Diary of a Shinobue lover

"Hi, Yuka-san! I would like to buy a new uta-yo Shinobue. My budget is SGD 200. Could you advise me a good fue which I can buy within my budget? Thanks!" I have been asked this kind of question many times. As I mentioned in my post  " My Shinobue ", I am a Miyako (京師) user so I always push them to buy Miyako first. However, I can understand that some people have their own budget when they buy a Shinobue. So, today I will introduce a nice uta-yo Shinobue which you can buy at an affordable price. The name of the Shinobue that I would like to introduce is "Hibari" (雲雀) . 邦楽調 雲雀 hogaku-cho（uta-yo）Hibari from Ootuka Chikukan gakki Corp. 邦楽調　雲雀 / hogaku-cho (uta-yo) Hibari Manufacturer's details: 有限会社 大塚竹管楽器 Ootuka Chikukan gakki Corporation　 http://www.fueya.com "Hibari" is suitable for those people who; 1. want to purchase a real uta-yo (唄用) Shinobue which is tuned in Twelve-tone Japanese scale (日本十二律*). 2. are l

I've just started video recording myself during practice Shinobue. With video recording, I can hear my own sounds and find out my physical bad habits while playing. So far I think this is a very effective practice to make good progress. I feel my finger hitting, Yubiuchi（指打ち） is still not there. The movements of my fingers are not smooth. (sigh) For the benefit of Shinobue beginners, I will write about finger hitting, Yubiuchi（指打ち）today. Finger hitting, Yubiuchi（指打ち） When you play the western flute, you may apply the tonguing technique for articulation. With Shinobue, you apply the finger hitting technique, Yubiuchi（指打ち） for articulation instead of tonguing. How to do For example, if you want to make 六 tone 3 times (六―六―六―), you hit your left index finger twice quickly. 六-----------       ↑    ↑      hit    hit You need to make 六 tone with one breath and then hit your left index finger twice quickly to divide the continuous tone into 3 tones. This

I will be performing in Japan this May. This will be my first performance in Japan. I started practicing Shinobue in Singapore and have been performing many times here, but I have never played Shinobue in my mother country. The performance venue is Unryu-in , Temple (雲龍院) in Kyoto ! http://www.unryuin.jp/ I'm so excited to perform in such a beautiful temple! My Shinobue master and his disciples perform at Unryu-in every year and I will be joining them for the first time this year. I'm going back to Japan only for this performance. I've already purchased a flight ticket and booked a hotel. fufufu :) For the details of the performance, I will be posting later. Cheers!