First Try with a PVC Shakuhachi

So creating my first shakuhachi with PVC was quite the experience.  I went out into the garage while the wife and kid were napping, opened the garage door slightly and got to work.

I somehow measured twice, cut once, and still messed up the length on my first one.  It came out another 15cm or so longer than a 1.8.  The utaguchi was cut way too steeply, but with the hacksaw I had, and cutting at that angle, there was nothing I could do after I started. The cut was made from the top face instead of the side.  Too much of the utaguchi was gone after I had made the cut, so there was no saving it.  I just sanded it to see if it would play.

The first shakuhachi makes tone, but only when my lips are right on top of the utaguchi.  The tone is breathy, but I'm sure most of it is because of my complete inexperience with this specific embouchure. The scale it plays isn't even close to a pentatonic anything, as the lowest three notes are a single step from each other.  I'm sure I'm paying for the incorrect measurement in length.

Here are a few pictures of the first attempt.
oblique angle:

side shot:

end angle:


On the second attempt, I put more emphasis on getting the angle of the utaguchi right. I drew a tangent across the top face before cutting, then figured out where the cut should terminate at the bottom of the utaguchi. This time I cut from the side and it came out much better.



I don't believe that I took enough off of the face, however, because the width of the opening seems small in comparison to the width of the instrument.

This one also necessitates my putting my lips way down near the utaguchi in order to produce a tone, but not quite as far. I plan on taking more off of the face today in order to open up the opening. I am also going to pare down the reverse face a little bit to soften up the feel on my chin.

side shot 1

top pic

utaguchi pic 1

side pic 2

oblique angle

full length


Feel free to comment and give any feedback.  I'm posting my efforts here, which I'm sure most of my visitors will come from.  Any and all constructive criticism is welcome, because I only have internet resources to work with.  That said, I'll probably take a look around Barnes & Noble today for any books I can find on the subject.  Thanks for checking it out!