Sanshin user

Chris_Bergstrom · February 24, 2012, 8:55am

Hello Shamisen players! I lived in Okinawa for many years and grew to love the sound of the Sanshin, even though my first love was the sound of the Shamisen from the old PS2 game Tenchu. I grew up in San Diego and there were no Shamisen to be found there, so when I moved to Japan, I was in heaven. I’ve been to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa and Kobe to name a few. I grew up playing guitar and bass, so when I picked up a Sanshin it was easy for me to play. Sure, it doesn’t have frets, but you quickly learn how to play it.

My 1st question is, the Sanshin is normally tuned to CFC and not CGC. What really changes when tuning the F up to G sound wise? Does it give a different feel overall and that’s how the Shamisen crew can play these modern pop songs seemingly easily? I have had a hard time trying to play anything modern sounding with my Sanshin, probably due to the non-guitareasque tuning of CGC. CGC is similar to a bar chord on a guitar and I think that’s the difference, but I wanted some insights.

Questions number 2: Can someone explain the general steps on each string to get the scales right? 1, 3, 4 on each string, plus 2? The it goes 6, 9, then what? I know I could just simply find the octave up the string and then find the half way point to find the 2nd position up the neck, but there’s got to be an easier way to break it down in my head. I see Penny playing using 3 basic positons and I think once I figure out exactly what spacing he uses in each position that I’ll be way ahead of the game.

I taught myself how to play guitar and have been on a few albums, but I don’t know musical theory. I learn based on steps above and below positons on the guitar and I’d like to apply this concept to the Sanshin or Shamisen. As soon as I get back to the US, I’m going to try tuning my Sanshin to CGC for starters and go from there.

I hope my questions don’t seem to basic or dumb, but inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks, Chris Bergstrom

Chris_Bergstrom · February 24, 2012, 8:59am

Oh, BTW, another way my mind works. I like to think of a Piano. Position one of three (lower notes) is like playing around the 3 black keys. Position 2 (middle of the neck) is like moving up to the 2 black key and position 3 is like moving up an octave from positon one, so the fingerings stay the same. Am I correct??? Thanks.

Karl_Hedlund · February 24, 2012, 9:28am

I’ve never worked hard enough to learn all the important aspects of harmony lore, but I know that the “Perfect Fifth” is the interval that sounds best. You may of course already know this, but Wikipedia has some interesting stuff on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth

C to G is the perfect fifth. It will affect the resonance with the san no ito much better, which makes the instrument “sing” more.

For playing modern pop music, it would be much easier to tune it in San Sagari (C-F-Bb) which will give you how it is on a guitar, meaning you can play the whole scale “vertically” on the Sao without repositioning your hand. But the instrument sounds better when tuned in C-G-C. The downside is that when you are on the middle string and want to go down one step to the thick string, you need to move it one step farther up the sao.

Chris_Bergstrom · February 24, 2012, 9:35am

Thanks Karl. When I stated the tuning of CGC was similar to a guitar, I meant in a bar chord formation on the deepest 3 strings. You can use those for either major or minor chords and still have the same dissodant sound by not adding the minor note, which would be on the next or 4th added string, which a Sanshin or Shamisen doesn’t have. I don’t want to play bar chords on the Sanshin at all, but having the 1, 4, 1 tuning was messing with my guitar trained mind. So, in that aspect, I think 1, 5, 1 will make more sense, but I just hope I can still play all of the Okinawan songs I’ve already learned in CFC tuning, otherwise I’ll have to retune the middle string between songs I guess. I appreciate your insight and now I hope someone will attempt to answer my 2nd question as well. Thanks and take care! --Chris

Karl_Hedlund · February 24, 2012, 9:47am

No problem, I’m only a beginner at the Shamisen though I have yet to connect the numbers of the shamisen scale to that of the guitar frets. I’m mostly playing by ear. But all the licks I’ve learned on a guitar aredifferent to play on the shamisen, which is a pain! But since I love the sound of the C-G-C tuning so much better, I will just have to suck it up.

I’m as interested as you in the positions as well. I think Mike Penny sold his soul to the devil to get those far reaching fingers, so maybe he needs less positions than us

Chris_Bergstrom · February 24, 2012, 9:57am

hahahaha, tabun so deshoo. That means maybe in Japanese. My wife and her side of the family still live in Okinawa, which is where I am currently typing this message. I will be heading back to New Jersey next weekend and hope my new Sanshin made it home safely in the mail. If anyone lives near central NJ, please let me know. I’d like to jam and record. I also play the gu jheng, which is a 21 string Chinese Koto type instrument. I’m planing on releasing a home studio album within the next year and collaborators would be nice!