A-21.Thoughts on Tone Colo有關音色的想法
"shakuhachi tips"
原作者：柿堺香老師(Kaoru Kakizakai)
英文翻譯: Zachary Braverman
進階篇21.
January 1999
A-21.Thoughts on Tone Colo有關音色的想法
What determines tone color? The player, of course, but also the instrument. There are some flutes, for instance, where one can discern the maker from the sound no matter who plays it. It is also common for a student to sound similar to their teacher. This springs from their desire to play more like their teacher does.
This month, I would like to talk about one other factor which determine tone color.This is whether or not you play many meris. Players who play many meris within their songs tend to blow in a way that help them play meris easily. This includes relaxing the edges of the mouth and blowing a little bit kari, so that there is more room to meri.
Players who play the opposite way - with more tension around the mouth and in as lightly meri position - tend to exhibit a “hard” sound. Conversely, those who play more in a kari position and with a more relaxed embouchure tend to have a“soft” sound.
Tone color is a matter of taste and personal preference, so one cannot say whether soft or hard sounds are better. However,it is possible to tell, after hearing one sound, whether or not a player will be good at meri.
Tone color is like voice. Everyone has a different, distinctive voice just as each person has a different face. However, like one’s face, there are often aspects that you may not like that you cannot change, either. Remember that just because there is something about your tone color you don’t like, that doesn’t mean your playing will not be good.
Take Louis Armstrong or Mori Shin’ichi’s voices, for instance. These are hardly renowned as “good” voices, yet they have an individuality and a character that is delightful to listen to (even apart from technical singing skill).
Within the world of shakuhachi (and music in general), there are some things for which there is room for individual expression and other things for which there is not. There is very little room for personal expression in pitch, but there is much room for expression and variation in tone color.
Therefore,my advice is to find and develop a tone color that is ultimately your own, and that no one could mimic even if they used your flute!
