How many times has your teacher said that? But what on earth does that mean?
Surely I must blow to make a sound?
No. You must learn the way of “not blowing”.
What do you mean, “not blowing”?
Here is how you make a sound with the shakuhachi.
The feeling in your diaphragm should be similar to the pressure you feel when you try to start blowing up one of those thin balloons.
So actually you are not “blowing” air but rather trying to keep the air inside you.
A good sound is dependent on development of good “pressure” in the diaphragm and a good sound is ruined by “blowing”.
One must learn the difference between diaphragmatic pressure and blowing.
It is only the diaphragm which "holds back" breath pressure and it is not controlled by the throat.
So one must "hold back" the breath whilst maintaining high pressure in the diaphragm and still allowing a smooth "breath stream" to pass through the lips.
Seemingly conflicting concepts of “pressurising” and “holding back” the breath are required. This takes some time and practice to achieve.
Exercise: Make a sustained "hiss". Identify which muscles to use in order to "hold back" the breath pressure or "support the tone". As you do this, increase the pressure in the diaphragm.
Surely I must blow hard to make a large sound??
Again the answer is no!
If you blow to make a big sound, the sound may seem to be loud, but it will quickly die away and it will not travel very far.
Using the “not blowing” technique described above even a soft sound will travel great distances, to the end of the universe.
You must learn the difference between high pressure of breath (also referred to as good support) and blowing.
Don’t blow !!
© Andrew MacGregor, April 2005