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Riley Lee was the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master and now is a consummate teacher, performer and collaborator with other musicians of all genres.

Riley Lee
Sound of Bamboo
RILEY LEE began playing the shakuhachi in Japan in 1971
Listening to the shakuhachi is good, playing it is better.
Visit the lessons page to find out more

Riley Lee. Shakuhachi player since 1971. Grand Master since 1980.

Music by Riley Lee

Riley Lee is one of the most prolific and probably one of the best Western shakuhachi players, having recorded more than 30 CDs. Several in one series dedicated to traditional Zen music for solo shakuhachi.

“As peaceful and enchanting as a sunset’s afterglow on a cloudless summer evening, the gentle music of Riley Lee stirs a warm, caressing breeze that calms the spirit and stills the mind.”

Most of Riley’s music is on Spotify.

To buy hard copies, try CDbaby or contact us directly

Listen to some popular tracks

A Cricket Grieves

Temple Garden

Kyushu Reibo (Yearning For The Bell Of The Kyushu Region)

San'ya (Three Valleys)

Riley Lee’s music is available to listen or purchase on
Spotify and CD Baby

Riley’s musical work is breathtakingly meditative, soothing, and spiritual.
His near-flawless approach has made a complex range of ethnic fusion absolutely stunning.
He has released material since the early ’80s.

View the full collection here

Members Area

One off Fee

To become a member, first you must register on this website. You will then receive an email with instructions on how to pay.

Price: $20

Over 50 Recordings

Members have access to over 50 recordings of Chikuho honkyoku as taught to me by the second head of the Chikuho lineage, Sakai Chikuho II, min’yô (folksongs) and a number of other pieces.

Charts and exercises

Acess to fingering charts and Notations for all beginner exercises

In 1981, Chikuho II gave me permission to disseminate the scores, but he asked that I charge only for the ‘cost’ of doing so, in the spirit of reciprocity.

On tour and other performances

Schedule and upcoming tours

To see where I will be – check my Schedule

Learn to play the Shakuhachi

In order to play shakuhachi honkyoku (Zen Buddhist pieces), one must make them ‘one’s own’. In order to do this, one must, paradoxically give them away.

I teach whenever and wherever possible. I am based in Sydney Australia, however I am on tour several times a year
Check my schedule. If I am in a location near you and you don’t mind coming to me, it’s likely that I can fit in a lesson with you.

More about Shakuhachi lessons

About Riley Lee

Riley Lee first went to Japan in 1970 to work at the World Expo in Osaka. He began playing the shakuhachi in 1971.

He is the recipient of two of the oldest and most venerated lineages of traditional shakuhachi, which can be traced back to the Zen Buddhist komusô, or “priests of nothingness” of the Edo period in Japan.
In 1980, he became the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master.

Riley’s music is meditation. He frequently gives benefit concerts for Zen Buddhist groups worldwide. His music has been used worldwide in yoga and tai chi classes, and by massage, acupuncture, and other bodywork therapists. Many of his albums are particularly valued by mothers and mothers-to-be and by their midwives and others working in pre- and post-natal care.

Read Riley’s Bio

CD Reviews

Reviews by All Music guide and other.

Read all reviews

What others say

Lee’s sound is so astonishingly pure: it aches with the sadness of loss and the sadness of wisdom, pulses with the joy of being alive and whispers of an elegance almost too exotic to be true.

Sydney Morning Herald

Affecting, moving, admirable, the performing techniques involved, especially the breath control, defy belief

International Herald Tribune

…atmospheric, even spell-binding music, Echoes of eternal time…haunting

New York Times

He is, by any standards, a remarkable musician with an amazing command of fractional inflections of tones, achieved with a wide range of finger and breath attacks on every note. …. Beautifully evocative sounds

Sydney Morning Herald

Lee could serve as any performer’s model in his ability to capture the attention of his audience immediately and straightforwardly

The Australian

..a superb musician and an innovative and prolific composer. The shakuhachi is a transcendentally beautiful instrument and Lee’s playing has an emotional and meditative power which overwhelms his obvious technical expertise

Sydney Morning Herald

Riley Lee’s tonal control is inescapably uncanny. Most assuredly a master-player of the shakuhachi

24 Hours (ABC Radio Guide)

…quietly powerful

Newport Daily News, USA

Outstanding eloquence on the shakuhachi

Sydney Morning Herald

Lee’s shakuhachi music has an unusually soft, lyrical sound, which offers a feeling of meditative beauty

Japan Times, Tokyo

Strangely haunting… seductive

Honolulu Star Bulletin

Exotic sound

Newsweek

His natural musical sensitivity combined with a carefully nurtured technique make him an exciting and delightful performer

Honolulu Academy of Arts

Riley Lee played…with unutterably subtle sensibility

Sydney Morning Herald

Riley Lee was the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master and now is a consummate teacher, performer and collaborator with other musicians of all genres.

Riley Lee

Listening to the shakuhachi is good, playing it is better.

Riley Lee. Shakuhachi player since 1971. Grand Master since 1980.