Shinobue Blog
😃My FIRST Face-To-Face Lesson with Bunta Sensei!! What did he tell me?????????😳
When he corrected my posture, it CHANGED me. Suddenly, I was able to play the note I had not been able to play consistently before. I know for sure that my playing will never be the same!! This slight adjustment in posture can change your playing forever, too!!!
🤯Unbelievable Kan On Success Stories 🫢 Power of your Lower Body
Bunta sensei says great power resides in "Tanden".
💋 Shinobue embouchure 2: Your mouth does NOT blow the air. 🫢
If I asked anyone how to play the shinobue (or any flute, for that matter), they would say, "You blow air into the mouth hole." Oh, OK. Got it. Let's blow air.
But that's where things start to go wrong because...
👄 Shinobue embouchure: Get your lower lip out of the way! 🫢
Learning how to get your lower lip out of the way can drastically improve your tone.
How a Mirror Can Change Your Shinobue Game - The Easiest Way to Get Better!!
What we "think" we are doing and what we are actually doing can be vastly different. That's why dance studios have mirrors everywhere. Using a mirror can be a game changer for shinobue learners, too.
Shinobue Flute Lessons: Receive a personalized guide for your journey.
Every shinobue journey is unique. Receive your personalized guide!
😤Taking a Big Breath to Play a Long Phrase on Shinobue? - Don't. 🫢
Don’t waste your money or air. Learn how to stop running out of breath.
😎Progress faster - Make Shinobue Practice Your Daily Ritual😌
Here are 3 awesome ideas to make shinobue practice into your daily ritual!
💓Love playing shinobue? Great! But don't SMILE! 😱
Many shinobue manuals say to “Smile”. But the smiley position gives you a bad tone and even causes pain in your face. Why do they tell you to smile, then, and what’s the alternative?
Japanese Proverb: "3 Years on a Stone" - Culture of Patience and Humility
Even a cold, hard stone will give you warmth and goodness if you sit on it for 3 years. That's the culture shinobue was born in.
How to Create "Slow Breath" - Must-Have for a Beautiful Shinobue Tone
From day 1, my teacher, Bunta Satoh sensei, said, "Your breath is too fast. Make it slow." But every time I thought I was making my breath slow, shinobue gave me a weak, frail and windy breath with no resonance.
"Miki, come play your shinobue in front of Netflix." 😱 How to turn fear into your advantage. 😏
“I found you on Instagram when looking up Japanese flute. Would you be interested in performing at New York Fashion Week?” I received this text last week and thought it was spam. I looked up the sender, and she was a budding Asian fashion designer. This was real.
How to build a relationship with your shinobue
As you put your breath into shinobue, ask your shinobue, "Do you like the speed of this breath? How about the angle?" and listen to its answers. Your shinobue will answer it in the tone it produces and the feel you receive from it.