I remember when I asked my sensei about the shamisen going out of tune, she said “did you think it was going to stay in honchoshi all day?” I still laugh to this when I think about this. Part of playing the shamisen is tuning it during the middle of the piece either because the strings are falling out of tune, or because the piece requires you to change it (ex. Honchoshi to sansagari, etc.). I found it frustrating, but I began to appreciate this skill because it is an intimate part of playing the shamisen-it is a package deal! It takes a while to reach this stage as it is quite a subtle skill. Eventually, you develop an ear for it. It just wouldnt be the shamisen without it.
This is gold as I've had trouble with exactly what you are describing. I'm learning shamisen without any prober musical education, so it is all quite difficult. Your videoes are really helping! How do you know if the strings are in the right octaves? I have a tuner and it writes 'c' but how do I know if my two outermost strings are in their right octaves? :) Thank you for replying to my other comment btw. 🙏
I found your Bachido blog post about shamisen tuning and it will help me I think! :D Now I just have to figure out where position 6 and 4 are on my shamisen. xD I also don't know if tsugaru and nagauta are different in this regard, as I have a nagauta shamisen.. But so far so good! 😁 Your videos are a life saver.
@Sascha Nielsen I'm glad they're helping! I've actually had no proper/formal musical education myself, and in my opinion from knowing folks who learn shamisen with no musical history and those who had formal music education, they really learn at about the same pace. In fact, from what I've noticed it's often (not always) those with education who get bogged down in theory and have more difficulty being fluent with the instrument. Not sure if it's true, but just what I observed. In any case, the most important thing is to keep expectations low and view it as a journey of discovery, and eventually what is difficult will naturally become comfortable. Oh yes! Check out my free crash course (bachido.com/school/crash-course-1/chapter-1), I believe I show the distances from the kamigoma (nut) to the positions so you can put a piece of tape to mark the positions. Also, tsugaru and nagauta have the same length, so no problem at all! Bachi on! :-D
I remember when I asked my sensei about the shamisen going out of tune, she said “did you think it was going to stay in honchoshi all day?” I still laugh to this when I think about this. Part of playing the shamisen is tuning it during the middle of the piece either because the strings are falling out of tune, or because the piece requires you to change it (ex. Honchoshi to sansagari, etc.). I found it frustrating, but I began to appreciate this skill because it is an intimate part of playing the shamisen-it is a package deal! It takes a while to reach this stage as it is quite a subtle skill. Eventually, you develop an ear for it. It just wouldnt be the shamisen without it.
This is gold as I've had trouble with exactly what you are describing. I'm learning shamisen without any prober musical education, so it is all quite difficult. Your videoes are really helping! How do you know if the strings are in the right octaves? I have a tuner and it writes 'c' but how do I know if my two outermost strings are in their right octaves? :) Thank you for replying to my other comment btw. 🙏
I found your Bachido blog post about shamisen tuning and it will help me I think! :D Now I just have to figure out where position 6 and 4 are on my shamisen. xD I also don't know if tsugaru and nagauta are different in this regard, as I have a nagauta shamisen.. But so far so good! 😁 Your videos are a life saver.
@Sascha Nielsen I'm glad they're helping! I've actually had no proper/formal musical education myself, and in my opinion from knowing folks who learn shamisen with no musical history and those who had formal music education, they really learn at about the same pace. In fact, from what I've noticed it's often (not always) those with education who get bogged down in theory and have more difficulty being fluent with the instrument. Not sure if it's true, but just what I observed. In any case, the most important thing is to keep expectations low and view it as a journey of discovery, and eventually what is difficult will naturally become comfortable.
Oh yes! Check out my free crash course (bachido.com/school/crash-course-1/chapter-1), I believe I show the distances from the kamigoma (nut) to the positions so you can put a piece of tape to mark the positions. Also, tsugaru and nagauta have the same length, so no problem at all! Bachi on! :-D
Nice shirt!
Ni Agari is just 2001 a Space Odyssey