Honchoushi Tuning Reference Pitches?

[Unlucky_Ian]

Hello, those who read this.

I was wondering if anyone had a solid sound file/video for a reference pitches to honchoushi tuning. I got a beginner’s shamisen and I would only assume that the reference pitches on the school houses courses I have thus far are niagari. There are some pieces in honchoushi tuning I wanna take a crack at like Hanagasa Ondo from the backing track course.

I understand that the Ni no Ito’s pitch is the only one that changes, but I wanted to hear a good example to make sure I’m really nailing the pitch.

If anyone has an audio reference for honchoushi tuning, thanks in advance for sharing.

[Brown]

Hi there.

Honchoushi, Niagari, and Sansagari all refer to the different relationships between the strings.

Honchoushi is, in actuality, the base from which the other two are derived - hence the name!

To tune to honchoushi:

First, tune your ichi-no-ito to your desired tuning. Let’s say C.

Then, tune your ni-no-ito to a perfect fourth above that. In this case, F.

Finally, tune your san-no-ito to the same tuning as your ichi. In this case, C.

As for your actual request, here:

This video with three very clean strikes in the beginning showing honchoushi tuning.

伝統音楽デジタルライブラリー　三味線　「三味線の調弦」