Updated 1/17/11

The shakuhachi plays the pentatonic scale--right? But that's the Minor Pentatonic
scale--there's another one. Anyway, if you're tired of pounding out the same notes
and/or are curious about other five note scales you've come to the right place. To make
it simple (and understandable to non-musicians like us) let's think of scales in terms of
the intervals between notes. In the key of D, the minor pentatonic is DFGACD'. Since
there are 12 notes in an octave, the minor pentatonic goes from D to F (three notes), F
to G (two notes), G to A (two notes), A to C (three notes) and C to D' (two notes). So
we can write the minor pentatonic in terms of the 'intervals' between the notes--32232.
Once we have this 'interval' notation we can make up all kinds of scales. Another useful
feature is that the notation is independent of key--just start in any key and it all fits. For
what we're doing with this adventure there are only two rules: Five notes and the
interval string must add up to twelve (one octave). That's it! Be the first one on your
block to create your own scale, name it, build it into a flute and then play the music of
the spheres. It should be as rewarding to have flutes of different scales as to have them
in different keys. It seems cruel to restrict shakuhachi to a single scale.
There's something else we can do with this scale business. We can make flutes tuned to
different keys and play them together--kind of. And we'd do this by making them in
different scales. We've got the standard D flute Minor Pentatonic (32232) and if we
made a C flute with a scale of 23223 they would play the same notes except for the C's
Ro and the D's Ri--the rest would match up. Or a B flute in the scale of 33222 would
match a D 32232 except for Ro and Ri. Get the picture? Flute duets of different keys
and scales--the sound of three hands clapping. Cross-scale alignment--strangeness
abounds!
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Tonehole Placement for Various Scales
For 3/4" Schedule 80 PVC--27/64"(10.7mm) holes
Employ the fractions for other lengths.
Scale Interval Key
Length
mm
Thumb
Hole
Fourth
Hole
Third
Hole
Second
Hole
First
Hole
Minor
Pentatonic
32232 D 533
230
0.4315
263
0.4934
324
0.6079
369
0.6923
420
0.7880
Earth 23223 C 598
259
0.4331
319
0.5334
365
0.6104
415
0.694
508
0.8495
Fire 33222 B 634
277
0.4369
318
0.5016
363
0.5726
413
0.6514
503
0.7934
Cloud 22233 Eb 503
215
0.4274
264
0.5249
325
0.6461
371
0.7376
425
0.8449
Major
Pentatonic
22323 F 448
189
0.4219
235
0.5246
268
0.5982
329
0.7344
377
0.8415
Wind 32322 D 533
230
0.4315
264
0.4953
301
0.5647
369
0.6923
420
0.7880
Water 23232 C# 565
245
0.4336
280
0.4956
344
0.6088
391
0.6920
479
0.8478
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The Earth, Fire, Cloud and Major Pentatonic scales will all play with the Minor
Pentatonic and are configured in the table to do so. All the scales are perfectly
respectable by themselves and play very well alone. They can be made into an
assortment of flutes by combining any key length with any scale fractions above. The
six key lengths and seven scales will produce 42 different flutes--plenty for an
interesting flute exploration. Visit the Synthesis page to learn how to make PVC
flutes--it's not rocket science.
The scale we're calling Earth appears to be used by one of the oldest flutes ever found.
Want to hear what they were playing 50,000 years ago? Now you can.
The Blues scale is just the Minor Pentatonic with an extra note stuck in--321132. You
can get that extra note by cross-fingering--third hole open with first and second closed.
Using Interval Notation it's simple to make up any scale you want and with the five
note system they all sound surprisingly good! With a modicum of programming skill
each of these scales (or any others) can be programmed to play randomly--note,
duration and time between notes. Random shakuhachi is in some ways more satisfying
than written music--it flows in ways that reminds one of bubbling brooks and that kind
of thing. There's something about five note scales that guarantees fundamental
coherence, so you can't hit a 'bad' note--it all fits.
When the notion of random flute music is broached many players grimace. However,
it's ideal for those interested in the 'spiritual' aspects of shakuhachi. Random flute is
music without agenda, without authorship or intention. There's no beginning and no
end. One exercise for those interested in the Path of the Spirit is to generate random
music and play it. Generate randomly by computer or with a single die. Cast a die
(ignoring sixes) to determine the note. Cast again for duration and yet again for pause
until next note. Write down these three parameters as the instructions for playing a
single note. Repeat the process for as many notes as you want. Then play the
composition. Want more parameters? Just add them. Fewer? And so on.
The point of learning to play randomly is to free oneself from presuppositions of
melody and technique, etc. The goal is to play until random notes sound
melodious--and they will. Along the way one develops vastly increased attentional
skills as one can't think ahead because there's no melodic structure through which to
anticipate coming notes. It's all NOW and THIS note. There's no point in memorizing
the music as the truly random can't be memorized. The whole point of this 'spiritual'
exercise is to eliminate content and concentrate totally on process--the playing of the
notes. It's surprising to many that random music has any melodic properties at all, but
with Five Note Scales it does. You just have to play it to hear it.
A little reflection is enough to realize all songs come from random music. Songs are
just the conscious selection of specific random notes from the Random River. So what
we're proposing is that one learn to play the source itself--learn to play the
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Random River. This is the first song, the last song, the only song--everything we call
'music' is just a subset of this primal, beginingless, endless, constantly shifting stream
of sound. This stream is the stream of possibility and it contains all.
507 Random Notes
445 - 512 - 553 - 445 - 123 - 554 - 543 - 435 - 354 - 434 - 112 - 123 - 551 - 413 - 545 - 551 -
113 - 252 -331 - 552 - 515 - 152 - 352 - 251 - 345 - 315 - 545 - 223 - 324 - 523 - 253 - 411 -
433 - 221 - 113 - 335 -122 - 542 - 241 - 243 - 423 - 444 - 231 - 113 - 251 - 231 - 244 - 551 -
322 - 311 - 335 - 233 - 241 - 115 -345 - 252 - 235 - 552 - 452 - 541 - 151 - 132 - 431 - 242 -
222 - 335 - 425 - 451 - 352 - 125 - 324 - 512 -334 - 233 - 131 - 241 - 454 - 421 - 412 - 423 -
254 - 515 - 441 - 453 - 114 - 151 - 152 - 542 - 434 - 445 -215 - 512 - 313 - 441 - 354 - 543 -
313 - 252 - 444 - 535 - 212 - 543 - 553 - 455 - 432 - 451 - 343 - 523 -234 - 212 - 155 - 245 -
334 - 153 - 535 - 334 - 442 - 232 - 541 - 454 - 322 - 533 - 211 - 253 - 114 - 425 -244 - 342 -
242 - 244 - 215 - 442 - 515 - 144 - 225 - 512 - 411 - 344 - 242 - 322 - 244 - 412 - 453 - 342
-434 - 221 - 255 - 353 - 321 - 214 - 142 - 241 - 523 - 414 - 435 - 534 - 111 - 523 - 343 - 521
- 514 - 345 -355 - 243 - 321 - 354 - 423 - 141 - 522 - 553 - 151 - 353 - 424 - 115 - 533 - 554
- 223 - 342 - 152 - 442 -212 - 344 - 314 - 415 - 431 - 411 - 532 - 445 - 233 - 311 - 313 - 223
- 424 - 433 - 115 - 424 - 225 - 124 -354 - 243 - 432 - 422 - 354 - 511 - 244 - 112 - 245 - 155
- 314 - 523 - 321 - 234 - 235 - 213 - 232 - 551 -154 - 224 - 211 - 522 - 243 - 413 - 321 - 555
- 125 - 422 - 213 - 353 - 242 - 335 - 431 - 235 - 434 - 353 -141 - 243 - 144 - 221 - 325 - 221
- 135 - 541 - 142 - 145 - 151 - 313 - 541 - 535 - 413 - 423 - 125 - 451 -555 - 425 - 331 - 321
- 421 - 325 - 321 - 124 - 325 - 155 - 515 - 124 - 432 - 254 - 412 - 532 - 412 - 133 -131 - 144
- 234 - 253 - 344 - 154 - 413 - 543 - 215 - 511 - 312 - 411 - 454 - 542 - 114 - 154 - 135 - 451
-511 - 521 - 311 - 251 - 224 - 321 - 434 - 325 - 355 - 313 - 422 - 354 - 324 - 415 - 513 - 311
- 531 - 221 -324 - 422 - 241 - 212 - 145 - 152 - 422 - 225 - 211 - 413 - 531 - 252 - 433 - 533
- 115 - 512 - 443 - 532 -254 - 133 - 213 - 525 - 252 - 323 - 432 - 223 - 331 - 332 - 135 - 535
- 451 - 211 - 523 - 132 - 324 - 514 -351 - 232 - 455 - 434 - 254 - 423 - 332 - 151 - 145 - 331
- 321 - 225 - 414 - 251 - 451 - 351 - 212 - 535 -434 - 412 - 515 - 311 - 552 - 453 - 532 - 131
- 333 - 414 - 153 - 254 - 214 - 543 - 411 - 351 - 355 - 153 -243 - 213 - 545 - 145 - 525 - 344
- 115 - 513 - 414 - 231 - 155 - 332 - 444 - 235 - 131 - 332 - 333 - 333 -221 - 143 - 435 - 122
- 125 - 234 - 231 - 414 - 355 - 211 - 423 - 545 - 243 - 251 - 235 - 211 - 441 - 332 -515 - 151
- 524 - 212 - 544 - 234 - 131 - 335 - 324 - 523 - 442 - 442 - 534 - 452 - 531 - 313 - 112 - 243
-212 - 214 - 435 - 555 - 421 - 535 - 413 - 422 - 551 - 114 - 152 - 551 - 521 - 512 - 155 - 445
- 124 - 331 -122 - 511 - 212 - 153 - 445 - 121 - 253 - 444 - 554 - 453 - 441 - 254 - 532 - 155
- 244 - 235 - 323 - 132 -355 - 252 - 445 - 311 - 512 - 551 - 523 - 233 - 554 - 413 - 422 - 443
- 421 - 124 - 144 - 231 - 411 - 555 -522 - 212 - 534 - 235 - 411 - 543 - 534 - 455 - 131 - 213
- 323 - 324 - 433 - 554 - 435 - 321 - 424 - 332 -413 - 132 - 513
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