David Sawyer’s note: my interest and absorption is with Japanese classical traditional music of all kinds, in particular the koten honkyoku (the old zen-inspired solo meditative compositions for shakuhachi) and sankyoku (the trio ensemble music from the Edo period of Japanese history).
Shakuhachi is beginning to move into the worlds of jazz, pop and avant-garde music. The pedagogy though, remains within the classical traditions and forms a well-trained jumping off point for diverse musical explorations.

Definitions of technical terms that arise in the following short discussions can be found in the glossary.

These paragraphs are small signposts along the way, to stimulate and help players move along with their playing. No writings can replace the one-on-one experience of working with a teacher.