Click here for The Bell Shakuhachi The Bell Shakuhachi Jinashi 1.8 “D” |
Here you will find shakuhachi for sale by Jon Kypros. Jon focuses on the older, more challenging style of jinashi shakuhachi. Jon also produces affordable copies of his works which he calls Bell Shakuhachi. Currently, there’s a 1.8 “D” jinashi Bell shakuhachi for sale above (on a waiting list). Jon plans to extend the range of available Bell shakuhachi for sale in the near future. (Jon’s bio/credentials)
Copying Bamboo Shakuhachi
Above is one of Jon first simple attempts at copying a piece of bamboo using molds. As we can see, Jon’s mold process copies every visible detail of bamboo. On the left is a black resin copy (not Jon’s current bamboo eco-composite) and on the right is the original piece of bamboo. This would later evolve into the complex process Jon now employs to copy one of his jinashi shakuhachi. Years later, he now crafts his molds so that he can copy every single aspect of his original bamboo shakuhachi, inside and out, finger holes and all. CNC machining and even 3D printing cannot currently match the level of surface fidelity one can get with molds. [For those interested in the science of flute acoustics google aerophones.]
Jinashi Shakuhachi
“Some like to play loud shakuhachi as loudly as possible, others like something in the middle, and some like quieter playing shakuhachi. A vast bamboo grove of tastes… and opinions. While no single shakuhachi can be everything for everyone, we can certainly find which one will speak to us. Or at least the shakuhachi our living partners can tolerate hearing us practice on!” – Jon, 2021
Each piece of bamboo presents Jon with a unique crafting experience. Especially since Jon only makes nobé or “one-piece” jinashi shakuhachi. This confines him to a set length/pitch which is dictated by each piece of bamboo. Some rare pieces are naturally ideal, requiring little or no specific bore work from Jon for balance-tuning. However, most pieces can benefit from some specific tuning of the inner bore to balance them out. Jon spends countless hours doing balancing work in order to improve play-ability. Jon’s goal is to improve the stability of notes, pitch, ease of play, and dynamic range or how far notes can be pushed.
Interestingly, a jinashi shakuhachi which Jon has carefully balanced with work in the bore will have a level of play-ability equal to that of the rare pieces which are naturally balanced, requiring no specific bore work. If some pieces are naturally perfect but most pieces are not, this raises the age old Koan-like question, what is the sound of bamboo? For Jon, the sound of bamboo is variety, truly endless possibilities.
“Each type of shakuhachi is like a different brush. The canvas is the
air, or nothing, the void that we play into. Some brushes are larger,
some smaller, with bristles sticking out or packed tightly, holding lots
of ink, or very little. Some people think one type of brush is perfect
or best. To me, they’re just different brushes. The canvas is always
blank.” – David E., one of Jon’s students and friends
Some works from the past…
(click images to go to page)
