What is a Koto?
The koto is a string instrument that originated in China and came to Japan in the 7th-8th century. The Japanese koto is a large instrument, about six feet long, consisting of a hollow body made from Paulownia wood. Underneath the body are two sound holes, one at each end. There are 13 strings which are tied over stationary bridges at each end of the body. The strings are the same size and same tension. A movable bridge, called a ji, is placed somewhere along the length of each string. The ji lift the strings off of the body so that they will resonate when plucked. The strings are tuned by sliding the movable bridges back and forth.

How a Koto is Played
The koto player sits at the top end of the instrument and with three plectrums plucks the strings in the area just to the left of the top bridge. The player can use their left hand to bend the strings in the area to the left of the ji, which can cause them to go sharp as much as 1 note.

History
Because of its long history, koto music has seen many changes. During the Heian period (794-1185) the koto was apparently played as a solo instrument in the court. As court life disappeared in subsequent times, koto music remained in the world of priests and noblemen. Koto playing was, for a time, an occupation reserved for blind people, and so writing down scores made no sense. As with many other crafts, the repertoire was maintained entirely by memory and passed down through apprenticeship. After about 1690, the koto was open not only to blind male professional musicians, but also became of interest to female members of well-to-do families.

About me
I have studied the koto for about 8 years under the sweet care of my teacher, Nishino-sensei. Unfortunately, I was not the best student and wondered how she could be so kind and patient with such a undisciplined student such as myself. I obviously have a lot to learn from her, besides learning how to play this gorgeous instrument.

About Douglas Lee

Douglas Lee was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. At age thirteen he began studying music. At age nineteen, he moved to New Orleans, LA to further persue his studies. There he was introduced to the Musical Glasses while briefly working with a local circus troupe where Peter Bennet (a world renown glass player) was performing. Captivated by the exotic and beautiful sounds of the instrument, he began to study the world of glass music. He learned of it’s history dating back some three hundred years, and how composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Schulz all wrote music for glass. He then sought out to find twenty-eight glasses of just the right size and pitch, enlisted his brother Darryl Lee (a master craftsman) to construct an elegant housing with a sounding board to mount the glasses, and an acoustic chamber to complete the instrument. This is how Douglas Lee’s Musical Glasses (one of only a few hundred in the world) were born.

After years of intensive practice Lee has now become one of only a handful of skilled players in the world. He performs many styles of music on these glasses including jazz, classical, pop and heavy metal.

Douglas Lee has been featured in numerous settings including NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”, an international television appearence (performed live on “Science Park” for SBS Television in Soeul, Korea), a national television commercial (solo musical lead and technical consultant for Tanquerray’s 2005 holiday campaign “Tony and the Glass Man”), and numerous solo appearences for weddings, corporate events, gallery openings and holiday parties at some of LA’s most reputible venues. Lee also acted as musical consultant for the 20th Century Fox filming of “Bedazzled, 2000.

As a featured soloist on the glasses and musical saw, Lee has performed stage and nightclub engagements throughout LA with various jazz, hip-hop, rock and folk ensembles. Variety magazine describes Lee as “virtuosity on musical saw and tuned wine glasses”. Entertainment Today writes Lee is “musical magic with a set of water glasses”. LAWeekly writes “Douglas Lee’s rendition of pop tunes played on water-filled glasses captivated the audience”. Lee also performs on a wide array of other musical instruments including musical saw, theramin, guitar, bass guitar, and occasionally, piano, banjo, mandolin, and xylophone.

Check out Douglas Lee http://www.thedouglaslee.com/