This friday's project (10/27/2006) We were guests to a Koto instructor. I did not get very much information about her, but I do have plenty of nice pictures to show, along with some clips. Let's start with a clip to listen to while you browse the pictures.
The Koto is a Japanese Harp. It consists of a long rounded block of hard wood, nylon strings tightly attached end-to-end, and a series of plastic bridges that hold the strings taut and assist in tuning.
The strings are individually tuned for the particular song you are playing. I'm sure there's a lot more information on Wikipedia So I'm just going to talk about what I saw and show off the pictures that I took. Plus the sounds are cool, of course.
Just a moment while I fire up Photoshop. I've been 'developing' my photos digitally. cropping and tuning up the colors and contrast. The results are great, I think. :)
This is the instrument.
And here's a closeup of the strings.
And a few more detail shots of the Koto and instructor's playing. The standing things are 'pillars' and the finger things are for playing. She occasionally presses down with her left hand to change the pitch of the note. It was interesting to watch.
After a short bit of instruction, it was time for the students to put on the little finger-picks and try their hand at 'Mushi no Koe' or "An Insect's Voice." Now, I didn't record any of their playing, I was too busy taking pictures. :)
The students were faced with strings and picks, and a sheet of japanese music, but most of them did pretty well, I would think.
Everybody taking turns at studying.
Finally, we were presented with a much more involved demonstration of Koto to round up the morning session. Apparently these Koto are owned by JCMU and Shiga Prefecture, so some of the students were interested in continuing to practice.
Enjoy!
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