First week with Ai (it's what I call my shamisen)

General
#1

So after only a week with my shamisen, I’m getting rather confident at playing and just received my first compliment in the park from from a random stranger who said:
“I never thought that an instrument with nylon strings, plastic skin and a plastic bridge plucked with a plastic spatula could sound so amazing.”
I was practicing Kuroishi Yosare and thought I was pissing a few people off…

Anyway, I might be performing in the local Japanese Festival in December as there are very few tsugaru players in Sydney and that’s very exciting as well :slight_smile:

I thought I’d share this as a little bit of an introduction to Bachido.

Toto

p.s. I have made it a personal goal to get as many Sydney-siders as I can interested in tsugaru and on Bachido so that I don’t have to perform alone :stuck_out_tongue:

#2

Interesting coincidence happening here. I have a fully acoustic kouki wood Shamisen which I have also named Ai. After my Grandmother. Two other ones (besides the fully electric benya model which I just call “benya”) are named Bambi and Judas (you can actually read the name Judas if you look really closely or enlarge the Shamisen as it is featured on the CD album cover of California Tsugaru Shamisen as well as my EMI release.)

Another strange thing…my Grandmother Ai just recently passed away. She was a tremendous supporter of my Shamisen career and basically donated that instrument (the one I named after her) to me.

#3

That is a really weird coincidence!

I’m glad I’m not the only person who names their shamisen. I’m a big believer in that each instrument has its own personalty and ‘soul’ if you will. By giving your shamisen a name, you’ve immediately brought out its personality and given it more than just an ability to make sound, but you’ve given it a voice.

I have a musical background and have played many other instruments, but this is honestly the first one that I’ve felt has a truly unique voice, which is ironic, considering I sing as well :stuck_out_tongue:

I hope that you don’t mind me calling my shami Ai then, I promise to take good care of her :slight_smile:

#4

Robert,

Not at all! I found it to be a wonderful and interesting coincidence !
And I’m totally with you in terms of naming one’s Shamisen. Not saying everyone needs to do it but for me it Definately helps to create a relationship and bond with the music.

#5

Perhaps your Ai has put her spirit into the shamisen itself. Funnily enough, I was meditating on the shamisen and the name just popped into my head!

I think that if you want to be able to create emotion with your music, you need to have a relationship with your instrument. Some people believe that it should become an extension of your body, but I think that like a real relationship, it’s not about merging yourself with your partner into one weird conscience, but knowing them through and through, physically and mentally.

#6

Yeah, that was going to be my next question, how did you come up with the name? Even more weird that it just came to you while meditating on it. Stuff like this is really interesting sometimes. I’m sure it’d be simple to trace this to pure coincidence. But I find it more interesting to attribute these things to synchronicity and a growing connection between human brain/mind systems in today’s world!

#7

Sometimes It’s nice to just dream about these things anyway :slight_smile:

#8

I always named the musical instruments i made (only made 2, but hey) one was a harp and the other a psaltery, but i name other things too, although only specific items. Odd that i find things have ‘personality’ or soul but glad i’m not the only one.
I suppose it kind of ties in with the belief that after a time objects take on the ‘spirit’ of their owner or gain one.

#9

What did you name them?

#10

the harp was called Whisper and the psaltery was called Echo
(I have a treadle sewing machine called Ethel and my computer is Toshi)

#11

I love the creativity of your names :stuck_out_tongue:

My friends have a bassoon called ‘fred’, a cimbalom called ‘fernando’, a violin called ‘giorgio’, a piano called ‘loft’ (a combination of loud and soft… like piano and forte [pianos were called ‘pianoforte’ for their ability to play both loud and softly]), a trombone called ‘gusto’, and a banjo called ‘billy’…

I think Ai is the only instrument in my social group not named after either the sound she produces or her country of origin :stuck_out_tongue:

#12

I haven’t named any of my instruments.
People also name their cars too.
I haven’t named my car.
I wonder why that is?
I really do love my instrument, but maybe I am afraid of commitment?
Lol, I don’t know. I think I am worried I will choose a bad name…

#13

Not saying everyone needs to do it

I think Kevin said it the best, It’s not something everyone needs to do, that said, I named my scooter ‘sacha’ :stuck_out_tongue:

I guess people tend to fall into one of the two categories of ‘the instrument as an extension of your body’ or ‘having a relationship with the instrument’

I asked at choir and it seems to be a rather polarizing topic…

© 2020 Kyle Abbott