Instruments
Shakuhachi
The shakuhachi is the predominant flute of Japan. It is made of bamboo, carved to a notched-end tube with four finger holes and one thumb hole. The shakuhachi is basically quiet, but is capable of quite a piercing sound when blown sharply, and it is used in ensemble music as well as in solo chamber music. Difficult for beginners even to make a sound with, the shakuhachi can produce a large variety of trills, vibrato inflections, and mixtures of tone and non-musical breath that are extremely challenging to master. Certain pitch inflections are accomplished by moving the head; a saying among Japanese musicians holds that "head-shaking takes three years to learn." In the West, the shakuhachi has appeared primarily on new age and world music recordings, and often in jazz and Asian-influenced classical music as well.