Shakuhachi musical notation is a traditional tablature-style method of transcribing

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

music. A number of systems exist for notating shakuhachi music, most of which are based on the ''rotsure'' (ロツレ) and the ''fuho-u'' (フホウ) systems. Traditional solo shakuhachi music (honkyoku) is transmitted as a semi-oral tradition; notation is often used as a

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and image ...

device. However, the master-disciple relationship is given emphasis within the tradition, and written sources are considered of little value 'without experience of the living tradition of actual training within the school'.Ortolani, Benito. 1969. "Iemoto." Japan Quarterly 16 (3): 301. In contrast to Western staff notation, shakuhachi playing instructions commonly indicate multiple fingerings resulting in various

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and music ...

s for a given pitch, and

microtonal Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones— intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of t ...

slides between

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

s. Solo Kinko school

honkyoku ''Honkyoku'' (本曲, "original pieces") are the pieces of shakuhachi music collected in the 18th century by a Komuso of the Japanese Fuke sect Kinko Kurosawa. It was believed that these pieces were played by the members of the Fuke Sect. The Fuk ...

("original pieces") generally do not feature an explicit beat. In some notation systems, nominal rhythmic values are given; musical importance ascribed to rhythmic markings varies depending on the lineage and/or teacher. Staff notation and graphic notation are sometimes used to notate music for shakuhachi, usually in modern music when shakuhachi is used in conjunction with Western musical instruments. Some current publishers of traditional shakuhachi honkyoku notation include the Chikuyūsha, Chikumeisha, Chikuhoryū, and the Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshūkan.

References

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External links

* Musical notation Japanese traditional music {{Japan-music-stub