nagauta - tsugaru.... real difference beetwen them....

Playing/Techniques
#1

j’ai vu qu’on parle beaucoup du shamisen tsugaru. j’ai un nagauta. je sais qu’il y a une difference entre les deux instruments mais pourrait on m’expliquer la véritable difference pour le jeu ? je commence seulement et je me pose beaucoup de questions … ah ah

I saw there is much talk of Tsugaru shamisen. I have a nagauta. I know that there is a difference between the two instruments, but could you explain to me the real difference for play music with ? I just started and I have many questions … ah ah.

#2

Ah… I’m sure Gerry will have a fully detailed answer for this. :slight_smile:

Basically, they are two different aesthetics. One aesthetic style demands a larger shamisen (tsugaru) whereas the other aesthetic style requires something differently. That’s my simple viewpoint. :slight_smile:

I like to see the shamisen as simply a musical instrument rather than regulated to a specific style. Though there is a physical difference between the two shamisen, if you want to play tsugaru pieces on a nagauta shamisen, I would say it is perfectly fine to do so. :slight_smile: You just have to be a bit more careful with the skin, as it’s thinner than skin on tsugaru shamisen.

#3

Thanks Kyle. I think Angus’s question is more : what is the difference in the techniques used in tsugaru or nagauta style rather than the instruments difference. Really a question for Gerry’ s knowledge…

#4

yes, why tis physical difference ? :

#5

and more, and more… the sao of one is larger than the other, the itomakis are different…

… why ? why, why… ^^"

#6

yes, why tis physical difference ? :

I think the sharper hatomune is there to add a few extra positions on the sao for higher notes that aren’t necessary with the calmer nagauta and gidayu styles.

and more, and more… the sao of one is larger than the other, the itomakis are different….

The itomaki are larger on tsugaru so they have a larger amount of surface area and will therefore stay in tune longer during hard playing. As for the sao, all the styles have the same length, it is just thicker for futozao shamisen because they are meant to take more abuse. I doubt it has any effect on the sound (aside from the size of the dou.)

Basically, a shamisen is just a shamisen and all the different details are adaptations intended to suit different playing styles.

What I am more confounded by is the large variety of bachi.

#7

ok; and what shamisen do you prefer ?

#8

Well I’m hopelessly in love with my new gidayu shamisen but i prefer any shamisen that I can play :wink:

#9

thank you. you’re like me : I LOVE shamisen ! ^^"

#10

As you go from hozozao to chuuzao to futosao shamisen, the dou gets bigger in size. The differences in dimensions are small (especially between hozo and chuu sao) however there is a big impact on depth and volume of sound. Supposedly this came about as the shamisen moved from performances inside in close environments (e.g. kouuta) to outside, open environments (gidayu, tsugaru).

Can you play the various styles on other types of shamisen? My two cents: Yes, but you may change the mood. This is true for music in general. Playing a soft and intimate kouuta piece on a tsugaru instrument will not have the same effect. Also, different styles use somewhat different fingering positions so some notes may be played flatter than on other styles.

There is a lot of misinformation on shamisen. It is NOT true that all shamisen have the same neck length (and I am speaking of only standard size shamisen). In fact, a chuuzao “minyou” shamisen sao is shorter than a chuuzao jiuta one. There are also short versions of some shamisen and these are standard instruments.

As for me, I have minyou, jiuta and tsugaru style shamisen. I like the traditional music and prefer jiuta, although it is fun to make a lot of noise with tsugaru once in a while.

#11

waow !! amazing explanation ! thank you !

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