ANDREW MACGREGOR

Four Shakuhachi Meditations – Part 1

Andrián Pertout speaks to Andrew MacGregor about the Japanese art of shakuhachi, Zen Buddhist traditions and his association with Grand Master Riley Lee.

Andrew MacGregor’s first contact with the shakuhachi, or Japanese end-blown bamboo flute came in the 70s via a rock-and-roll recording by Leon Russel, and a decade on began studying the instrument under the guidance of Grand Master Riley Lee.  His initial attraction to the shakuhachi was in view of its connection to the ideologies of fundamental energy, or KI, and became a disciple of the art as a means of understanding these concepts, but in time was allured by the complete picture of Zen Buddhist traditions.  On a reccomendation from Riley Lee, he then became ‘home student’ to Tadashi Tajima in Osaka, Japan, where he was able to develop his artistry further.  Andrew is currently touring Australia with koto player Miho Yamaji, 1999 winner of both Japanese International Arts League and National Japanese Music (Hõgaku) competitions.

Tell about the instrument that you play.  Could you give me a brief description of the shakuhachi’s contruction, as well as an outline of its history and playing technique?

AM: “The shakuhachi is an end-blown bamboo flute.  The name shakuhachi means ‘1.8 feet’.  A shaku is approximately equal to one foot and is divided into ten parts called ‘sun’.  So the length of the shakuhachi is isshaku hassun (one shaku and eight sun).  The length of shakuhachi commonly ranges from 1.1 shaku to about 3 shaku, the long flutes being limited by the length of the player’s arms.  It is likely that the shakuhachi came originally from China and from India before that.  There have been many end-blown bamboo flutes throughout history in Japan of varying lengths and having numbers of holes from five to as many as nine.  The present arrangement of 1.8 feet and five holes has been in use for at least 400 years.  The shakuhachi allows the performer to make a wide variety of sounds, timbres, textures and is seen to allow the player great freedom of expression.”

What were the circumstances behind your initial attraction to the shakuhachi?

AM: ”Back in the 1970s I heard the sound of the shakuhachi on a rock-and-roll recording by Leon Russell and was captivated by its strong sound and the depth of feeling it conveyed.  It was ten years later that I found out what a shakuhachi looked like and was able to obtain one.  At that time I was a student of Aikido and Shiatsu, and I was initially interested in the shakuhachi as a means to develop greater breath power and strength of fundamental energy, or KI.”

How did Grand Master Riley Lee’s teachings in the mid eighties influence your musical direction?

AM: ”We were fortunate that Grand Master Riley Lee came to live in Australia and for the first ten years I travelled to Sydney for lessons.  We were only able to meet five or six times a year and typically we would cramm thirteen hours of lessons into two days, and I would return to Melbourne carrying scores and tapes and with a head swimming with new music and techniques.  I was extremely fortunate that Riley introduced me to teacher Tadashi Tajima, and in 1993 I was able to journey to Osaka, Japan, where I spent an intensive period as a ‘home student’ with Mr Tajima.”

What is the significance of the Zen Buddist tradition in shakuhachi playing?

AM: ”Traditional shakuhachi is a musical representation of Zen.  One must understand the wabi-sabi aspects of incompleteness, mystery, imperfection, spirituality, anti-rationalism, ambiguity and contradiction, and that the true spirit of shakuhachi can only be transmitted from person to person.  As one small example, students must overcome their frustration at the non-technical and often-illogical way shakuhachi scores are presented.  Then, with some notes the pitch cannot be accurately defined and players must find the note by feeling.  In the west we are used to high resolution of black and white, right and wrong,  but with Japanese music we must be comfortable with many aspects of the music that are uncertain and fuzzy.  This is the essence.”

What projects are you involved in at the moment?

AM: ” As you know, koto player Miho Yamaji is touring Australia and I have the honour of playing with her.  In 1999 Ms Yamaji was awarded 1st Prize in the Japanese International Arts League Music Competition, Japanese Traditional Music Section, and Grand Prize in the National Japanese Music (Hõgaku) Competition.  For many years I have missed playing with the traditional koto and I feel extreme gratitude for this opportunity.  We will be performing around Melbourne and in Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth.  At the end of this tour we will be producing a CD of the music we present at these concerts.  Later in the year I hope to travel to Holland to carry out a series of concerts with guitarist Marion Schaap, and to make the CD ‘Music for Guitar and Shakuhachi – Album Two’.  But most important to me is the continuation of the shakuhachi tradition and to inspire students to commence and continue their study of this wonderful traditional instrument and music.”

‘Four Shakuhachi Meditations’ distributed by Andrew MacGregor.  PO Box 681, Lilydale, Victoria 3140, Australia.  Tel: (03) 9739 7340.  Email: andyshak@ozemail.com.au  The Andrew MacGregor Home Page.

ANDRIÁN PERTOUT

'Mixdown' Monthly ~ Issue #82, February 7, 2001

BEAT MAGAZINE PTY LTD

Andrián Pertout speaks to Andrew MacGregor about the Japanese experience, his latest album ‘Four Shakuhachi Meditations’ and his work with Melbourne composer Johanna Selleck.

His recording output includes Nesting of the Cranes (1994), featuring traditional shakuhachi duets with Riley Lee; Music for Guitar & Shakuhachi – Album One (1998), together with classical guitarist Marion Schaap; as well as his latest musical excursion titled Four Shakuhachi Meditations (1999), incorporating vocalist Linda Laasi, harmonic singer Dean Frenkel, keyboardist Tom MacGregor, cellist Timothy Blake and clarinettist Christopher Young.  Upcoming releases highlight a current project with koto player Miho Yamaji and a Marion Schaap ‘Album Two’ sequel.  In 2000, Andrew MacGregor performed together with a string quartet and soprano at the Port Fairy Spring Festival.  The piece titled ‘Becoming’ was by Melbourne composer Johanna Selleck, and presented the contemporary classical perspective of East meets West.

How did your musical perspective change during your visit to Japan in 1993?  Did you find the philosophy of Tadashi Tajima in tune with Riley Lee’s own approach?

AM: ”That was an interesting and daunting experience.  Firstly, during my first lesson hitting me like a hammer blow was the realisation of how isolated from the source of Japanese music I had been and that I had a very long way to go indeed to gain an insight into this arcane Zen instrument.  Tajima Sensei’s approach was an interesting combination of a scientific approach to playing technique and at the same time a dismissal of the need for technique at all, impressing upon students that correct ‘spirit’ was all that was required.  Another interesting aspect was to learn music from Mr Tajima that I had already previously received from Riley Lee.  Both Mr Tajima and Riley Lee had the same teacher, Yokoyama Katsuya, although for these pieces, Mr Tajima had learned them some twenty years earlier.  It was surprising to me how different these pieces were when presented to me and I came to the full realisation of how much music can change when it is transmitted orally.  I wondered what these pieces may have sounded like further back in time over the 600 or 1000 years of this musical tradition and marvelled at the richness and diversity of a living oral tradition.”

What were the aesthetic goals of your latest album ‘Four Shakuhachi Meditations’?

AM: ”We were asked to provide backing music to a guided meditation CD.  I had been planning such a CD for some time and was interested in using the earthy power of the traditional shakuhachi repertoire in this context.  These traditional pieces have been played for many centuries by Buddhist monks and possess great spiritual energy.  I selected pieces that were specifically used for meditation and development of strong breath energy.  The monks believed that breathing was the key to meditation, and in particular, that a long, concentrated and 'mindful' exhalation would increase their life force or 'ki'.  But we also realised that such music can often be quite confronting.  So we combined that music with Japanese folk songs, voice, harmonic singing, cello, clarinet and computer textures.  The combination made the music more relaxing, but still retaining the essence and power of Zen.”

I had the great pleasure of hearing you perform in a piece by Melbourne composer Johanna Selleck at the Port Fairy Music Festival last year.  How did this collaboration come about?

AM: “Johanna Selleck was invited to provide a piece for the Port Fairy Spring Festival, and initially Johanna composed the piece ‘Becoming’ for string quartet and soprano.  It was suggested that inclusion of a shakuhachi part might be appropriate.  This may have been partly due to the fact that the Festival had a strong Japanese theme.  But whatever the reason, the combination proved to be very good and complementary.”

Was everything notated or were there improvisatory elements in the composition?

AM: ”There has been much contemporary music composed for shakuhachi and there is now a standardised system for notating both the traditional and the new techniques and decorations using staff notation.  Johanna used that system but I had the freedom to interpret her music.  There were also some cadenzas that allowed the shakuhachi player free rein, with only the time limit for the piece being my constraining factor.  This was an unexpectedly enjoyable experience for me, to mix with fine Western musicians, composer and conductor, and I very much hope to be involved in future projects of this nature.”

And how would you compare the ‘classical experience’ to performing music within the standard shakuhachi repertoire?

AM: “Actually I was a bit surprised and confronted at first with the freedom seemingly available to interpret a composer's music.  I have come from a background of playing the Zen repertoire, where one must follow the teacher precisely, with no apparent room for improvisation.  I was a bit lost at first and it took some time and experimentation to find my direction and place within the group.  It made me look more closely at the music I had been playing in the past and I realised that the player must make his or her own interpretation of the traditional music – to make each piece their own.  The performance itself is similar really.  The exacting nature of playing both types of music, maintaining a suitable image for the music you are playing, and keeping a state of relaxed but intense focus at all times.  Staying calm in moments of crisis and accepting the outcome, whatever that may be.”

‘Four Shakuhachi Meditations’ distributed by Andrew MacGregor.  PO Box 681, Lilydale, Victoria 3140, Australia.  Tel: (03) 9739 7340.  Email: andyshak@ozemail.com.au  The Andrew MacGregor Home Page.

ANDRIÁN PERTOUT

'Mixdown' Monthly ~ Issue #83, March 7, 2001

BEAT MAGAZINE PTY LTD