New to Shamisen-Would like advice.

General
#1

I just decided to purchase a Nagauta Shamisen today and while I know this site is geared towards Tsugaru, can anyone give me a quick rundown of the first basic steps I will need to take to begin to learn?

I am not going to lie, I have never played an instrument (seriously that is) in my life. I however, am extremely interested in the traditional Japanese arts and decided to take my first steps into finally learning to play an instrument.

I know that is a huge thing to ask and not very specific, but I suppose anything will help!
(I get my Shamisen officially Tuesday, knowing how to string one or where to find how…would be great!)

Thank you!

#2

Hey - a fellow Ohioan! Allow me to be the first to officially welcome you to Bachido, so… Welcome to Bachido! Many of the questions you asked have been covered many times in this forum, so firstly I would encourage you to search through some of the older posts. I would absolutely start with holding the bachi properly, until it feels comfortable in your hand, and learning how to properly balance the instrument itself in your lap. The next step I think would be to learn the correct tsubo (positions) on the sao (neck). If you are totally new I recommend buying a fujaku from the store here on Bachido, I believe they sell nagauta fujaku. The fujaku is basically a long sticker that you stick to the top of the neck you can see to aid you in learning the correct positions. Then just find out the songs/styles of music you want to play (which it sounds like you already have) and most of all, have fun! I also definitely recommend buying our shamisen fuerher Kyle Abbots book, Shamisen of Japan. It contains a wealth of information, pictures and diagrams explaining how to tie the ito (strings) on etc. Hope to hear more from you, welcome to the world of shamisen!

Also, if you type “How to string a shamisen” into Youtube a nice video with Kyle will come up as the first choice.

#3

Welcome, I think Jonathan’s answer covers what you ask for :slight_smile:

I’ll second the part about the forum. There are LOTS of stuff to check out. A year ago when I started out I had a lot of beginner questions. One tip is to check out my profile and look through my first posts. I’m not sure people are aware of this feature. There should be a few threads where I ask about different techniques.

#4

Hi Chloe, and welcome. There’s a little series of very short vids on YouTube, specific to Nagauta shamisen, with everything you need to get started from scratch.

Although the video titles are in Japanese, they are perfect for use by non-Japanese speakers. :slight_smile: There’s almost no talking and everything is clearly demonstrated with close ups, including right and wrong ways to do things (using “O” for correct and “X” for wrong). Hope you find it helpful.

#5

Welcome to the forum!
I’m also a nagauta shamisen beginner and i find the position stickers superb, finger pants make it easier to slide the left hand up and down (yubikake)

Everyone here is amazingly helpful, so ask away, they haven’t minded my stupid questions yet (or at least not in public XD )

Are you getting a complete set? with all the strings, koma etc?
If you’ve never learned to read music i think you will find the notation Tab easy to learn, i just can’t read normal notation yet the Tab tells you exactly where the hands need to be.

#6

I’m a nagauta player as well. If you’re looking for a teacher, I highly recommend Mary Ohno sensei because she teaches over Skype and is very very helpful. I’ve been taking lessons with her over Skype since March 2012. Her lessons are $20 for one hour and she teaches and prepairs all her students for the natori exam if you wish to take it. She’s with the Kine-ie school. You can look up Kabuki Academy (her group) to find out more. If this is something of interest.

#7

Thank you everyone for your very thoughtful and helpful answers!
I do need more help, mostly with two problems I have been having.

First, the shamisen I bought seems to have issues with the
lower-most itomaki. To me, It seems it has just been ran down by age and does not want to stay put.I found a violin shop that says they may be able to repair it or replace it.
Anyone have any suggestions on what I should do in the meantime?

But my biggest concern is the sound mine makes, it does not seem right…it sounds more guitar-ish then the usual twang of the shamisen.
Any thoughts to why? or could it be I am not plucking correctly with the bachi?

But other then that, I have been watching the videos on here and the ones suggested.

Amanda: Yes I did get a complete set, which was great for the price…I just wonder if the other issues I am having are really what lowered the price.

Sara: That is great! I saw her website while I was researching, but I wasn’t sure how available she was or how to go about it. Thank you for telling me!

#8

LOL I had a total dumb moment.
Nevermind my second issue, aside from the tuning being a bit off since the itomaki slides sometimes.
I just realized that my bachi has a cover on the end that was making it bulky and affecting the sound.

If you could not tell I do not know what I am doing, that proves it >.

#9

Kyle,since you taught me,its time to pass your teachings…

Hey, Chloe, get some violin rosin, then, grind it,and put it on the hole of the slipping itomaki ok?

Also,all the goles have Zagane? (Metal fittings on the holes)

#10

Mary sensei can be busy, but I’d email her anyway. She is very very sweet and kind! She has three Skype students (including me) I think.

Also about your Itomaki, if it’s like my nagauta (I have a nagauta- a hosozao not chu and 40+ years old) another trick you might want to use is Japanese Sumi, especially if you have black wooden pegs. If there is a Chinese/Japanese calligraphy store, you can get a small block of sumi and a grinding stone.

Mary sensei also mentioned something about a type of chalk but I forgot. I have the same problem with my middle Itomaki. It’s a bit testy. If the Itomaki itself is not actually broken I dont think you need to worry about replacing it or anything. It could just be more sensitive to weather conditions like mine.

#11

Nice idea on sumi,but even with black pegs,rosin still the best for me,as its cheap,very durable since you use only a little. The problem its that it may be a little messy.

Also I testes with many different powders and pastes,sharpening stone powder,uchiko,baby powder,toothpaste and violin rosin powder.

Uchiko,toothpaste,and rosin worked the best.

Sumi may work as Well,but I dont think,we can find it so easily.

#12

Well now that the peg is too small, the hole where the string goes through get covered up…causing the string to break sometimes.
This is why I am thinking about getting another or at least another hole drilled into it.

#13

I just realized that my bachi has a cover on the end that was making it bulky and affecting the sound.

Haha that’s hilarious! Mine sounded guitarish at first too, but I think it was a tuning issue since my itomaki slip a lot. I ended up having to wrap mine with masking tape so they fit tighter.

Does yours have zagane? If not then adding some could tighten the fit.

#14

Cody and Shinji: I do have zagane, however one seems to have been replaced as it does not match the other 5. That is also the one with the itomaki I am having issues with.

#15

I was under the impression that the zagane decrease friction (wood on wood vs. wood on metal) thereby INCREASING the likelihood that the itomaki will slip. It’s probably more trouble than it’s worth to take them out though.

#16

yeah, I agree it does not seem to make sense Jonathan.

#17

Well reading his comment again I realize Cody was just trying to give you an idea to help solve your problem. If it had no zagane, installing some would decrease the radius of the circle and then they might fit, but you already have some so you will probably need to invest in new itomaki.

#18

Yeah, I have a violin shop near me that want to take a look at it and see what they can do.

#19

I think the Bachido store still has the fancy twisty itomaki. Also e-kameya can repair/replace itomaki: http://www.e-kameya.com/english/repair.html however both are somewhat pricy if it just needs to be adjusted. I’d say take it to the violin shop first to see what they can do.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott