Recent videos

Part 5 of the mini-series on special shakuhachi techniques: kubi furi (首振り), literally meaning ‘neck vibrato’. This is the main form of vibrato that is done on the shakuhachi. The Japanese saying 首振り三年’ (kubi furi san nen’, ‘it takes three years to learn kubi furi) is an exaggeration; you really need to know one core technique.

Kuyō kyoku (供養曲) on 2.7 shakuhachi – Shakuhachi koten honkyoku)

Tutorial: Hi no maru no hata (日の丸の旗) on shakuhachi (尺八)

Akatombo (赤とんぼ) – Simple play-along version on a standard 1.8 shakuhachi (尺八). No ornamentations or flourishes. Suitable for beginners to practise playing.

Tsuki no sabaku • 月の砂漠 (Moon Desert), a classic Japanese song played on a 6-hon shinobue (篠笛).

In this interview with Riley Lee we talk about taiko, shakuhachi, ethnomusicological research and music in general. We also touched on topics of Zen and shakuhachi.