Biwa info and discussion

General
#1

Most Bachido members probably bump into this instrument at some point, so decided to jot down some notes.

The biwa is a japanese plucked instrument related to the shamisen. Based on the chinese pipa, it was introduced to Japan in the 6th century and a number of the classical traditions survived intact to the 20th century. There was a good deal of influence back and forth between the biwa and shamisen over the centuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biwa

The biwa could be interesting not just because of historical connection but also because of the playing techniques. Possibly something could be developed as an experimental technique on the shamisen, but there are also marked differences so many things probably won’t work at all. There are some superficial similarities too, I noticed the upstroke is common on biwa as well.

A couple of videos that show nice technique - both are a very classical subject for biwa music, from the Heike Monogatari, though the instruments are a common type (satsuma biwa both?) on the modern day:

On this one, the actual playing starts around 3:00:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmvw6ldOJY8

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#2

I found this episode of BEGIN Japanology about Biwa player Silvain Guignard to be quite interesting. I hope you enjoy it if you haven’t already seen it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rczFQL04LgQ

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#3

Thanks for sharing! It was great. The Swiss:German guy was an impressive character, and also loved the notes how learning to play is a bodily experience. (Bachido seems to emphasize a similar, obviously japanese influenced philosophy where imitation is the starting point to learning.)

#4

Good stuff! It’s great to know about the rest of the instruments - it is a more balanced understanding of the shamisen to know about biwa, shakuhachi, etc.

A really great book on the general topic is Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments by William P. Malm, Kodansha Press. Excellent discussion of scales, illuminating histories PLUS a free rockin’ CD with examples of many facets of Japanese Music.

I admit my bookmark is stuck at page 269 - it is a dense book, but I come back to it again and again.

Biwa is so cool because of the those crazy floating frets - very like the sitar in that you can press down and down and change pitch. And the bachi is insanely large. Like they say, the bigger the bachi…wait, what do they say?

#5

Not sure but think on biwa you can bend the strings even more than on sitar…

Bumped into a nice summary of the biwa playing techniques. Also touches on some of its limitations:

https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups/gagaku/strings/biwa.html

#6

I love Biwa! Seriously! I want to play Biwa really bad but once I tried obakedake’s Biwa over in Kobe, Japan and it was super hardcore! I’d need to develop a whole new set of finger muscles and training method etc. Also since I haven’t even really had time to practice Pipa lately I doubt if I could find the time for the Biwa. Its even harder these days for me since I’m trying to juggle practice time with being a father. Probably just stick to Shamisen for now.

#7

Is biwa playing more challenging because it jumps straight to complex techniques or the design of the instrument is more archaic (eg. strings at the first fret are not separated much and so on)?

I was wondering if some kind of a crash course would be available for the biwa, eg. in Tokyo or Kyoto? They would obviously need to provide the instrument too, but it would be a fascinating thing to try out!

Maybe add it to Shamicamp 2016? :wink:

#8

I studied Satsuma Biwa for a year in Tokyo some years back with Yukio Tanaka, one of the top students of the late master, Kinshi Tsuruta. I have to say, it was very intense. The technique is very subtle, and of course learning the katarimono (vocals) is very challenging, too. I was very fortunate to actually have a biwa to practice on; although I would rather have loved to had a Satsuma Biwa (my practice biwa was a Chikuzen style).

Biwa are very difficult to come by as not very many people play these days due to its relative obscurity and high cost. Perhaps one reason why biwa is one of the least popular instruments to play in Japan is due to its musical insularity and challenging playing technique. It’s rare that you see biwa being played outside of it’s traditional context. Kakushin Nishihara is one of the few players expanding beyond the tradition. http://www.kakushin.net/

It wouldn’t be hard to hard to find a teacher to teach biwa at a shami camp in Tokyo, but the challenge is deciding which style of biwa (Satsuma, Chikuzen, Gaku, etc.) then actually getting the instruments for students to use.

But I do love the biwa (particularly Satsuma) because of it’s awesome unique Japanese sound and fascinating solo tradition.

#9

I always wanted to try the Biwa. But the closest I could find was the Chinese version, the Pipa, and the Vietnamese Dan Ty Ba. I once was going to convert a Dan Ty Ba into a Biwa, since both are very similar. They both have high frets, and both have a similar style peg box. I was going to put something under the strings to make it buzz, but then I realised, the Dan Ty Ba was diactonically fretted, and also, didn’t resonate very well. xDD I once also considered getting a Sitar as a substitute, particularly one of the small size sitars, but they were too expensive. I know there is this one guy on youtube, Biwaud, who has made a cross between the Biwa, and the Arab Oud. You guys should check him out.

#10

So, I was searching around the soundtrack to Inuyasha, and found that the Biwa is a main feature in many songs. In the end of the Battle theme, there is a tiny bit of Biwa playing. There is also a Biwa used in the main melody of the song, “Kikyou No Kokoro”, or Kikyo’s heart. Here’s a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgG3bkVXMPo
Oh, Kevin, by the way, whatever happened to Obakedake? He doesn’t upload anymore, and the last video he uploaded was some house party. Does he still play Biwa?

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