Ethnomusicologists and music educators are in broad agreement that what makes each cultural expression of music unique are differences, not commonalities, and that these should be understood in culturally sensitive ways. Relevant to the debate was the emphasis on the socio-cultural context of music making over the traditional “sound-only” approach. In this study, North American practitioners of shakuhachi music provided a different angle on the view of music as culture-specific. What made these practitioners interested in shakuhachi playing were not so much cultural aspects of Japanese music as universal aspects of human experience identified in Japanese music, such as the feeling of being part of nature and the revitalization of humans’ organic sensitivities. For them, the cultural served as a hindrance to accessing the underlying spirituality of Japanese music. From their perspective, the opposite of the sound-only approach was not necessarily posited as a sociocultural approach but as a spiritual or physical approach that transcended cultural boundaries.

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.Keywords instrument-making, place-based/sustainable music education, self-made instruments, shakuhachi, world music pedagogy Given the modern demarcation between those who manufacture instruments and those who play them, musicians today rarely engage in instrument-making. While musicians tend to focus solely on music performance, instrument-makers are normally not professional performers. Instead, they specialize in producing high quality instruments. This demarcation also prevails in our practice of music education. Today, instrument-making is seldom considered as a component of music education: Music education is predominantly concerned with teaching performance (Reimer, 2003) as if instrument-making has nothing to do with the creative processes. The general public shares a similar view also: Instrument-making is either too difficult -something only professional makers can

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This paper examines the role of musical engagement in later-life spiritual development and ageing. The nexus of music, spirituality and ageing has been relatively unexplored. Change of styles, means of expression and ways of engagement are among the transformation that older musicians often encounter. Based on an ethnographic study of Japanese music practitioners, the paper introduces a community music practice in which spiritual cultivation is a collective goal of musical pursuit. A case introduced in this paper suggests that music helps to develop a sense of purpose and enhance the meaning of life by instilling the feeling that people are still able to develop musically and spiritually. Some of the transformation identified in the study included changes of repertoire, the purpose of practice and the meaning of progress, all of which was characterised in the dictum of less-is-more. The paper highlights the process in which spiritual development and musical growth are linked and support positive ageing.

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