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Written Assignment: Japanese Music

The shakuhachi has a varied history as a solo meditation instrument, a member of the gagaku orchestra, a crucial part of sankyoku, and a participant in jazz and other Western genres. Listen to the guided listening example of Tori Kadotsuke Hachigaeshi and answer the following questions:

• How does its tone, or timbre, differ from the sound of a Western flute?
• What qualities of the shakuhachi sound do you think make it desirable and flexible enough to participate in so many different genres?
• What qualities of Japanese aesthetics, as outlined in the chapter, do you hear in the piece?