If I’m not wrong, the koma can be moved to find the sound you prefer. In addition, the sawari buzzes exactly when the finger is in the right place. Is it really useful to install a fujaku that will always more or less be wrong because fixed ? I have one but often find my finger in front of or behind the digit. Another question for the sensei there. Thanks
That’s a good question.
If you use a fujaku, the koma must be set in one specific place so the tones match with the spots. Of course, it is acceptable to move the koma for the best position, but the alignment with the koma will be off, like you said. Because this would render the fujaku a little…not correct, if you only need a few of the position digits, I would say to remove the fujaku and make a few position marks with tape or something. (like for ‘6’, ‘9’, ‘12’ ‘16’ and such) Because you notice the sawari buzzing when you are in the right place, it sounds like you can correct your pitch by ear just as well as with the fujaku. 
Thanks for your encouragement Kyle. By the way I noticed that the sawari buzzes more on the different finger positions than with the free string. Is it normal or is the notch that I did (changing the kamigoma from right to left) not correct ? Do I have to dig more or did I dig already too much ? I am a little troubled : I’m afraid I have damaged the sao because the notch seems larger than it was on the other side.
Well, in fact I am now sure I damaged the sao, because trying in another place, it worked well. But once more, as I wanted to tweak, I digged too much. I’m such a bad handyman ! Can I repare that with some wood pulp or something like that so I can make a new notch ? Thanks for your help.
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Can you show us what you have done? I’m sure someone like Kyle can answer the technical aspect. Just wanted to remind you that the amount of sawari sound depends on which note the other strings play. It’s all based on the relationship of the notes in the overtone series.
Thanks, Karl. If we only look the ichi ni ito. In position “0”, does it have to buzz or not ? In this case it didn’t at all. I’m not sure I’m clear but I wanted to increase the amount of sawary. In the “0” position, it didn’t buzz at all, so it could not be started off playing the other strings. The sound was too clean. But playin the ichi not ito at the positions 4 of 6 or more, it buzzed correctly. Is there something I didn’t understand at all ?
Hey Patrick, I’m sorry to say, but yeah, your buzz sounds a little off. In fact, it almost sounds backwards. The sawari is only supposed to sound when the ichi-no-ito is completely open. Playing an open ichi-no-ito directly should result in the sawari buzz, as should playing certain resonant frequencies on the other strings as long as the ichi-no-ito isn’t pressed down. (For example, open ni, open san, 6 on san, and many more.)
If your ichi-no-ito buzzes when you’re playing 4, 6, or any position on it, really, then something weird is going on. The sawari is controlled by the nut at the top of the sao (or by the azuma sawari just below the nut), so pushing down any position on the string should neutralize the effect. You’ve created a new nut with your finger, so to speak, so the actual nut shouldn’t have any effect. Forgive me if I’ve misinterpreted what you said, but it really sounds like something odd is going on.
Oh, also, shaft, balls, and whatever else. Nut is a funny word.
That’s why I thought the notch was not hollow enough, so I digged and digged to reach the result I describe in my new post (called massacre), do you see ? By the way even the ni no ito buzzes on certain places, and also the sans no ito but less noticeable. Mistery
One nut per string! (funny)
I agree with Jamie, you shouldn’t get the sawari when holding down position 4 or 6 on the ichi no ito.
The sawari should come from that something touches the string very lightly, but it has to do so between the kamigoma and the koma. It shouldn’t do it between your finger and the koma as the string should be straight. If you do get that sound there, your sao may not be straight and could result in the string lightly touching the sao between your finger and the koma. That is not good.
It’ not really a buzz, but you know like a double bass played in the very high notes, I can say it is rather a kind of distorsion…
I think you will have to record it for us to understand. But I think you need one of the craftsmen on this site to come up with a fix for your problem in the other thread.
Ok Karl I will try to make a short record tomorrow. Thanks
I’m a tsugaru player, so I’m not as familiar with the other versions of shamisen, but is there even supposed to be a notch in for the ichi-no-ito in a shamisen without azuma-sawari? I thought the notch was used with azuma-sawari to ensure that the string passed directly over the mechanism. In a shamisen without azuma-sawari, I thought the buzz came from rubbing directly against the sao because of the lack of a defined bridge. Someone with more knowledge tell me if I’m wrong.
Ah, I forgot about the sawari yama. This video sort of explains what I was talking about, although it doesn’t quite solve the notch/no notch issue.
More sawari videos! Sorry that they’re all in Japanese…
There IS a notch as you can see in my shamisen before I changed the side of the kamigoma to be able to play left-handed
But is supposed to be a small one and not the ugly valley I inground
In sum, the basic idea seems to be that in shamisen without azuma-zawari (the nifty screw mechanism), the sawari buzz is created through a special combination of nut and neck construction. Just under the nut near the top of the neck, the wood actually pokes up a bit. You can see it clearly in this picture:
This is called the sawari-yama. (~“Buzz mountain.”) The ni- and san-no-ito are placed on top of the nut, giving them enough height to go completely over the sawari without coming into contact with it. The icho-no-ito, however, is not placed on the nut, which means it’s low enough to lightly brush against the sawari-yama. When played open, it is this brushing against the sawari-yama that creates the buzzing sound known as sawari. Playing the ni- and/or san-no-ito at certain resonant frequencies also causes the ichi-no-ito to vibrate and brush against the sawari-yama, creating sawari even when not playing the ichi-no-ito directly. Of course, when you place your finger on the ichi-no-ito to play any note other than 0, you place your finger below the yama-sawari, thereby nullifying its effect. ie, no more buzz.
Concerning your problem, my guess is that by putting a deep notch for the ichi-no-ito at the kamigoma, you’ve lowered the string so much that the sawari-yama has now just become a new nut. The string is no longer brushing against anything, so no buzz. As a side effect, you’ve also shortened the ichi-no-ito ever so slightly compared to the other two strings, which might explain why your fujaku seems inconsistent.
From where I see it, that gives you two options: 1, Raise the ichi-no-ito by patching up your notch, or 2, Lower the sawari-yama by sanding or notching. I’m no craftsman so I’m not sure which is better, but my instincts say 1 is the safer option.
Also, going back to the original question about fujaku, although you can move the koma around, I don’t really think you’re supposed to. I’ve been told by teachers that there’s an ideal koma position, and I’ve even been told I should make a mark on the skin where that is. Fujaku are supposed to be based on this ideal position, which means they should be accurate.
Of course, due to its unfixed nature, the koma will move and a player should be able to adapt, but this doesn’t mean you have to throw out your fujaku. I think they’re a good learning tool.
Oh, and you did have a notch. Huh. I don’t really know what to think about that.
Jamie, I think you are right and I will choose the first solution, but anyway I will never NEVER do it myself. I’ll try to give it as soon as possible to a shamisen-ya san. Thanks again. The fujaku question is quite far now as long as I have not resolved the other problems. And yes I had a notch but had to reverse the kamigoma to play left-handed.