手技TEWAZA「三線」SANSHIN (STRINGED INSTRUMENTS)／伝統工芸 青山スクエア Japan traditional crafts Aoyama Square
von伝統工芸 青山スクエアamYouTube#
Sanshin, the iconic three stringed lutes from #
Okinawa, are made manually by skilled artisans as shown in this short video.
I think, everywhere on this planet, also in the east, instruments of high quality are valued. People appreciate the skills and sincerity of the instrument builders.
But in the end, to play beautiful music in the east, you don't need an instrument of economically high value. A cheap and economically worthless instrument will do as well.
Why is that?
In the east, not only instrument builders, but also musicians / singers are considered as artisans. This means, both develop their skills over time through experience to create beautiful music. While each instrument has its very unique character, the experienced musician can make beautiful music regardless of the quality of the instrument he holds in his hand. I think, something similar to this viewpoint was put into words already by Abu Nasr al-Fârâbî in the beginning of the tenth century. Here's a french translation of an extract of his
Kitâb al-musiqâ al-kabîr or
Great Book of Music:
L'expérience, seule, permet à l'organe produisant les percussions, les chocs dont naissent les notes musicales, de faire rendre à un instrument des notes déterminées d'avance. Cest à l'artisan de donner à l'instrument les qualités nécessaires pour lui permettre de rendre des notes déterminées en des points déterminées, et c'est l'expérience qui font acquérir à la voix l'aptitude de produire les notes qui rendent sensible la mélodie conçue (imaginée).
al-Fârâbî was probably born in 870 CE (AH 257) in a place called Farab or Farayb. In his youth he moved to Iraq and Baghdad. In 943 CE (AH 331) he went to Syria and Damascus. He may have gone to Egypt but died in Damascus in December 950 CE or January 951 CE (AH 339). He wrote about #
Philosophy and #
Music.
Feel free to connect with @
utasanshin 唄三線 if you're interested in traditional okinawan singing and playing sanshin.
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utasanshin
