Kevin… I want to hug you for doing this… haha! So awesome!!!
ohh ok, i meant it a bit differently.
lets say the piece is in Aminor originally. you could use AEA tuning right? but many times the pieces would have notes below low A which I have a problem with, therefore I would use the DAD tuning and put the tonic onto a middle string, gaining few extra bass notes… however am missing the low tonic, pedal, drone note now and the open-string tonic chord, well I suppose i gotta make compromise…??
Kyle , say hallo to Nitta san!! have a great time guys!!
Sid, yes I see your point. I think something I noticed about transcribing other music onto Shamisen is that, yes, a lot of compromise is involved. For me I usually change the key completely. For example Bach Chacconne in d minor, I play it in b minor. Or minuet in G, I think I probably play it in C mostly. For the example you gave…maybe you can place the d onto position 4 on Ichi no Ito and keep the open string tuned to A so you don’t lose that note etc.
Of course, I don’t really have any idea which piece of music you are talking about . But maybe something like that could work. I think it just takes a lot of experimenting, trial and error and keeping an open mind! Ganbatte!
P.s. Kyle! Great story about Masahiro and the metal show!
thanks Kevin.
one more thing, do you always stay in niagari tuning?? or would you use the other tunings (honchoushi and sansagari) if suited??
Sid, generally I try to keep everything in ni agari. But sometimes you have to go with the flow of a piece of music! Recently I’ve been learning something in San Sagari! It’s quite fun!
Kevin, that cover was badass.
MASTER! MASTER! that was awesome, my favourite bit was actually the chorus, it flows really well on the shamisen, well the way you played it did anyway 
Thanks guys!
Man on the Silver Mountain kicks ass. Rainbow is my fave band. Nice videos
Hey thanks Anderson! Glad you dig the Man on the Silver Mountain cover! That was one of my favorite songs for a long time! Still is, of course !
Time for a “Stargazer” Kevin… Ritchie would be proud of you 
Haha! Yeah! That’s a good idea!
Nice, Kevin. You know, there is a Metal Band out there called Wagakki band that uses Shamisen. You can view their music videos on youtube, but I also recommend looking up the original versions too. No one should see a cover of Senbonzakura without hearing the super cute original featuring Hatsune Miku. (Hold on. I’m having an Asian moment haha) But you should check out Wagakki band. They implement Light-weight metal with traditional Japanese. The main Vocalist is Yuuko Suzuhana, and the awesome Shamisen player, who has her own youtube channel, is Beni Ninagawa. Also, if you like their cover of Senbonzakura, you should check out the original if you haven’t, and while you’re at it, try Kineie Nami Shachu’s cover, which also includes Shamisen, a Nagauta Shamisen to be exact. But Nami’s playing style in some of her videos are similar to Tsugaru style. In Kineie Nami’s cover, the singer in it is the famous Utaite Kyounosuke Yoshitate, which despite his feministic voice and features, is actually a guy. (I’m not kidding. You’ll have to take my word for it)
Wagakki Band cover of Senbonzakura: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_xTet06SUo
The super cute original Hatsune Miku version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0gAwCFHdEA
Kineie Nami Shachu’s cover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bUV2wdOfXk