Instrument-making as music-making: An ethnographic study of shakuhachi students’ learning experiences

Abstract

Instrument-making is a powerful way to teach and learn music, especially world music. This case study looks at adult music learners whose engagement in music involves instrument-making and the long lasting practice of music. A case in point is Japanese and North American practitioners of Japanese bamboo flutes, especially the end-blown shakuhachi. Informants in this ethnographic study were involved in the organic process of harvesting bamboo, making instruments, and performing music on self-made instruments. Findings indicate that instrument-making contributed to the formation of attachment to the instruments, the development of place-based musical thinking, and the creation of an enriched music-learning environment. Through the examination of an existing model of sustainable musical engagement, this study proposes a world music pedagogy that begins with instrument-making.