Shakuhachi (尺八) is a Japanese flute which is end-blown and held
vertically like a recorder instead of being held transversely
like the familiar Western transverse flute. A recorder player
blows into a duct, also called “fipple,” and thus has little or
no control over the tuned pitch. The shakuhachi player blows as
one would blow across the top of an empty bottle, but the
opposite edge of the shakuhachi has a sharp edge, allowing the
player substantial pitch control. The five finger holes are
tuned to a pentatonic scale with no half-tones, but the player
can bend each pitch as much as a whole tone or more. It was used
by Zen Buddhist Monks in the practice of Suizen (blowing
meditation). It is usually made from the root end of a bamboo
shoot and is an extremely versatile instrument. Holes can be
covered partially (1/3 covered, 1/2, 2/3, etc.) and pitch varied
subtly or substantially by changing the blowing angle.
Professional players can produce virtually any note they wish
from the instrument, and play a wide