Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri 2014: A review

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                   Without going into a long history of my attraction and beginnings with the shakuhachi, or Japanese bamboo flute, I will move ahead to this last year. In January I had decided to undertake a study of Welsh and continue my running. Alas, in September, the language skills and study were not proving to be very fruitful at all. So, I sidelined that tongue as well as other languages for awhile. Take a break. What I DID realize was that my love and desire for playing the shakuhachi had not diminished a bit. In fact, it had grown in intensity, making me even more aware that I did possess a skill at playing this flute. Granted, it was a very miniscule bit of skill, but nonetheless, it was there.
After lessons with Larry Tyrrell in 2011, I had to give that up due to finances, work and other scheduling issues. Skip ahead to October of 2014...right now. I've been listening to my CD's of shakuhachi music for years now and I was again bitten by the bug to get back into playing shape.
So, I signed up for an event I missed last year: The Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri (Festival). This time I was able to save the funds up to attend the workshops and concert by leading teaches : Larry Tyrrell, Kaoru Kakizakai and Ralph Samuelson. Three great players in one place!!! How superb!!

 The day arrived when the reasonably short three hour drive north had arrived and I was on my way! The weather was NOT cooperating at all though. On the way up we encountered high wind, rain and bad conditions that made it tough to see more than twenty feet or so. But the road was decent enough to maintain a good speed. Then, in a split second I had to swerve to avoid hitting a really large doe that was running across the freeway in front of the car! My swerve took us a good ten feet into the other lane, narrowly missing her back quarter by inches. Fortunately I was able to compensate and not flip or wreck. That deer was lucky as there was only one vehicle behind me and not in the right lane. Over and over for the next hour, all I could think about were the "what if" scenarios if we had indeed hit her.
Wrecked car for sure, death of the doe and, perhaps, us.
We were very lucky and proceeded on to Seattle albeit in a bit of a daze and shaken up.


   On arrival at the Japanese Cultural Center in Seattle, I found parking easily and went inside this grand older building ,set on a hillside with a view to the southwest.

BTW, these photos were taken with a Nexus 4 phone camera, so I apologize for the quality and lighting contained. My Nikon system it is not !
The original Seattle Japanese School was founded here in 1902 and the building is a delight to the senses in it's wood floors and fine interior.


     The schedule for the day was to open with some comments by Ralph Samuelson and then to split off into two workshops for students. After a little socializing beforehand and meeting some of the other students and teachers, we did exactly this. There were two options for the morning session:
In the first room would be Hifumi hachigaeshi with Ralph Samuelson and in the other room , work on
RO-buki and resonance practice with Kaoru Kakizaka. As I'm still quite a beginner , I decided that the RO-buki would be best for me, as I really need to work on breath control, capacity and making better sounds! We learned some great techniques on all of these things over the next hour and fifteen minutes and took away valuable insights on how to get more sound from our instruments.

 The other class was just finishing up when we let out for our lunch break at 11:45. To the right here is
 Kaoru Kakizaka as he was giving us instruction in RO-buki and how to make "better sounds" out of such a small stream of air! How that shakuhachi can resonate!!

The students in this class were playing well and enjoying the instruction from Ralph as he went over the score to Hifumi hachigaeshi
and helped them to hear the nuances of the piece.





  At 11:45 am we stopped for a lunch break which was a superb Bento meal from a local establishment. Wow, these were good!!! I usually don't show photos of food but here is what we had:

 Some salmon, sushi, rice, noodles,various greens and veggies and some Sencha green tea to wash it all down with.  Can't get a whole lot more Japanese than this. Wow, was it ever delicious food!!! I could eat this way every day for sure!






  After a wonderful lunch, it was time to go back to school. The next workshop was either a class on
Shingetsu with Kakizakai or a workshop on Minyo ornaments/embellishments with Larry Tyrrell.
I chose the class with my own teacher and really enjoyed the new ways of having fun with Minyo or traditional Japanese folk music. It sounds and behaves differently than the Buddhist honkyoku and other styles of Japanese classic music. In this class though, Larry had us all play these ornaments in front of the others!! Yes, I was quite nervous as I did NOT expect to be doing this. But...I was actually not bad at all and played the pieces just fine. Here is sensei Tyrrell in class:

As I had chosen my Perry Yung Earth model shakuhachi to use, it had as much different tone than the more expensive and heavier models surrounding me on this day. Yet, the flute held it's own just fine and I really enjoyed using it. There were many different models in use here by some very accomplished players. Some of these were expensive and could cost thousands of dollars. Perhaps, someday I shall own one of them when my playing is good enough to justify the expense of such a beauty. But you know, my Yung flutes as well as the Yuu I use for practice, are just fine and sound good , too.  and with finances so tight, these are just fine for me. Below is the flute  Iused for the Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri.







When we were finished with this workshop, the other was also finishing up. This was the class of Shingetsu with Kakizakai that was finishing up.

Now was time for the student recitals. Um...hell no was I going to be playing ANYTHING in front of a group of such accomplished artists!! Sure, I could blow RO and TSU notes for them and look funny doing it. These were recitals for players who had been doing this awhile and could bring out the sounds and beauty of the works. For the next hour and forty five minutes, these fine folks played their hearts out and impressed this beginner with all of the intensity of a thousand suns! Below are the photographs of the recitalists , ALL of whom did a remarkable job in their performances. Next year...I only hope I can be an eighth as good as they were. Congratulations too all who played!!

 Unfortunately, I do not  have the names of all of my fellow shakuhachi players and can only put first names to some here. As I continue this journey of learning, perhaps i will get to know more of them better and put names to faces well in the future.  At right is
Ray Ruhlen >>>>>>

 

To the left is Patrick
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And to the right is sensei Larry Tyrrell and one of his students, whom I didn't meet.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To the left is a kind fellow named Kirk.
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And to the right, another good player named Chris Grabowski. >>>>>>>

 Then a duet with Larry Tyrrell and one of his students, Alex . Below, James and his Koto playing partner for a duet.

















  After the student recital, there was some time to socialize, play some of the various flutes for sale and to get to know each other a bit. I wish I had been able to do more of this but, alas, I didn't due to time. Following now are some photos of the various students and teachers before the final concert of the evening.

   At four PM was the evening concert with the three teachers performing a variety of wonderful pieces on various sized shakuhachi. Below are the photos from the concert.

   The concert lasted an hour and a half and included some of the best playing I have ever heard! While I have limited experience with live shakuhachi concerts, this was a real treat. To listen to all three accomplished and famous players and teachers, all at the same concert, was beyond my wildest dreams!


   For the final work , the famous honkyoku piece known as "Shika no Tone" , or " The distant cry of the deer" is usually a solo piece or, even better, a duet between two players as the call and response from the other makes it such a thrill. This time...
it would be played by THREE players. While Ralph played the starting call from the front of the room, sensei Tyrrell and sensei Kakizakai started at the back of the hall, slowly moving forward to the front as they all exchanged calls. The final trio at the end was spectacular and a delightful end to the day.

      So, there you have it. The Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri of 2014. There were many valuable things I have learned while attending this festival and it's workshops. The first being that I want to progress so badly in learning this beloved instrument and all I can about it's history,sound and background.
Second, that I need to devote time and space to this endeavor. It is not going to be an easy path as it takes dedication and scheduling as well as daily practice. At least a half hour minimum. I have tried this before and admit I was not very good at keeping things going. I simply had way too many pans in the fire for me to effectively devote time to it. So, after careful thought, I have decided to devote all of 2015 to this ONE and only "hobby". No languages, no new sports pursuits, no running after something that will sidetrack me. Now IF there is something that will ENHANCE my playing and time with the shakuhachi, that's fine. This is where Buddhist history and meditaion come in. These are lifestyles, not hobbies. And running will not be affected. Looks like I have my new years resolution set for the year 2015. Now, to get my ducks in a row, books and scores out. Have my new
calendar to note each and every practice and what I did. Well.....there it is. Wish me luck!!
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  And, to end this blog post, a photo of me with my teacher, Larry Tyrrell. Thanks for the delightful
day my friend and I so look forward to next year!!

Awareness: Am I really aware or still asleep?

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                                                          There are times in our lives when the skies open up and we are hit with a blinding flash of light, awakening us to something we had not yet perceived. And when it is not as dramatic as that, perhaps it is simply the light bulb in the mind turning on.That "AH"moment.  Over the last few years as I have studied myself in depth and the way my thought patterns and heart work in conjunction with each other, I've discovered many new and enriching things. Some are positives, some are negatives. But either way, what I have learned has changed my life. For the better.

When I started to study the Eastern philosophies and how they could unlock the mind, the heart and the connections between them, I was admittedly skeptical. My history in
psychology was limited to high school classes and self taught studies. Yet, they didn't teach many of the thoughts and experiences from those Eastern thinkers, primarily concentrating on Western philosophers, theorists and great minds. My introduction to the minds of the Asian thought process was amazing. These were not hinting I should look to a superior power or being for my answers, but my own self. My human heart and mind.

And a central question,always unanswered,dealt with awareness. What was I missing in my daily life and how could I discover what "it" was? The answers, were to become  those "light bulb" moments.
Especially when trying to discover the source of my irritation, pain and uncomfortable feelings that seemed to follow me everywhere. In the pit of my belly, when I would get sick with worry and wonder why. I was enjoying the good feelings we get when good things happen, and avoiding the bad things when they occurred. That's how many people deal with life. Yet, when we accept, learn to be aware of feelings and grasping, we let these bad moments go and they pass through us, as Jack Kornfield says, like the changing weather. We can be free to deal with them and move on with life, not letting them take us down. What feelings were causing me to be in such a state?

There are so many feelings and emotions that can cause pain, forcing us to block awareness and to move through life in a stressed state. But one CAN be free. Free not being that we are free from experiencing them, but free to move past them and on to other things, easily. I was not moving on and was caught up in something that ate at me. Yet could not pinpoint it. Finally, it came to me when listening to a speech given by a well known Buddhist teacher. He had EXACTLY the same issues I did.  My daily dreams, fantasies and visions were of loneliness. Every time I had such sorrows or that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, it was due to being lonely. Seriously? Really? Ugh.
Like this teacher, I had a difficult time accepting my loneliness. I needed to accept it's resistance. Was I REALLY lonely or was it all in my head? After all, the mind is an amazing organ, full of life.

When I was young, I never had many good friends. All of my school chums had them, the neighborhood children had them. But I was always left out of most of the activities. This continued up through high school. Sure, I admit I had some friends there and associated with them during school hours, but very rarely outside of that building. This left me alone a lot during those formative years. As I graduated and moved to a larger city and found work, I still had similar patterns. I won't blame this all on my religious beliefs,although they played a large part. I COULD have made friends if I'd tried. Yet, I didn't. So, after eventually marrying and settling down, I hoped this would change. Not much. The few friends I had were fleeting and never stuck around long. It wasn't until I left the religious system I had been part of and began to open my mind and heart to other things that I truly began to see what had been happening all of those years. Why did it take so fucking long?

 Certain things in my mind had been erased. Well, perhaps not erased as much as hidden.
Now I was almost 48 years old, and in constant fear of being lonely, not having anyone around me to talk to, craving communication. ALL THE TIME!!!! I wasn't alone at all! I was surrounded by lovely people By my family of sweeties and their friends. From my community of running friends and those of the LGBT and poly community. Incredible people from all walks of life. How in hell could I be LONELY? When I had more than twenty or thirty minutes alone I would go stir crazy! Wondering if I was still loved. Did I do something wrong ? WHAT was this fear?

Seems this fear of being lonely was something I'd had for many years of my life. From that loneliness of a child, a teen, a young man. It never did go away, but buried itself in my heart and mind, as they played with it, trying to hide it as I journeyed through life. A sort of tag, I suppose. A contract between the heart and mind had been made and i was left out of the proceedings.
Now it became time to look at these fears, sense them, and to let them pass on. To see what was brought up from my past. Up from my core came came the feelings of abandonment, of fear of being alone, of not being loved. These feelings were what I was identifying with. They continued till my middle age yet were not manifesting themselves until the light bulb came on. It was time to let go of the feelings of loneliness and to let that time alone be what it was: a feeling. Something that would change in a very short time, and always was the last few years. Here I was the luckiest man alive, being surrounded by love and other humans, also with that love. I simply didn't see it. Feel it.
It is now time for a change. The last six years of my life have been filled with momentous events of upheaval and drama.Mostly positive to be fair. Why not MAKE that continue? I can. Now that I've defined the problem and can let things pass through me like the fleeting sound of a whisper.
Just be. Let that time alone be as fleeting. Take advantage of this time to dig deep within and source all of those feelings and enjoy the alone time. Ditch the devices I chat on? No, I don't need to do that at all. It does not mean I STOP associating. It signifies a need to be calm and happy being alone.
My loneliness will just have to deal with it and get used to the transitory nature of everything we as humans feel. And as one of the seven billion on this planet, I'm not alone in this journey.
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In addition, I want to make clear that although I have always felt alone and lonely, I was ALWAYS loved by my parents and brother. Never once did I feel anything other than support and affection.
My feelings came from society in general and it's amazing I'm an extrovert, an ESFJ on the MBTI.
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And here I go...again with the 尺八.

                                                           尺八      So...here I go again. Sounds like a Whitesnake song title from the 80's (which it really is). Another change in direction for my soul,heart and mind. At the beginning of the year I told myself I would study Welsh and stick to running as my primary passions.
Then, after eight months of Welsh, I came to the conclusion that it just was not sinking in, not getting past the permafrost that is the brain of James Donald Ross. As mentioned in a previous post, languages don't tend to linger long in my mind as much as they once did. So, I had a choice: go back to German, the language I did and do well with, or waste time on Welsh when it is never penetrating.
German it was!! Yet, I didn't get too far with it before I was bitten...AGAIN! But, this time by something I really LOVE and enjoy doing...anytime of the day or night. Alone or with others.

Yep. The shakuhachi was calling me back...in a BIG way. My teacher, Larry Tyrrell, posted information for the Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri, a one day class/cultural event that is in it's second year. I missed last year due to finances and scheduling issues. But not this time!! This totally inspired me to start up again with my beloved and most favourite instrument of all time. Sure, I had been playing the shakuhachi since 2010, but not very well. I really enjoy what I'm able to accomplish on it though and it is very, pardon the pun, instrumental in my meditation and personal/private alone time. I have never NOT played my flutes but admittedly have taken long stretches in between more serious study, the last being in 2013 for a few months. Well, I have a renewed fervor in getting back to where I was in playing and moving on from the few songs I can play. Time and finances won't permit further study privately right now.

Therefore, I shall attend this delightful event and soak in as much as possible. Music IS my soul.
The shakuhachi calls to me more than other instrument ever has. Since hearing it for the first time I have been enamored, spellbound and enraptured by it's sound, it's voice and the way it makes me feel.Only the native American flutes have ever had a similar voice. But none of them were meditative to me. This simple piece of vegetation from the ground has an incredibly rich history that has played a distinct role in shaping the music of China, Korea and especially, Japan. So, there it is.

  I shall give the shakuhachi more time now and spend an hour a day on practice, if I can. One never knows how life will change and transform the heart and soul. but this instrument has been a big part of me for years now and it's time I get cracking on more in depth study. THIS is where I actually might shine and can perhaps become good at something that is not a common "hobby" or an instrument that everyone and their brother plays. Like the first line of the blog said...here I go again.

 If you are interested in attending the Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri, here is the information:

Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri 2014
October 25, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Japanese Community and Cultural Center of Washington
1414 S Weller St, Seattle, WA

shakuhachi@moonbridge.com
This year the Pacific Northwest shakuhachi community welcomes back Kaoru Kakizakai for the second annual Seattle Shakuhachi Matsuri. This one-day event celebrates the music and cultural heritage of the Japanese bamboo flute. We're pleased and honored to add New York-based Ralph Samuelson to our roster for this year's event.
We'll have workshops, a flute fair, a CD table, bento lunch, a student recital and a 4:00 feature concert with Kaoru Kakizakai, Ralph Samuelson and Larry Tyrrell.
Filmmaker André Mascarenhas will be there to document the event so we'll have a DVD available at a future date.
We request advance registration for all-day participants. Please register by emailing shakuhachi@moonbridge.com. Both the recital and the concert are open to the public. A $10 donation is requested for the feature concert. Looking forward to seeing you there!