Michael A. Firman

I’ve had an interest in the shakuhachi from the time (in the late 1960s when I was in High School) that I first heard it on a recording of “November Steps” by Toru Takemitsu. I later found out that the player on that recording, Katsuya Yokoyama, was probably one of the best players in the world (and, as it turns out, one of Michael Gould’s teachers and major influences).

I’ve been seriously studying the shakuhachi since 1993. I met Michael Gould at the World Shakuhachi festival in Boulder Colorado in 1998 and have been taking lessons with him (on and off) since  around that time. My interests in the flute vary greatly, although I’m pretty much focused on traditional Japanese music. I enjoy playing Minyo (folk pieces), Sankyoku (older chamber music), Shinkyoku (more modern chamber music), and Honkyoku (the music of the Buddhist tradition). I’ve done public performances and played for dance and yoga classes. I’ve even played for a wedding, but mostly I just enjoy playing the shakuhachi in the privacy of my own home.

Feel free to email me or visit my website.

Larry Mullins

There's something in the sound of the shakuhachi that seems to touch deep with-in; to resonate with our very existence. It's this resonance that first drew me to the shakuhachi. I assumed that if listening to the flute produced such a dramatic effect, then playing it must be incredible.

In January 2004, I sought out and found Chikuzen sensei, starting down the path that I currently find myself on. Ever since that first fateful lesson, I've been completely hooked. Shakuhachi is 100% addictive!

Zak

Internet student from Taichung, Taiwan—self-taught for the first year, now coming up on a year with Michael (as of Mar ’08)

I got into shakuhachi as a way to fight the road rage (no one follows the traffic rules here in Taichung and my riding a bicycle compounds the issue of having to suddenly hit the brakes). I love longer jinashikan and though I don’t expect I’ll ever teach, I aspire to play moving music.