As the instructors prepare their teaching material, we’d like to ask, what you are dying to learn??
Please be very specific! Would you like to learn techniques? If so, which kinds? Would you like to learn phrases, riffs or songs? If so, which kinds?
The more requests and suggestions we get, the more we can tailor the instruction to you! Thank you!!
Bachi on!!
Kyle
I wonder what kind of traditional excercises are there for shamisen. Like western music has scales, etudes, flexibility/etc excercises. If it’s more of a song by song approach, song sets are interesting to know (and in general, places to buy shamisen sheet music). Also any pieces with extensive use of chords, not that I can play any chords well tho 
Learning a famous tune cover would be fun, like Totoro theme for example.
For technique stuff I’d list confident 1st finger hajiki, ushirobachi and maebachi for starters. Not to mention hitting the right string and using these thin nagauta pegs jitsu :))
Thanks Dmitry!! I will add all of that to the list of requests/topics for the instructors!
Is there any interest in learning phrases? (Like phrases for Jonkara Bushi) Or would whole minyo / cover songs be more desired?
This brings up another point! In a way, one hour is not much time, so which would be better, for an instructor to briefly touch many topics for a shorter time, or for the instructor to focus on 1~2 topics for a longer time?
1h is a long time to focus on one topic, especially if you don’t feel confident at all (beginners) or already know the stuff well enough (experts)! Maybe a good split could be 30 mins exercising the basics then 30 mins showing some (challenging) variations - perhaps even jump to another subject that can be more freeform. Could be even repeated 2-3 times over the lesson with 1-2 minute break in between, every instructor may have their favourite patterns.
Suri (slide) is probably one technique I wouldn’t mind being covered in multiple sessions. Big and small, there’s many uses for it. Also how to make one’s playing more clean and clear overall.
Phrases and riffs would be essential to add to the personal toolbox. Songs tend to take more than 1h to learn, I think. What’s on Bachido Schoolhouse it’s like I need 3-4 occasions (sessions) learning a part of a song before I can play it.
How to make your own variations of existing phrases. Eg. there’s many professional performances of Sakura on youtube, but how we learn to play it from Bachido is a bit different and more simple - could work on some variations to that, I’d suppose different instructors have some personal favourite variants of pieces such as that.
If it comes to whole songs / part of songs, covers would be interesting! Anime or western music ok - the Kevin Kmetz kind of stuff 
Also material that is not well covered by Bachido, such as nagauta or gidayu (bunraku) songs, maybe the Japanese variants of shamisen fusion too? (Think “how Yoshida Brothers do it” might get a lot of votes At least Storm and Shinkiro have interesting phrases worth studying.)
Excellent ideas, Yatagarasu! The layouts you describe will help the instructors form their own plans. Great points, great points! Thank you!
Yes. Thanks!
As for Sakura, I guess this is a rather typical version. Think one could pick up a lot of additional phrases and riffs out of it:
Forgot to mention Tanaka-san’s experimental shamisen music, I somehow get the idea she’s been working more on that part in the recent years. (Although we’ve seen some old videos with experimental content.) Would be something completely different in the curriculum. At least there’s the different unorthodox techniques of making a sound with shamisen - then the question how to utilize those methods and combine them with other music. Personally I’m thinking it could go nicely with various kinds of western electronic music…
Seriously! Tanaka San is my Idol! No joke! She is brilliant and hilarious!
Can I also suggest to hear about music theory from Japan like how the system works and where the scales come from. They uses different scales than in the occidental system I would like to learn about that too.
Hey, sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to this. Here are some of the things I’d be real keen to get instruction on:
Utatsuke. How it works in terms of form, the various taiko parts, things to be mindful of, the differences between utatsuke and solo playing, etc.
Bachi technique, especially rapid ushiro bachi strikes (triples, quadruplets, etc), tremolo style up and down picking, and ways to improve stamina, speed, and precision. For example, I have a lot of trouble keeping up with fast Aiya Bushi playing, particularly on that one phrase that comes up all the time that’s like a one-two rapid ushiro bachi from san-no-ito to ni-no-ito followed by a maebachi on ni-no-ito. (Sorry, it’s hard to describe in text, but for example, this video starts out with a pair of them right after the oto-awase at about :15-:16, then repeats again at :21-:22, and of course does it a bunch more throughout: https://youtu.be/Wyshaj8WqPI)
The distinctive Tsugaru rhythms. Ex: Aiya’s weird almost 3/4 but not 3/4 thing.
Chords
Ways to move about all three strings. (For example, when improv-ing I find myself jumping around the san-no-ito a lot, when I feel like it’d probably be easier if I used the other strings.)
Whatever triplety sounding technique Kevin’s using here from 1:30 to about 1:37: https://youtu.be/RK3tXLm8N-A
(I swear I’m not trying to plug my own song. This was just the most convenient example.)
Oh, and good ways to finish up jongara and other kyokubiki! I feel like my finale could use a little bit more flare.
Hey Jamie! Got it! Just renraku’d with all the instructors this afternoon, and included questions from you and the other Bachido membered attendees. I’m sure they’ll use your requests as part of their material!
Less than a month away! Major excite!
Some notes from recent practice, and the pieces I’ve been trying:
Sakura - it’s seen here that my repertoaire is growing but the quality of play is going down, doesn’t play quite as smooth as it did just a month ago. It’s been a bit quiet time with shamisen playing but now I plan to ramp it up!
Yasaburo Bushi - part of repertoaire I think. Actually easy to play, (simplified version so far) but I haven’t worked it to proper rythm with metronome/DAW
Usagi Yojimbo - not touched this for a while, will visit it before the Camp
Gion Kouta - started learning this but the problem is that my tabs are too vague. There’s some new challenge in playing this, I’m now sure that geisha/geiko use futozao shamisen to avoid hitting two strings with their fingers! Similar experience with the next piece… However I’m sure I could do Gion Kouta nicely with some practice.
Tsugaru Aiya Bushi - Just tried my hand at tsugaru for the first time! (Thought this piece sounded nice from CD.) It’s going to be a while before I can play this for real, some parts are quite easy but some feel quite tricky WRT how you move your fingers between positions - I may try and simplify it a little bit. Hajiki and sukui are the nice easy techniques for me. Have to add that I instantly felt I was improving as a shamisen player - it’s the new ideas in the phrases.
Think i need quite a bit of help improving the very basics… “playing properly”! I’m taking shortcuts like pressing 4/I with fingernail then 6/III with the soft part when going on san no ito, hard not to dampen the higher strings when going to ni or ichi, hitting the right mark spot on with fingers and so on. Think a bit of muscle memory has developed but it’s nothing to write home yet.
Hey everyone! Starting next week I’m going to be devoting much time to preparing lessons and presentations for bachido Shamicamp! I know there will be plenty of instruction from a variety of teachers so I am thinking of narrowing down my end to the things I feel are most unique to my own approach.
So based on some of the things I have heard posted here on this topic I am thinking to pick a few basic topics to bring to the table…
1.) Chords/Chord system.
Many Shamisen players seem to have mixed feelings about this.
Some traditional players feel it is not only unnessicary but also almost taboo. I’d like to break the notion that chords are “foreign” to the Shamisen by demonstrating how they relate to scales (in other words, melodies)
2.) New techniques.
Contrary to the belief that basic Shamisen technique is set in stone and has already been established by old people who came before us and were somehow “smarter than us!” , there are actually quite a few New techniques coming to light right now that are worth mentioning. I’d like to present at least two of them.
3.) improvising in both traditional (as in “Jongara bushi”) and non traditional (as in western music theory, major scales etc.) formats.
I’d really love to share some thoughts on different ways to approach improvising and leave you all with some excersises and things to focus on when you practice/play/jam with people.
4.) world music rhythms applied to the Shamisen.
(specifically odd meter drills and how to use them with traditional Bachi zuke)
Please share your thoughts. Let me know if this sounds good or if there are other topics I could touch on or anything else!
Thanks and see you all soon!
K
1.) Chords/Chord system.
I’d like to break the notion that chords are “foreign” to the Shamisen by demonstrating how they relate to scales (in other words, melodies)
Probably a good idea to help some of us out with chords. Kyle’s Strumming lesson is mostly based on chords, but I couldn’t find any chords that would sound good on the beginner’s shamisen.
I had much more success when I was jamming using single notes to some of my favourite enka tunes. That was the time when my instrument sounded the most awesome! I also tried jamming to the Hoth assault sequence from Empire Strikes Back, and … that … did not work ;D Completely different musical styles and all.
3.) improvising in both traditional (as in “Jongara bushi”) and non traditional (as in western music theory, major scales etc.) formats.
I’d really love to share some thoughts on different ways to approach improvising and leave you all with some excersises and things to focus on when you practice/play/jam with people.
Will this cover the same basics as your Improvisation 1 lesson in the Schoolhouse, or would the latter rather be seen as a recommended “prereading”?