[Shaku] weird length shakuhachi question

I've been doing some playing with a minyo group lately and as it turns =
out the best key for the singer would have me playing a flute such that =
ro would be an F concert, i.e. a half step higher than a 1.6 (a 1.5 I =
guess). We've been doing pieces in a key appropriate to the 1.6 but =
that's not optimal for the singer (i.e. the lowest notes aren't quite as =
strong as they could be). Interestingly, while I've learned to play some =
jazz pieces in pretty weird keys, transposition doesn't work so well =
with minyo as a lot of the time the flute plays the melody (or close =
embellishments) with the singer. So the phrasing and dynamics are often =
dictated by what the singer is doing and this is hard to do when one has =
to play a lot of meri notes. So my question is, has anyone ever seen =
such a beast (i.e. a 1.5 or a flute with ro at F concert) ? It seems =
like it wouldn't be hard to make but probably no one makes them because =
there is no demand. I suppose if anyone would know it would be someone =
who focuses on minyo playing but I don't know any such players. Anyway, =
thanks for any thoughts on this. Cheers,

Karl Young
Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCSF
VA Medical Center, MRS Unit (114M)
Phone: (415) 221-4810 x3114
FAX: (415) 668-2864
Email: karl young at ucsf edu

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Received on Wed Apr 2 13:10 PDT 2008