NATC 2025 Phoenix

"Tsuki no sabaku (Desert Under the Moon)" is a beautiful Japanese melody composed by Suguru Sasaki in 1923. I'll be creating a shinobue sheet music for the song and teaching it phrase by phrase. Since it contains up to kan on 4, it's best if participants are intermediate shinobue players. They are welcome to bring any hon choshi shinobues. And to wrap up, we can all enjoy a mini-performance at the end of the workshop.

Prerequisite/What to bring: This workshop is intended for intermediate shinobue players who can play up to kan on 4. Participants should bring their own shinobue, but they also have the option to purchase a Suzuki plastic shinobue from me, provided that they have the ability to play it.

Are you a beginning fue player who is having a hard time finding music you can play? By learning five simple notes and some basic ornamentation, you can create original fue melodies that can be played with your taiko group's existing repertoire. Participants must provide their own fue (#7 or 8).

Prerequisite/What to bring: Participants must provide their own fue (#7 or 8).

Just as the desert presents unique challenges that demand adaptability, the world of music offers an array of scales and modes that can expand your musical expression and improvisational ability. This workshop focuses on using different scales and modes in shinobue playing to unlock new pathways for improvisation, enhancing your musicality and flexibility.
Through a series of practical exercises, participants will explore how varying scales, from traditional Japanese modes to more contemporary approaches, can add depth and color to their playing. By learning how to navigate between these modes and improvise with confidence, players will gain the tools to thrive creatively in any musical environment, much like how life flourishes in the desert’s sparse landscape. Whether you're looking to improve your solo performance or collaborate more dynamically with ensembles, this workshop will help you harness the versatility of the shinobue and find new dimensions in your music.

Prerequisite/What to bring: Equipment:
Shinobue (Utabue, #6 preferred)
Prerequisite Ability: Playing Ryo-on and Kan-on range on shinobue. Reading fingering notation (kanji numbers for Ryo-on)

This workshop will consist of a combination of lectures and hands-on experiences covering the following topics:

Shinobue Overview:
- Types of Shinobue: Koten, Uta, Doremi
- Shinobue Keys: Hon Choshi

Producing Sound with Shinobue:
- Shinobue is an air reed instrument
- Creating sound without using fingers
- Posture
- Finger Position

Shinobue Range:
- Ryo On, Kan On, Dai Kan On

Three Elements for Beautiful Shinobue Tone:
- Quality of the Breath (Diaphragmatic Breathing)
- Shinobue Position on the lips
- Direction of the Breath (Embouchure)

Prerequisite/What to bring: Prior experience with the shinobue is not nessesary. Participants are kindly requested to bring their own shinobue or may opt to purchase a Suzuki plastic shinobue from me on the day of the workshop.