Holding the bachi, again

[Yatagarasu_R]

I’m sure this is the millionth thread on the subject already, just didn’t find many that touch it from the same angle…

Practicing with just the bachi so far, the pinky seems to be the challenge. Other fingers mostly fall in place… or so I think… though sometimes it feels the middle and ring ones are too short to wrap around the bachi.

Following Kyle’s instruction, the first challenge seems to make your pinky bend nicely. Once it bends, there’s the challenge of placing it properly - I take it should be always the middle section of your pinky that rests against the bachi, while the root section and the tip section (thinking of the finger having 3 parts separated by joints) are not really touching the bachi? I think actually resting the joint between our root and middle sections against the middle of the side of the bachi could be a stable (and relaxed position) as well.

I’ve noticed there seems to be several ways how to hold a bachi. There are some creative ways to place your thumb and index finger. Also in the pinky part there seems to be a difference between the Kyle (and Kevin?) “tiger claw” way referred above where the pinky separates and at least some japanese players who rather rest the root part of the pinky against the bachi using a “drooping pinky” way where the rest of the finger is just pointed downwards.

Chikuzan Takahashi II (?) seems to change her way of holding the bachi for a different technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyUCyp7tzec

Found also this nice explanation: http://www.shamisen.info/ehikikatasan/kotonosoho.html

I think just practicing relaxed holding of bachi is worthy of attention, initially it seems I get quite a stressed grip compared to what’s the ideal, even after holding feels stable and I start to relax a bit.

[Paul_Coppin]

Looking at some of the more aggressive Tsugaru players, some tend to tuck the pinky hard behind the bachi. you can see clearly Chie Hanawa’s technique here:

That locks the bachi in the hand - thumb guiding its placement, and its all wrist action…

Edited to add: I misread your post abit - Chikuzan Takahashi appears to hold the bachi more or less pinched between the thumb and the fore-finger… rather than riding the thumb on top. I also suspect there’s no one answer - finger lengths and fatness are different are different for everybody, so holding position will likely be too. It may be too that the handle is not the right size for your hand - Kyle mentions this in one of his videos. …

[Kyle_Aaron]

I have a juita bachi, which is absolutely huge and really too big for my hand (it’s like the one seen in the second link you posted, which looks even bigger in that woman’s hand). Since it’s all I have until I get a Tsugaru bachi, I’ve learned to do my best with it. It’s still quite unwieldy.

I spent a good deal of time just gripping the bachi to find the right spot, so maybe this will help you. I focused on finding a grip that allowed me to hold the bachi without my thumb resting on the curve, and without my pinky touching the bachi (but still on the opposite side from my first three fingers). So basically I can hold the bachi with only three fingers, and I can turn my wrist while doing so. Once I figured this out, I was able to close my grip in (thumb on the curve and pinky touching the back of the bachi) without putting so much pressure on my pinky (which will cause your hand to cramp up).

As Paul said, everyone’s hand is different, so YMMV, but when I grip I basically have my fingers squared around the bachi, so if you separate your fingers into three parts, the tip segment is on the bottom, the middle segment is on the side, and the third segment is on the top along with the top of the palm. My middle two fingers seem to be doing most of the work, particularly the ring finger. When my thumb is on the curve my index finger is actually free to move.

With all that said, I think the best answer is to start with the “by the book” grip that any Shamisen teacher would tell you to use and then adjust according to your hand shape and bachi size.