The is a high pitched,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle * Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tange ...

bamboo flute The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently k ...

, or . It is commonly used in traditional Imperial Noh and

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

theatre. The nohkan flute was created by

Kan'ami was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by and . He is the father of the well-known playwright . Theater Kan'ami's career began in Obata, Nabari-shi, Mie when he fo ...

and his son

Zeami (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skil ...

in the 15th century, during the time when the two were transforming the Noh theatre forms Dengaku and

Sarugaku was a form of theatre popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries. One of its predecessors was a , a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day circus, consisting mostly of acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime, sometimes combine ...

Construction

The nohkan or ''fue' '' ("flute") is made of split and tapered strips of smoked bamboo (''susudake'') or burned bamboo (''yakidake''), glued together to form a tapering conical bore. The smoking carbonizes the bamboo and preserves it. The split strips of bamboo are reversed to place the hard bamboo surface on the inside for improved acoustics. Some modern versions of nohkan use an interior coating of tempera paint for this. The strips are then glued together, bound with thin strips of twisted cherry bark (''kabamaki'') and lacquered to make the conical tube. The result is a keyless tube of 39.1 cm with an average bore width of 1.7 cm and there are 7 finger holes. The nohkan has an unusual internal bore restriction of about 2–3 mm called a ''nodo'' ("throat"). This throat, combined with the conical bore, gives the nohkan its unique high pitched sound by shifting the overblown register notes via a

venturi effect The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after its discoverer, the 18th century Italian physicist, Giovanni Battista ...

. It also has an oval

embouchure Embouchure () or lipping is the use of the lips, facial muscles, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument. This includes shaping the lips to the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument or the mouthpiece of a brass instrument. The word is o ...

hole across which the player blows, and a head joint plug consisting of a lead cylinder wrapped in paper and wax and placed inside the tube just above the embouchure hole. The nohkan plays a strong high pitch (''hishigi'') that is rich with high frequency harmonics.

Key and range

The range of the flute is over two octaves. Each flute is traditionally an individual and made a bit differently each time by the maker-player, the keynote frequency varies from flute to flute.

References

*Ethnomusicology, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Sep. 1965), pp. 221–239

External links

Nohkan information
(features description and drawing of the Shinobue and other Japanese flutes)

(features articles on making and playing of the Shinobue and other Japanese transverse flutes: yokobue or fue)
The Nohkan: Its Construction and Music
Japanese musical instruments Side-blown flutes Bamboo flutes {{Flute-stub

Construction

Key and range

See also

References

External links