percussion, called taiko.
The shinobue’s job is to perform the main melody of these following works,
Matsuri Hayashi,
Kagura,
and Shishimai, which means lion dance.
It’s a type of traditional dance performed by one or more people wearing a guardian lion
costume.
For this music, performers use a Hayashi Shinobue which is tuned to a traditional Japanese key
which has notes outside of the western scale.
Next type of music is Folk music or minyo!
In the world of minyo, shamisen is the main accompaniment of folk songs and dances but
to spice things up, ensembles often add shinobue, shakuhachi and percussion to the mix!
Shinobue holds a lot of roles in each song such as, providing the reference tone for
the singer, adding flourishes of sounds in a piece, and doubling with the singer to create
a new vivid tone color.
Next up is Stage music.
When it comes to the traditional performance arts of the Edo period the most popular were
the following: Kabuki, Bunraku, and Japanese dance.
In this music as well, the shamisen was the primary accompanying instrument but the Shinobue
added to melodic phrases.
One thing that is necessary for shinobue players to have is a variety of sizes of flutes.
This is needed because if the singer has a different vocal range, they need to change
flutes to fit with their range, unlike a shamisen player or koto player, who just can adjust
their tuning.
Lastly Parlor and banquet music.
Because stage music became very popular for every situation and time, there were a lot
of opportunities to perform folk music and festival music.
Now folk music and festival music are different
but because the commoners played them indiscriminately,
they mixed and became one.
Thus, the Ozashiki style was born creating Kouta and Hauta.
These together, Kouta and Hauta would go on to be the accompanying music
for Geisha and Maiko.
Let’s move on to a little bit more about the instrument.
The Shinobue is classified according to the number of finger holes it has
and the length of the tube.
Most shinobue will have either 6 or 7 holes but there are other models that exist with
more and less.
Shinobue is a very convenient instrument, which is why it can be found in so many styles
of music.
As for classical Japanese music, shinobue is easy to play because of the finger holes
all being the same diameter.
They are also lined up in equal intervals but this does make it harder to play with
other instruments that have clear western scale tuning.
Later in the Showa era, Japanese designed the position and size of the finger holes
so that it could match up with the western scale.
Like all the instruments we talk about here on Linfamy’s channel, there are a lot of
people around the world playing them and doing wonderful and exciting things with them,
Wagakki band has been mentioned many times in the comments.
Alright…
I suppose I should let him go… maybe I will just leave him like that.
So we have new patrons this week--
Linfamy: Hey! Hey! Hey!
Linfamy: So...we have new patrons this week, Kurt Wallner, Renee White and Rebekah.
We also have new emperors yay.
Jason Watkin elementary my dear Watkin, Mike G. an excellent rapper, and Ismael Vallin
or Izzy.
Thanks you guys, glad you could join.
Hey also make sure to check out Shawn’s YouTube channel at Renzoh Flutes.
For more videos on traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi, click here.
Alright you guys, much love and spread the knowledge!