I have been trying to learn the lessons in the learning center and I just cannot do the hajiki. I keep trying, but most of the time I end up pulling both the Ni no Ito and San no Ito. Is there maybe a more descriptive way of describing this technique? or any advice?
Thanks!
I played a little guitar before and found 4-3 on san no ito quite accessable “just” sliding the finger off the string and away from the sao from 4 position . . . what I found rather weird was to pluck the 0 open string with a left hand finger and most of all I just was not able to do hajiki on the ni no ito without also hitting and making sound the san no ito by accident after sliding the finger off from a position on ni no ito . . . small and sort of to be abruptly stopped movements on the ni no ito or ichi no ito to not also hit and make sound neighboring strings whereas you have a lot of space to go when sliding off from the san no ito so I settled for practicing hajikis on the san no ito for a while before giving the other strings a try again as for this . . .
although this may be hard to do at first I guess it is good to place both fingers for 4 and 3 on the sao at the same time with one motion so 3 is already pressed and ready and waiting for you to slide your finger off 4 or / and slow playing is good practice I think also as for the subtleties of sound that are possible . . . at least that is what I am trying to get good at by simply accepting it takes some time and not giving up and practicing on . . . 
although no fun no sense and the best thing about that is that you may spend an intense evening not getting it right and the next day or several days later you pick up the thing again and all of a sudden you are able to get that right or at least a lot better than before so I guess a break when getting frustrated can also be good but I don’t even have an actual shamisen so whatever go your way and fool around with it and things I guess will unfold just fine . . .
Just as B H has pointed out you may have trouble at first and then come back to it later and realize you’ve had it all along and just needed some time to separate from it in order to process the technique mentally. The thing is, if you are having trouble with the hajiki (especially in the case of hitting extra strings unintentionally) you are most likely simply angling your hand position/finger in an awkward way. That is why sometimes with just a little bit of time and insight the situation can correct itself.
Of course you can speed up the process by doing things such as…
1.) film yourself or look in the mirror
2.) watch others (live or online , whichever is available) and compare the good examples to your own.
3.) observe any differences in hand position/angle that might be causing you to have trouble and promptly experiment with changing your approach until it feels/sounds better to you.
…AND if all else fails you can always post a vid for us here on bachido. Surely Kyle, Karl, Jamie or someone will get back to you with advice.
Is it the 4-3-0-0 sequence you are having problem with, or is it the drilling 16-16-16-16-16 stuff?
When you do 16-16 (hajiki symbol on this second one), you want it both notes to sound the same even though you will just be striking the string with the bachi on the first strike.
Consider that what you should not focus on first positioning your finger on the string and then move it out. If you do that you might get stuck into feeling that it is a 2 part action. It should really be a “flick” where your finger is set in motion in a steady pace, and on the way it gets in contact with the string and then slips off the string, all in one linear motion.
When it comes to a 4-3-0-0 sequence or similar it is a bit different. In shamisen music you will find a lot of these sequences, or similar ones. Basically when you strike the 4 with the bachi, you have already positioned your index finger on 3 and ring finger on 4. This time, you thereby start with your finger already on the string you are about to “flick” off from. It should still be a linear steady, it’s just the starting position that is changed. If performed properly, you should hear the 3 note as your index finger is there.
As Kevin says you might be angling your hand in a bad way. Think about where you can “flick” your finger with as much accuracy, power and speed as you can. For me I angle the hand so that it’s 30-45 degrees to the neck depending on where on it I’m playing.
I am no master of hajiki, but this is what I’ve experienced!
Karl, you are so funny dude! After giving the most “Masterful” description of hajiki you say “I am no master of hajiki”. Here is an idea for you for today… Instead of holding the thought inside of your head that says “I am no master of hajiki” try the following steps…
1.) take that thought out of your mind and crumple it up like a piece of trash paper. Then throw it away in your brain trash.
2.) now replace that thought with the words “I, Karl Hedlund, am THE MASTER OF HAJIKI!”
… Then when you practice notice your attitude will be (must be) completely different. You won’t be able to handle it when you produce a poor hajiki. Something inside of you will not accept it because it will cause a mental clash. You have “responsibility” now to be the Master! It might drive you crazy but that’s ok. In fact, that’s good! You will become extraordinary at hajiki in a very very short time because of this madness.
Remember if you say “I am no master of hajiki” you are actually giving yourself a license to be “not so good” at it. Therefore part of the secret of becoming a great musician is to mentally project yourself as already being there and then the journey becomes a wonderful adventure of self discovery instead of a Long struggle to someday become “good” at it.
It’s interesting that you may not “see” yourself as clearly but as I’ve watched your playing progress and recall your talent for improvisation and the way you are already a great teacher as a result of your enthusiasm for music, insights into technique and willingness to share, it all adds up to a master musician. That’s why I want to suggest this to you. Life’s too short to wait to experience the peak of your musical talent! When people say “You need to practice for years to get good” that’s actually a bit of a lie. There are no rules. You make them up. Decide to experience your best Shamisen playing and it Will happen. You don’t have to wait. Experience it TODAY, if you really really want!
Haha thanks brah! I left that message there as a safeguard for being wrong 
But you are right, a player with confidence gives a much better impression to the listener. I shall take your wise words and strike fear in my shamisen!
Yes! Listen to all this great advice and then practice, practice, practice.
Yes, it is definitely possible that I am just not angling correctly. I am mostly having the issue BH mentioned about hitting the other strings. It could be that there is just less space, as I have a nagauta shamisen.
It just seems that when I am trying to hold down the 3 and pull away, it makes it hard to keep my finger on the 3 to do so.
I seem to be able to do the rest fine, so its extra frustrating.
However, I have a feeling I am just being impatient as I can now see the end. =p
(Now I know why good musicians tend to have long and skinny fingers!)
Working on it now, much better then yesterday. Now it is just a matter of speed I think. Thank you for all your wonderful advice!
Great! Another thing that I do sometimes when I want to work on a technique that requires you to stretch your hand is to play the same thing on the higher notes instead, so that the distance between them is less.
Take the 4-3-0-0 for example. You can play 6-4-0-0, 12-10-0-0 or even 19-16-0-0. It won’t sound the same of course, but you can practice the feeling of the rhythm without having your mind complain about how hard it is to stretch those fingers at the lower notes. Then you return to the original notes and try again.
If I get frustrated I tend to do these things for a while, going up and down the neck playing the same pattern just because the change cheers you up.
when I picked up the guitar a few weeks later a magazine happened to have the tabs for nothing else matters in it and there is a huge stretch in the intro . . . I was just like how could this be physically possible I couldn’t cover so much space between I think it was pinky and index finger so I dropped those two notes I couldn’t reach and played the same bass note 3 times instead of that bass progression of 3 different notes and thus created a simplified version that was also enjoyable to play and without any specific practice just playing guitar and other songs at some point I went back to looking at the precise tab of nothing else matters and also managed to do that stretch so whatever you play will increase your overall abilities
(I find it funny to have given that song a try from sort of day one after picking up the guitar but then again the beginning with just open strings is accessable enough while that stretch is at 0:21)
Oh Geez… B H is once again causing Shamisens to be played around the world. However I’m not too pleased with this particular Metallica tune for Shami arrangement. BUT some other tunes are now coming back into memory. I’ve done the battery riff and for whom the bell tolls. Ok. Now it’s time to search for for music to arrange!
Thanks B H !
Haha my pleasure you are welcome . . .
This is when we need a “LIKE” button here on Bachido as well! I like Kevin Kmetz post about owning your ability!
I am the SHAMISEN MASTER (I am taking a loan out on this ability, because I WILL own it!