You won't believe this surprising tip for achieving beautiful shinobue high notes π€―
The high notes on the shinobue, technically known as "Kan on" and "Dai kan on," are challenging to produce beautifully.
I was "fortunate" enough to be able to play kan on from the very beginning; HOWEVER, they sounded TERRIBLE because I was tightening my mouth a lot to produce them. As a result, I could only play shinobue for about 15 to 20 minutes, because after that, my face would start hurting too much! This is a true story. π
But when I relaxed my mouth, I simply couldn't produce any high notes. π₯²
So when I started taking lessons with my shinobue teacher, Bunta Satoh sensei, and saw him hitting all kinds of high notes with his mouth completely relaxed, it was like I was witnessing witchcraft.
How in the world is he doing that??????????
Bunta sensei began to teach me his secret method of witchcraft. However, it wasn't actually witchcraft (obviously), and it certainly wasn't a secret. He eagerly shares this information with his students and takes pleasure in my sharing it with the whole wide world. π
He said, "Instead of using your mouth to push the air into shinobue, you use your core muscles to propel the air into shinobue."
OK, sure.
Well, certainly, this was easier said than done.
But if we want beautiful high notes, we must use our core muscles.
This is not something only Bunta sensei says. All the great shinobue players and even great singing teachers say the same thing.
To play the shinobue, you should not blow air using your mouth. Instead, you should propel the air from your stomach, allowing it to flow out of your mouth.
If you blow the air from your mouth, it's a short distance for the air to travel to the mouth hole (utakuchi).
But the correct way is to have the air travel long distance, all the way from the stomach. This makes the air move slowly, and slow air is what shinobue likes (fast air makes windy sound).
So, your mouth does not blow air; it simply directs the air into the mouth hole (utakuchi).
In other words, your mouth acts like a faucet.
Why is the faucet pointing down? Because it DIRECTS the water down to the sink.
What if the faucet is pointing up?
The water will hit the ceiling, which is not very helpful.
Does the faucet produce the water?
No, the water comes from somewhere else. The faucet simply directs the water.
Likewise, your mouth should not produce air locally, but it simply directs the air that comes from the stomach (it actually comes from the lungs, but it feels like it comes from the stomach because we are controlling the airflow using our core muscles) down to the mouth hole (utakuchi).
And when you work on your mouth shape to play shinobue (embouchure), you are working on creating the very best faucet shape.
So why is your mouth doing the double duty of both producing the air and directing the air right now?
Because your core muscles are not producing (propelling) the air, so your mouth has to.
If you start working your core muscles to propel the air, your mouth can retire from blowing-air job and just do the directing-air job.
When you see me play the shinobue on YouTube, you see my fingers and face.
You know what, though?
You are missing seeing a very important part of my body that is responsible for playing high notes: my lower body.
Be honest and answer this question.
When you can't play your high notes beautifully, are you thinking about your lower body?
Many people tell me they don't think about their lower body AT ALL when playing shinobue.
They forget about it all the time.
And they wonder why they can't play beautiful high notes.
When I play a piece with lots of kan on and dai kan on, I use my lower body so much I start sweating in the middle of the winter in my cold basement studio.
Yes, there are other reasons why one can't play high notes on shinobue well, but not using the lower body is probably one of the most common reasons why people can't play beautiful high notes.
Learning how to use your lower body when playing shinobue takes time. But here is one thing you can do easily to bring attention to your lower body as you play the shinobue.
When you play a high note next time, bend your knees.
Yes, bend your knees.
What is that going to do to my high notes, you may ask.
Well, stand up right now, put your hands on your sides like this,
and bend your knees.
Didn't you feel your core muscles tighten?
When you bend your knees, your core muscles tighten up automatically (probably to balance your body). So we will use that automatic response to our advantage and learn how to activate our core muscles as we play the high notes on shinobue.
For example, here is a tricky kan on 2 from "Takeda no komoriuta".
Look at the measure 5 and 6 below. You have to play ε γ2 δΈ.
Many beginners have a difficult time playing kan on 2 from ryo on 6.
Here is the common scenario.
You try to play kan on 2 from ryo on 6, but you can't get any sound on kan on 2.
So you do what most of us instinctively do when we can't get any sound: Blow harder.
But I say, instead of blowing hard, slow down your air speed on kan on 2, even slower than ryo on 6.
Then at the same time, BEND your knees as you play kan on 2 to activate your core muscles.
And relax your mouth while maintaining the optimal mouth shape for the shinobue.
Practice this EVERY DAY for a week and see how you feel about your lower body at the end of your first week.
Learning how to play shinobue is a journey. There is no one trick that will make you play your shinobue beautifully instantly.
YOU must build a relationship with your shinobue. I can give you guidance, but at the end of the day, it's you who is playing the shinobue and you need to build that special relationship with your shinobue.
Try bending your knees on high notes, and see how your best friend (your shinobue) responds. β€οΈ