Bachido CD?

General
#1

First, a little update on the album!
Simply put, this CD is gonna be AMAZING. I’ve been adding in mandolin, a plethora of tuvan instruments, percussion, and am getting a few friends to add some more instruments (trumpet, 'n such). Rather than just showing how shamisen can play world songs, this CD will show how shamisen tastefully fits in with a full ensemble. Truly, the first MoS album was good, but I’m so blown away already, I’m convinced that this new album will make the first look like a student project. (And that’s not a “burn” on the first CD, but just a comparison to how good this new one will be) It will be that good. Owari.

Now, contrary to my original plan, this CD is Monsters of Shamisen. The songs consist of world songs and Masahiro originals. Definitely, the Bachido mon will proudly adorn the cover, it’s just not a 100% Bachido inspired album like I thought it was gonna be (but still will be awesome all the same).

However! I’ve just been thinking, if we keep writing new jingles inspired by Bachido members (for example, my coffee song inspired by Karl/Anne, and this Taxi Song for BH), I honestly think we could create a full fledged Bachido album! All composed songs inspired by Bachido members, like how these two songs were made. The songs would be professional sounding (at least, more than the live recording… and I speak only for myself) and enjoyable to listen to.

Obviously, this would be a near-future project. Not only 'cause my project hopper is completely full, but time is needed for these songs to become naturally inspired, like the previous two were.

That is all :slight_smile:

Actually, just now I’m inspired to write a song about Norm’s ruptured shamisen skin!

#2

LOL… Norm’s skin? Poor norm… Kyle,I got a question for you,since I’m new to the theory of shamisen,I wondered a lot of things about Tsugaru Jonkara bushi. every jonkara I hear is different,does each player "create’’ his own version?

Did anyone hear Hosokawa Takashi’s Boukyo Jonkara?

#3

I think the idea is awesome. I love creating tunes. It would be great with a seminar where we just brainstorm new material.

#4

Shinji san,

Yes. It is one of the characteristics of Tsugaru Shamisen music. With jongara bushi it is said that no two Jongara bushi’s should be exactly alike. If someone plays a jongara that sounds 100% identical to someone else’s jongara bushi, that player who copied another player is immediately taken to a place of severe punishment where they are whipped without mercy and chained to the snowy mountain with no food or water for three days and nights.

Well that is a joke but there is some truth inside this joke . It is considered a shame if a player does not have their own way to play jongara bushi. If you copy you are not considered a true Tsugaru Shamisen player. But even moreso than that the real hardcore Tsugaru Shamisen says that even the same player should NEVER play Jongara bushi the same way twice. So for example if I perform Jongara bushi tonight, I will be expected to play it in a new and different way tomorrow night. I can’t play the same way ever again. …So Not even copying your own jongara bushi is allowed.

Basically to master this you need to know all the vocabulary of jongara bushi and you have to practice to be able to create a new combination every time you play.

When you know the language of jongara note phrases on the Shamisen it is like talking to someone with words. Each conversation you have with someone is different right? That is because you are communicating with a combination of words, phrases and ideas but every time it is combined in a different way. It is like that with jongara bushi. Each time combining musical ideas in a new way. Never the same combination…

Kyle,
Love the idea for the NEXT CD (inspired by the site and all the folks that share here ). Also a good studio version of BH’s Taxi will be fun to look forward to someday. And of course your awesome ode to coffee!

#5

. . . something tells me that an epic range of topics could come out of this . . . as for me already the start couldn’t have been better :slight_smile: a coffee tune and a taxi tune . . . :slight_smile:

#6

Shinji san,

Yes. It is one of the characteristics of Tsugaru Shamisen music. With jongara bushi it is said that no two Jongara bushi’s should be exactly alike. If someone plays a jongara that sounds 100% identical to someone else’s jongara bushi, that player who copied another player is immediately taken to a place of severe punishment where they are whipped without mercy and chained to the snowy mountain with no food or water for three days and nights.

Well that is a joke but there is some truth inside this joke . It is considered a shame if a player does not have their own way to play jongara bushi. If you copy you are not considered a true Tsugaru Shamisen player. But even moreso than that the real hardcore Tsugaru Shamisen says that even the same player should NEVER play Jongara bushi the same way twice. So for example if I perform Jongara bushi tonight, I will be expected to play it in a new and different way tomorrow night. I can’t play the same way ever again. …So Not even copying your own jongara bushi is allowed.

Basically to master this you need to know all the vocabulary of jongara bushi and you have to practice to be able to create a new combination every time you play.

When you know the language of jongara note phrases on the Shamisen it is like talking to someone with words. Each conversation you have with someone is different right? That is because you are communicating with a combination of words, phrases and ideas but every time it is combined in a different way. It is like that with jongara bushi. Each time combining musical ideas in a new way. Never the same combination…

Kevin-san,well, so, many tsugaru players aren’t really Hardcore? This will be really hard…play a different Jonkara each time…

Do you know someone that plays a different jonkara every time he wants to play?

#7

All of Aomori top players . Yamagami Susumu & of course Takahashi Chikuzan played always in improvised style. Shirakawa Gunpachiro was the legend who mostly showed people how to improvise each time and started the philosophy of never playing the same combination. One of my teachers Hasegawa Yuji used to always preach this to me. Masahiro Nitta plays improvised jongara every time. Many of the players I know personally here on bachido have studied how to improvise too.

So don’t get the wrong impression. Almost everyone today who Is good at Tsugaru Shamisen can learn to improvise. There are many ways to study this skill so everybody can learn it. So it’s not some secret magic anymore. In the most basic sense it is simple. It is only a different philosophy. Not just learning a song but learning many many little phrases that can connect together. That is all.
Finally after you learn many many many phrases it is easy then to understand there is a way to put it together differently each time.
So maybe HARDCORE was not the right word.

Jongara bushi is just more similar to JAZZ than to other Japanese music . That is why it is unique. Someone told me one time that Tsugaru Shamisen is the only musical arts of Japan that tells you that you should never copy another Shamisen. The philosophy here is to play your own way…something that only YOU can create.

#8

The basis of improvisation is to appreciate hearing melodies. That’s pretty easy for most people. When you have heard many melodies you need to learn the phrases that Kevin is talking about. It’s like with guitar playing that you might hear 1-2 seconds of something awesome in a song. You just learn that little part. When you are playing your brain will go like “hey dude, nice playing there, but what about adding this little part here?”. Then he continues with more and more. When he’s quiet, you go back to the standard part of the song you are playing.

Of course, the more you improvise the more you will be confident and when you are confident you will be able to decide faster what you should play. The confidence comes both from feeling that you can play stuff on-the-fly, but also as you know you have mastered the technical aspects of your instrument.

My experience is that you WILL feel that our improvisation is something you have played before. This is only natural. The thing is, the people listening to you won’t realize that because they haven’t been with you every time you practice.

I am really thrilled by the jazziness of Tsugaru Shamisen, without the awkward notes and scales changing setup depending on if you are going up or down the scale. Yes, I don’t like much jazz :slight_smile:

I just keep practice on getting better at the technical aspects so I can put my mind into the instrument. You might have noticed that there has been a lot of talk on the forums about that you need to show some kind of “spirit” when you play. This is improvisation.

I think Kevin wanted to simplify it a bit by saying that all there is to it is combining phrases you know. While that is true, I just wanted to point out the epic feeling that you get when you are improvising and that people can see when you are in the zone, expressing your mind to the ears of your listeners using your body as nothing more than a vessel for the magic of music.

#9

So… I think I’m starting to get the thing… I can’t be sure,because I don’t actually play shamisen,but I’m sure I will.

So… Jongara bushi is a song,made with many small parts from different songs. the more songs we hear,more the versions of Jongara bushi we can create, right?

I think we have to hear the whole song,carefully. The best part of the song, or any other that pleases you, shall be used in Jongara bushi, is that right?

#10

The way I’ve had it explained to me here on the forums, you can’t do what you want when it comes to Jongara Bushi. I was speaking of shamisen playing in general. I think Kevin made a good post about it in the Hirosaki tournament which I recommend to read! You have to use parts from the famous tsugaru pieces when it comes to Jongara Bushi.

But over time, things will change and be added for sure. Also, if you play a Jongara Bushi for us on the forums and you add some AC/DC reference or whatever, I think we will just salute you because we love experimenting.

There is something about the mood of the traditional pieces that you lose if you play too much new though, I think.

#11

Awesome idea, Kyle! I’m already thinking of tunes I’ve written but never primiered that might be adaptable to shamisen. I’ll post the results IF I can actually play this stuff. I aint quite as awesome a player as some of you.

#12

Chet,
You are an awesome musician though. Shamisen just takes time but surely that is true for all music. I’ve heard you on different instruments and I would be stoked to do any kind of collaboration with you in the future!

#13

Awesome idea, Kyle! I’m already thinking of tunes I’ve written but never primiered that might be adaptable to shamisen. I’ll post the results IF I can actually play this stuff. I aint quite as awesome a player as some of you.

I have a few small parts of melodies that I’ve written as well. I’ve gone through them and realized they do not work for the shamisen. Perhaps it’s just because I can’t see myself playing them?

Would actually be epic as a part of the Hokkaido festival to have a little workshop where people can bring recordings of ideas and have everyone gather around to discuss how to make it shamisenable.

#14

Chet: Definitely post them! Whether on shamisen or your preferred instrument, sharing them would give us ideas as well. :slight_smile:

Would actually be epic as a part of the Hokkaido festival to have a little workshop where people can bring recordings of ideas and have everyone gather around to discuss how to make it shamisenable.

Definitely. Ooh! You know the Autotune guys have an App called Songify. (Where you say something into the mic and it will turn it into a song) Well, wouldn’t that be cool if you could play a melody and the app/program could find out where the notes would be on the shamisen and make tab based on it! You know what I’m sayin’?
Shouldn’t be too hard, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

#15

Kyle,
I do know what you’re sayin.
I think I could contribute to something like that quite a bit since there are also fingering considerations etc.
If there’s one thing I have experience with it is certainly
Translating any and every kind of melody to the three strings
Especially melodies which are considered not possible to produce on Shamisen (that’s my specialty!)

Man! Imma not letcha forget this one! Too many good ideas sometimes. Mike Penny is also terribly well versed in that field!

#16

Definitely. Ooh! You know the Autotune guys have an App called Songify. (Where you say something into the mic and it will turn it into a song) Well, wouldn’t that be cool if you could play a melody and the app/program could find out where the notes would be on the shamisen and make tab based on it! You know what I’m sayin’?
Shouldn’t be too hard, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

There are programs that can actually find polyphonic melodies and create MIDI from it. These are professional though.

What I already have in my back pocket is a tool that will give you where the notes should be, it is the MIDI Analyzer!

Basically the MIDI file contains what notes, duration and tempo should be played. This is the same info that you would get from a tool that analyzes the frequency of a recording trying to extract the notes. Now there may be some open source stuff one can use to do this.

Kevin, the one thing that is challenging is to make the fingering smart. I don’t think it’s that hard to program, it’s just that you need to be aware of all the small details. If you can think something, it is quite easy to translate it into computer code.

We should talk some about that tomorrow as well then!

#17

Thanks, Kevin! A colab would be an honor…and sounds like potential win-ness. Especially considering…

Karl, wants to meet up and brainstorm in Hokkaido? Groovy!

#18

Thanks, Kevin! A colab would be an honor…and sounds like potential win-ness. Especially considering…

Karl, wants to meet up and brainstorm in Hokkaido? Groovy!

Of course! I think this community will have much more fun meeting up than a regular Japanese shamisen community would have. I think because we can’t meet very often we will have a lot of anticipation that will make us have massive creative musical progress.

#19

This is an awesome idea! And given what we’ve being seeing here lately, it will come together all on it’s own with the droves of talent we are surrounded by on the forums here!

Since the beginning I learned how to play Tsugaru Shamisen by ear, and was never much of a musician to start with. So naturally, as Kevin left to Japan, or was never around to teach me, I took to improvising my playing about 90% of the time. I’ve been “raised” with the mind frame that it is the way to play. And I’m very thankful that Kevin emphasized it so much.

I have a couple songs I’ve whipped together bits and pieces of over the years, and I am certain Kyle and I could put together a couple of bad ass tunes for the album!

Really great thinking Kyle! I’m loving it.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott