This month's tip is related to my tip of October, 2000: Breath Control. This month covers some of the same ideas from a different perspective.
It is important to have good ma in honkyoku. Sometimes this elusive word can refer to the length of an extended note, or sometimes it can refer to the space between notes themselves. Almost always, you take a breath during the ma between phrases. Simple, right?
But,when does a phrase really end? It's not as simple as it sounds. If you succeed in drawing out the end of the note well, without it either ending suddenly or dropping in pitch, then the sound will seem to remain in the air even though it's already vanished. This is key to good shakuhachi playing, especially honkyoku.
Taking a breath during this precious moment can destroy it. Instead, wait an extra moment before drawing your breath for the next phrase to help preserve the lingering impact of the previous one. (Of course, this is true only for certain phrases. Many times you have to take breaths as fast as you can.)
The same thing happens in reverse at the beginning of phrases. Many players automatically take a breath and then start playing as soon as they've finished inhaling. However, not all phrases should begin as soon as possible. The ma for some sections will require you to wait a moment after inhaling and before playing.
Rather than waiting to take a breath and then playing as soon as you've inhaled, it can help the continuity of the piece to breath in, wait for an instant or two,then beginning breathing out at exactly the right time.
Controlling your breathing like this will improve your honkyoku playing. Especially for those who think their honkyoku lack a certain something--try listening to the spaces where there are no notes and see if you are using them effectively.