I have always wanted to learn to play a shamisen, but I was born with a birth defect that resulted in the loss of my index finger and my thumb is barely functional. The cost is not so minimal that I could justify buying one if I have no ability to play it ever.
Would I still be physically able to play having only the middle, ring, and pinky fingers on my left hand? Or are there times I’d need 4 or all 5 to be able to successfully play?
as far as i know the shamisen is primarily played with only two fingers, usually index and ring, so i’m sure you could adapt. one of the most pioneering guitarists of all time, Django Reinhardt, only had functional use of two fingers in his left hand and was still able to master his instrument and revolutionize guitar playing.
Shamisen is mainly played with the index, middle and ring fingers. Maybe you could shift the fingers by replacing the index by the middle finger and add the ring and the pinky…
I dont really know much about the playing of the shamisen bus why dont you try to play the strings with ur right hand and figure out a way to use the bachi in your left hand
