Improve your kan on instantly! 80/20 rule
This groundbreaking kan on rule from Bunta sensei instantly improved my students' kan on sound! It can change yours, too!
Refer to the diagram above. Ryo on is represented by the pink area, while Kan on is represented by the blue area. There is a secret that nobody ever thinks about, but Bunta-sensei told me this from the very beginning of my studies with him.
"The most beautiful kan on sound resides in where there is 80% kan on and 20% ryo on."
Do you know what that means?
That means your effort to completely eliminate the ryo sound when playing kan on was unnecessary. In fact, it was making your kan on sound ugly!!!
Everyone treats the lingering ryo on sound as if it were the plague when trying to achieve the kan on sound.
Many of us think the "kan on" sound should only come from the blue part of the diagram (100% kan on). In our eagerness to eliminate the pink, we blow harder. Unfortunately, this can lead to a windy, piercing, and aggressive kan on sound. We might feel satisfied that we've gotten rid of the "ryo on" and think we're playing "kan on" fine. But then we start to wonder why our shinobue doesn’t sound as beautiful as we hoped.
So if you hear a hint of ryo on in the background when you are playing kan on, let it be.
This concept is especially relevant when you are playing the kan on notes 1, 2, and 3. As you progress to higher kan on notes, you will notice that you hear the ryo on less. But you still need to keep your body open (especially the chest cavity where Ryo on resonates most). You should avoid pushing really hard only on the blue territory.
Real-life example:
My student, Daniel's kan on sounded aggressive, so I asked him not to blow with his mouth and just propel the air from his core muscles. His tone immediately improved, but he said, "But I still hear the ryo on in there."
So I told him the shadow of Ryo on sound is actually desired in kan on, and he said, "REALLY??? I was trying so hard to get rid of it!!" Just by knowing the 80/20 rule, his kan on playing changed forever from that moment!!
How to practice the 80/20 rule
Practicing octaves is super important for shinobue players! Check out this video and have fun practicing along with it!