Shakuhachi
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The Shakuhachi is a Japanese end-blown flute. The playing style is distinctive : long melodies of varied rhythm, played without breaks. To add variety and life to the sound, the shakuhachi player makes frequent increases and decreases in loudness, or swells. Trembling notes, known as vibrato, and variations in pitch are made by changing the angle of the shakuhachi mouthpiece and by breath control.
| Family |
| Woodwinds |
| Pitch range |
| Around three octaves. |
| Material |
| Bamboo. |
| Size |
| Usually about 22 in (56 cm) long, but there are 18 different sizes, ranging from 13-33 in (33-84 cm). |
| Origins |
| The modern shakuhachi was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries but has similarities to the chiba, a Chinese end-blown flute introduced into Japan in the 8th century. |
| Classification |
| Aerophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of a column of air. |
| And also... |
| The name stems from an ancient Japanese unit of measurement called "isshaku hassun," which was the equivalent of 22 in (56 cm). |
