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A Japanese flute with a Western musical scaleIt is said that 90% of Japanese flutists as well as members of the traditional music entertainment group ”Kodo” of Sado Island use Ranjo’s flute. The secret to his popularity with first class musicians, is that the flute has a range that can accommodate various scenarios, and a tone that is a product of being selective about the material that is used. Ranjo told us, ”The rhythm of the ”ohayashi” flutes from ancient times is specific to Japan, and does correspond to that of Western music. In short, the flute used for Kabuki or Noh has a scale specific to Japan.” As a child, Ranjo was attracted to the sound of flutes used at festivals. When he was in the 3rd or 4th grade, he was already making his own flutes. |
Creating a flute that performers desireSurprisingly, Ranjo is a self taught flute maker. ”It used to be that only 1 out of a 100 flutes were considered a success. But that is not acceptable. All 100 should be successes.” |
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Starting with ”what kind of sound will it make?”Nakata tried blowing into Ranjo’s flute. Usually, a flute is made entirely of either Japanese timber bamboo or regular bamboo, but Nakata was curious and asked ”I wonder what kind of sound would be created with a flute made with half timber bamboo and half regular bamboo?” |
ACCESS
- flutist Ranjo
- Togane, Chiba