Ich hatte ja am 1. August 2023 einen Artikel von Monty Levenson eingestellt, der von der Komplexität der Herstellung einer Shakuhachi handelte.
Ich habe auch persönlich mit Monty beste Erfahrungen was seinen Reparaturservice für solche Flöten betrifft.
Monty betreibt über seine Website
www.shakuhachi.com weltweit seinen Onlineshop „Tai Hei“, über den man Shakuhachi jeglicher Güte beziehen kann, und man kann wie ich die eigene, reparaturbedürftige Shakuhachi für eine Expertise und anschließende Reparaturentscheidung einsenden.
Mein Kaizan Zenmura 1.8 erwarb ich ca. 2008 über eBay im Internet von einem vertrauenswürdigen und auch bekannten Shakuhachispieler aus UK. Zwar waren da schon einige Risse im Bambus adressiert und als behandelt deklariert, aber die Flöte wurde als spielbar angeboten. Der Preis von ca. 600,- GBP erschien mir angemessen.
Ich bemerkte bald beim Spielen, dass die Noten RO und TSU zwar etwas heikel waren, aber schon nach einigen Tagen schien überhaupt kein Ton mehr richtig anzusprechen. Ich konnte sehen, dass offensichtlich eine unprofessionelle Behandlung der Risse erfolgt sein musste.
2009 schließlich nahm ich mit Monty Kontakt auf und er bot mir an, das Instrument zur Begutachtung durch ihn nach Mendocino/CA/USA einzuschicken.
Damit begann sich eine weitere Erfahrung in meinem Leben zu manifestieren: wie sollte man bei eBay einkaufen, auf was sollte man achten usw.. Natürlich ist der Kauf eines Musikinstuments über eBay ohne persönliche Begutachtung immer ein Risiko. Bei meinen Gitarren hatte es aber eigentlich immer gut funktioniert, und ich habe einige über eBay sowohl gekauft als auch verkauft.
Doch nun zu den zwei Expertisen, die Monty mir erstellte. Sie sollen dazu dienen, jedem Shakuhachispieler darzulegen, mit welcher Genauigkeit und Sogfalt Monty die ihm gestellten Aufgaben angeht.
Warum zwei Expertisen für eine Flöte? Nun, nach der ersten Expertise, die bereits vollständig war, entschied ich mich für eine kostengünstigere Teillösung: Reparatur der Risse, des Utagushi und Versorgung der Flöte mit Bindings. Die ebenfalls schon damals bestehenden Intonations- und Resonanzprobleme - besonders RO/TSU - schienen mir zunächst verzichtbar.
Als ich die Flöte repariert von Monty zurück erhielt, war ich bereits sehr zufrieden….allerdings verschlimmerte sich das Anspringen der Töne RO und TSU erheblich. Also entschloss ich mich 2020 erneut mit Monty zu kommunizieren, und nun doch ein Bore-Enhancement wie bereits damals angeboten durchführen zu lassen, einschließlich eines Tunings auf westliche Stimmung. 2009 erhielt die Flöte nach der professionellen Schließung der Risse 11 traditionelle Bindungen: hier wird für jede Bindung quer zur Flöte an den notwendigen Stellen ein flacher Kanal in das äußere Bambusrohr geschnitzt. Danach wird dort ein stabiles Material eingewickelt und am Ende darüber ein dekoratives Ratan-Binding vorgenommen, dass mit der äußeren Bambusoberfläche exakt abschließt. Bei diesem Verfahren sind pro Bindung 45,- USD fällig, während die anderen Bindungen komplett bei 150,- bis 250,- USD liegen.
Bei mir kamen also aus Notwendigkeit der extremen ca. 9 erheblichen Risse bis teilweise ins Rohrinnere und in die Grifflöcher also 11 x 45,- USD zum Anschlag, ca. 500,- USD also. Dazu musste das Utagushi ersetzt und der Tenon (Kopplung der beiden Flötenteile) bearbeitet werden. Die Kosten beliefen sich dann ohne Versand und Einfuhrgebühren auf ca. 750,- USD.
Die Intonation und die schiere Unmöglichkeit die Noten RO und TSU zu erzeugen führten also 11 Jahre später zu einer weiteren Reparatur, diesmal speziel die Resonanz- und Stimmungsprobleme zu lösen. Laut Monty waren einige Risse trotz 11 Bindings wieder etwas aufgegangen und er mußte diese Mikrorisse erneut und auch im Inneren des Rohres neu abdichten, was ebenfalls eine neue Innenrohrlackierung erforderte, auch wegen der an den Grifflöchern wegen der Intonation erforderlichen Vergrößerungen. Dafür wurden 650,- USD ohne Einfuhrgebühren und Versand fällig.
Ich möchte an dieser Stelle unbedingt anmerken, das wir hier von Zeit raubenden Arbeiten sprechen, die bei normalen Stundenlöhnen eines Handwerkers nicht zu bezahlen wären.
Nachfolgend die beiden Expertisen und bei der zweiten kann ich einige Bilder beifügen, aus denen die 11 Bindungen der ersten Reparatur ersichtlich sind und wie aufwändig Monty die Luftlücken der Risse durch Abkleben mit Klebeband lokalisieren musste.
Monty Expertise Zenmura Shakuhachi 2009
Hi Reiner, I had a chance to take a close look at the flute you sent me. Shakuhachi with severe cracks in the bamboo that penetrate into the bore will not produce a sound in some or all of the notes until all the leaks are completely sealed. I sealed these cracks in your flute temporarily enabling me to evaluate its acoustical and performance qualities.
In evaluating a shakuhachi the following criteria are considered: bamboo aesthetics and craftsmanship along with performance and acoustical issues. The latter criterion takes into account pitch, timbre and resonance of the flute.
Pitch is a simple determination of whether the instrument is in tune or not with standard Western frequencies. If not, which notes are sharp or flat and what can be done to correct the problems. Generally, pitch is determined by the relative size and position of the finger holes, but can be affected by resonance issues as well.
Timbre or tone color ("neiro", in Japanese) is largely determined by the overall design of the bore and essentially a matter of personal taste. Timbre translates into harmonic configuration or the spectrum of frequencies that make up each individual tone. Not much can be done to alter this aspect of the a flute without completely redesigning and rebuilding the bore. Each traditional maker tends to have a recognizable quality of sound in this regard.
Resonance is clearly the most important issue involved in assessing acoustical and performance qualities of a shakuhachi. It is the domain in which most instruments are likely to exhibit problems, but also one that is most correctable. Resonance governs how much air the flute will accept and how hard the sound can be pushed. Any shakuhachi, including the most primitive plastic plumbing pipe models, will perform adequately in this area if the player blows softly. As more air is introduced into the bore and blowing becomes more intense, the higher partials or overtones of the sound are exercised giving the shakuhachi its distinctive ringing tone. If the bore profile of an instrument is not properly designed and rendered to a very precise shape, there are acoustical consequences. Unwanted vibrato, notes jumping into higher octaves, instability and weakness of tone and, in extreme case, the inability to produce a clear sound at all are just a few manifestations of resonance problems. This is an aspect in assessing and grading the quality of a shakuhachi that represents the greatest challenge to traditional makers.
Here are the conclusions I have come to regarding the shakuhachi you sent me:
MAKER: The name of the maker is Kazan Zenmura. It turns out, I've repaired and restored some of his shakuhachi over the years.
STYLE: Kinko-ryu
BAMBOO: Judging from looks of the bamboo and craftsmanship, this instrument appears to be fairly old and certainly well used. Excellent piece of madake bamboo that is well- proportional with a beautiful dark patina. The shape of the madake at the lowest section of roots is not aesthetically ideal, however, this has no bearing whatsoever on how the instrument plays.
UTAGUCHI: The design of the mouthpiece curvature is excellent in size and depth. The angle is also just where I like to see it, as is the opening at the top end of the bamboo. It is quite unusual for all of these parameter to line up so perfectly for a shakuhachi of this vintage. The flute may have been modified at some point in its life. Unfortunately, the utaguchi inlay is cracked down the center and into the bore of the flute. For this reason, it needs to be replaced.
CRACKS: The bamboo exhibits severe cracks in both the upper and lower sections. These cracks have been previously repaired, however, have not held up well over time. Nearly all of the crack have reopened to a certain degree. Some penetrate into the finger holes resulting in air leakage. Previous repairs were poorly done. Binding had been placed too far apart and not tightly enough to stabilize the cracks. The work itself and subsequent attempts to fill the cracks have been sloppy done and are unpleasing to the eye. Improvements are definitely in order.
NAKASUKe: The nakasuke is the middle mortise-and-tenon joint of a two-piece shakuhachi. There is a tendency for this joint to wear, loosen and leak air over time. The joint on this instrument is extremelv loose and should be repaired. The instrument will not produce a sound with placing shims in the joint. The joint continued to leak slightly, so I repaired it temporarily with tape to seal the nakasuké. This was necessary in order to evaluate the instrument for tuning and resonance. (See below)
The nakasuké tenon is a bit too long for the mortise, preventing the two section of the bamboo from meeting perfectly. This is strictly an aesthetic consideration and does not affect the performance of the instrument. I can, however, be fixed.
NAKASUKé RINGS: The decorative rings made out of split rattan is adequate and needs no further attention.
BORE: The interior bore of most traditional shakuhachi are fabricated to a precision shape using a material called ji comprised of tonoko (powdered stone) and urushi (lacquer). These flutes are called jiari shakuhachi. In contrast, jinashi ("no ji") shakuhachi are lacquered but do not have a built up bore, rather one made of natural bamboo. Your flute is a ilari shakuhachi. The most common problems exhibited by flutes of this style are cracks in the bore, broken or missing pieces of tonoko and buckled lacquer. The interior of your shakuhachi in both the upper and lower section was damaged by the the severe cracks in the bamboo. This should be repaired as moisture will eventually seep into and underneath the fabricated bore causing further damage.
PITCH: This flute is not tuned perfectly to standard Western pitch nor is it in tune with itself, however, the deviations in tuning can be corrected and the open hole frequencies brought into balance. Shakuhachi is quite forgiving in this way, given the manner in which it is blown. Adiustments in pitch can be made by the player if the instrument's tuning is not too far off. The finger holes will need some adjustments to remedy this situation. Fortunately, none of the holes need to be filled and moved to accomplish this.
Here is a breakdown of the pitches for each note and how they deviate from standards of Western pitch. Note that each semitone or half note has a value of 100 cents. On an electronic pitch meter the range is between -50 and +50. A note that is perfectly in tune will have a value of zero. Sharp tone have a + (plus) value; flat tone have a - (minus) value.
Measured at 72 degree F., however I adjusted my pitch meter and tuning computer to simulate the frequency produced at room temperature (68 to 70 degrees F.). Pitch is affected by ambient temperature, so it is important to test all instruments at room temperature.
1.8' - Key of D
First Octave
RO - D: 0
TSU - F: -10
RE - G: -15
CHI - A: -20
RI - C: -30
Second Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole) - D': -40
RO (Overblow) - D': -10
TSU - F': -20
RE - G': -10
CHI - A': -10
HI - C': -20
Third Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole)- D": -30
RO (Overblow)- D": Will not sound..
As you can see, the pitches vary considerably and are progressively flat in relation to standard Western pitch.
I can improve the tuning of this instrument by changing the size of the finger holes, enlarging the holes to raise the frequency and visa versa. For this reason, it's a lot easier to raise the frequency of a flatted note. In extreme case, I can move the holes, but it will not be necessary in this case. Adjustments can be made by modifying the size of the finger holes and tuning successfully brought into relative balance. These adjustments are made as much as possible by modifying the size of the finger holes where they interface with the bore of the flute. This allows the diameter of the holes to remain virtually unchanged at the surface of the bamboo.
If, in fact, you are blowing traditional honkyoku or otherwise playing solo, it is not essential to use an instrument that is perfectly tuned to Western standard pitch. It is far more important to have a shakuhachi producing notes that are in balance with each other, i.e. in close relative pitch. If, on the other hand, you are playing sankyoku, gaikyoku or in ensemble with other instruments, it is critical to have the frequencies produced by your shakuhachi quite close to the established standard of A440 - A442.
TIMBRE: This flute has a bright, hard timbre typical of jiari shakuhachi.
RESONANCE: This instrument exhibits severe resonance problems in both the lower and higher octaves, particularly with the notes RO (D) and TSU (F). All of the other notes are blow remarkably well.
Here is a breakdown of the resonances for each note. I have evaluated resonance using the following scale: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor.
1.8' - Key of D Kaizan Zenmura
First Octave RO -D: Very Poor. The note is extremely weak and unstable. It barely sounds.
TSU - F: Poor. Note jumps into the higher octave at low pressure.
RE - G: Excellent.
CHI - A: Excellent.
RI - C: Very Good.
Second Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole) - D': Very Poor. RO (Overblow) - D': Poor.
TSU - F': Excellent.
RE - G': Excellent.
CHI - A': Very Good.
HI - C': Excellent.
Third Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole) - D": Excellent.
RO (Overblow) - D": Very Poor. Note does not sound.
In most shakuhachi, resonance problems can be remedied by reworking the bore profile of the instrument with attention to the critical point affecting the resonating air column. I can bring this instruments up to a higher standard of performance by doing a bore enhancement and repairing the broken inlay at the utaguchi.
BAMBOO REPAIR. This shakuhachi requires extensive work to repair damage caused by cracking of the bamboo. The severe damage to the upper and lower sections of the shakuhachi can be remedied with bindings after drawing the cracks together. Binding can be applied in one of three ways:
1. STANDARD BINDING is a low-cost, effective way to protect the shakuhachi against further damage. High-tensile, small diameter woven binding is placed at either end and along the cracked section of the bamboo.
2. INLAID BINDING is Standard Binding that is recessed in shallow grooves cut into the bamboo. The binding does not protrude past the outside surface of the bamboo providing a smooth, clean feel for the player. Any binding applied near the back hole of the shakuhachi must be inlaid in this manner to avoid problems with fingering.
3. TRADITIONAL RATTAN BINDING is the classical method used by traditional makers in Japan. A channel is first chiseled in the bamboo. Binding is tightly wrapped inside this groove which is then glued and carefully filled to within a fraction of a millimeter from the surface of the bamboo. This space is inlaid with finely-split rattan evenly to the outside of the instrument. The visual effect of the rattan is quite beautiful and the deep inlaid binding provides added tensile strength to counteract any movement of the bamboo.
As already mentioned, cracks in the bamboo that have been previously repaired have opened up again causing air to leak. This should definitely been repaired in order to get the instrument to work.
BORE. Once the bamboo is bound and tuning and resonance problems addressed, I will have to repair the cracks inside and relacquer the entire bore of the instrument.
CONCLUSIONS. In most shakuhachi, resonance problems can be remedied by reworking the bore profile of the instrument with attention to the critical point affecting the resonating air column. I can certainly bring this instruments up to a much higher level of performance by doing a bore enhancement, retuning it for pitch, fixing the cracks in the bore and replacing the utaguchi inlay.
Repairing cracks in the bamboo and cleaning up the previous repairs is a matter separate from the performance of the instrument. How involved a restoration to undertake and choice of binding will determine the amount of work involved. Please let me know your preferences and I will get back to you with a total.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you with this evaluation. I've been extremely busy both in and outside of my workshop and, as you no doubt see, the evaluation is extensive and takes me a bit of time to complete. In any case, sorry to keep you waiting and apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Please get back to me if you have any questions. All the best,
Monty
Monty Expertise Zenmura Shakuhachi 2020
Hi Reiner,
I had a chance to do a preliminary analysis of your 1.8' Zenmura today.
As you are well aware, it is leaking air from several places making the shakuhachi impossible to sound. The nakatsugi (middle joint) is extremely loose and some of the cracks between the bindings have opened up a bit. Most problematic are cracks that intersect the finger holes.
In order to trace the leaks, I first added tape to the tenon of the nakatsugi to achieve a tight fit. This alone did not solve the problem, so one-by-one, I sealed each and very crack with electrical tape. Here are front and rear photos of the instrument.
Using this method, I was able to discover where the leaks originated and temporary seal them to get the flute to sound. I actually got it playing reasonably well and was able to check the intonation. Pitches for all the open-hole frequencies are vary considerably, all but otsu and kan no RO are 10 to 40 cents flat in relation to standard Western pitch at room temperature (20° C). More of a concern is the very poor resonance for RO and TSU, both of which need to be corrected as they jump into the higher octave at low pressure and are very weak and unstable.
My evaluation of the instrument in 2009 bears itself out.
RESONANCE: This instrument exhibits severe resonance problems in both the lower and higher octaves, particularly with the notes RO (D) and TSU (F). All of the other notes are blow remarkably well.
Here is a breakdown of the resonances for each note. I have evaluated resonance using the following scale: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, Very Poor.
1.8' - Key of D Kaizan Zenmura
First Octave
RO -D: Very Poor. The note is extremely weak and unstable. It barely sounds.
TSU - F: Poor. Note jumps into the higher octave at low pressure.
RE - G: Excellent.
CHI - A: Excellent.
RI - C: Very Good.
Second Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole) - D': Very Poor.
RO (Overblow) - D': Poor.
TSU - F': Excellent.
RE - G': Excellent.
CHI - A': Very Good.
HI - C': Excellent.
Third Octave
GO NO HI or I (Open Hole) - D'': Excellent.
RO (Overblow) - D'': Very Poor. Note does not sound.
Making these acoustical modification will require a retuning for pitch as well as a bore enhancement to remedy the problems with resonance. After doing so, the interior bore and finger holes of the shakuhachi require relacquering.
One final problem is at the ago atari-the top the flute that interfaces one's chin-was filed down way too much and should be restored to its original condition. This will stabilize the flute when blowing and help establish a proper embouchure. I do not recommend leaving it in its current condition as that will diminish returning for pitch and resonance.
I stand by my original assessment provided to you 11 years ago: In most shakuhachi, resonance problems can be remedied by reworking the bore profile of the instrument with attention to the critical point affecting the resonating air column. I can certainly bring this instruments up to a much higher level of performance by doing a bore enhancement, retuning it for pitch, after first fixing the cracks in the bamboo and interior bore.
The first step in making these corrections is to repair the very loose middle joint, permanently seal and stabilize the cracks in the bamboo, then build up the ago atari. This would cost $250. After getting the instrument to play properly without air leakage I will be able to bring its intonation up to Western pitch ($125) and do a bore enhancement to resolve the rather serious resonance issues with RO and TSU in both octaves ($250). This includes relacquering the interior bore and finger holes at no extra charge. Total for the work comes to $625 plus shipping & handling back to you in Germany.
Let me know how your wish to proceed.
All the best,
Monty
Ich glaube, man bekommt einen guten Eindruck, was hier an Arbeit geleistet wurde und das tadellose Ergebnis einer inzwischen wie neu klingenden Meisterflöte spricht für sich.
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