Hitting the wall? (and other questions)

Playing/Techniques
#1

Okay, so I’ve been playing my shamisen for about 6 months now, and I’m starting to hit the wall, just as I have with every other instrument I’ve ever tried to learn how to play. I get familiar with it so that I can play any piece of music given enough time and practice, but I don’t have the drive to learn more or to improve anymore. Some days I forget to practice, some I have to force myself to practice so my skills won’t slip, but I don’t get the same excitement or general good feeling when I play like I did when I was learning. How do I deal with/overcome this?

On another note, (I have a nagauta shamisen) I break my san no ito alarmingly fast. I’ve broken 2 in a week once. I didn’t loosen my strings and remove my koma before, but now I’m down to only one san no ito replacement string, and no other strings have broken. Just the san no ito. Can anyone explain this/help me?

#2

Hey nick

A few things that I do when I hit a wall with an instrument:

  • Watch videos or listen to music that got me motivated in the first place
  • Take the instrument and practice in a new setting
  • Set impossible goals and short time-frames

And as for your note about your shamisen
I can not express enough how important it is to remove the koma lol.

I play tsugaru style and have actually never (knock on wood) broken a san no ito~
I don’t loosen the strings, and even if I put my shamisen down for more than 10 minutes, I am sure to take out the koma

considering you are playing nagauta, I would think to either check your bachi, or your position of where you are striking/pressing the bachi.

also proper insertion and removal of the koma are also important factors in protecting the skin and your strings

but there is actually an entire thread of the forum dedicated to string breaking, so please check out that thread! You may find something in there that will help you!

#3

The wall is hard but like norm said
watch those things that inspired you in the first place
maybe try practicing outside for a change?
I used to be known for playing banjo in a tree above the school when i was younger haha

Play your best and try to keep on playing ^.^
also get some more strings, maybe a stronger version of string will be better? ive heard good things about tetron

#4

You should try composing your own music.

#5

^.^ yea go for it, its always fun.

Been singing a song i dont know the full lyrics too for years but i made the song and have made several parts on my jade dizi flute and my longneck banjo

#6

Nick,
You say you don’t get the same excitement as when you were learning…? So the question is when did you “stop” learning?
First thing to do is to train your ear. If you can pick up music by ear you can then explore the world of music all over the Internet and learn music of every genre and style that you love.
There is literally a universe of music out there to dive into once you gain a few basic tools. But there are sources to learn these as well.
Even basic Wikipedia search can guide you to ear training sources and some basic music theory etc. as well as google of course. But anyway for me a method that seems to work when I am feeling low on inspiration myself is to just listen to a variety of music. Sometimes just taking a moment to explore some new kind of music that you may not usually check out etc.

I also especially agree with Norm Nakamura’s last statement…
“set impossible goals!” , try to imagine something unimaginable being done on your instrument . Then identify it as your responsibility to see those imaginary visions brought into true sonic existence . And Just as Karl Hedlund says too… “compose something!”
In this way you can balance learning from outside with learning from within as composing is a journey which takes you into your inner psyche and therefore you can truly keep learning without limit.
It’s within a reasonable grasp.
Once again. It really begins with a well trained ear.
If you haven’t already,
Take some time to learn intervals, chords, arpeggios,basic harmonic progressions and basic melodic shapes etc. by “Ear” . Also some basic theory as I mentioned earlier as well, is always helpful to know for analysis of any kind of style you are into.
Cana,
Can we hear this tune you speak of? With dizi flute and long neck banjo? Sounds interesting!

#7

Maybe someday kevin ^^
Will be quite awhile till i’m able to play for someone i strive to be equal to.

The tune is nice and simple it transfered from every instrument ive played/ owned/made since i made the tune :slight_smile: hopeing it does the same for shamisen if not i shall make it ^^
Doesnt have to be played on dizi or longneck banjo or anything really ^^ its the feelings ive felt over the years the melody is slow and meaningful, I will strive to finish it but I wont rush anything :slight_smile:
I may need your help abit learning a few techniques on the shamisen though kevin, if your up for it ^^

~update on my shamisen its been on its way since the 20th hope to see it soon

#8

Very intelligent responses from everyone! :smiley: I agree with all the points.

Nick, may I ask, when you play shamisen (or other instruments), are you playing by yourself or with other people?

Up until starting the Bachido Blogcast, I too was rather hitting the wall. Story time!

Three years ago, I had a real goal for shamisen: To complete at the shamisen tournament in Hirosaki. So I intensely worked on my technique daily until the tournament a year later. After that, my goal was accomplished. Without any real goals, my shamisen training basically consisted of just running through all the traditional pieces so I wouldn’t forget them (“maintenance”, if you will). As you can imagine, mindlessly whipping through pieces for the sole purpose of not forgetting them in not very inspiring. My training came to a halt after Bachido projects came up.

The rest of the story continues here. :wink:

Some things I’ve realized since then.

I’m struck even more with how having large goals really makes a difference, as you always need to have a challenge to focus on. Challenge can range from learning a complicated modern song, focusing on technique to make everything you play clearer, or playing on the mall/at gigs.

Another thing that helps is playing with someone else. Playing alone works fine for an introvert such as myself, but I still find it so much more rewarding playing with Grant (or other Bachido members like Jamie, Kevin or Carlo). Having someone else there just naturally picks up your own game and you can get ideas from each other. Introduce shamisen to a friend or find someone local using the map in Local Network. :slight_smile: The social element should be used whenever possible.

Keep the challenge! :slight_smile: It also may help to get involved in the community and post your progress here. I’ve certainly been more motivated to improve because now we’re/I’m representing the community, so I can’t be as lax as before. The unspoken positive social pressure has definitely helped improve myself.

Oh, and changing practice location sounds like a great idea as well! Practicing in a tree is definitely something I would’ve done years ago. :wink:

#9

haha ^.^ nice to see i’m not the only oddball then, haha lolz was playing upsidedown in the tree somtime too ^^

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