Sawari

Playing/Techniques
#1

Hello!
I would like to understand better the aesthetic of the japanese music and so i am very interested in the sawari effect
i would like to know something about that, so maybe people here who play shamisen can answer :slight_smile:

is it the choice of the “amount of sawari” personal or do you learn how is it a good sawari ? Is it depending of the style of music ?
is it happening sometimes you can go to a concert of shamisen and you think that the sawari is not “well” (for your taste) ?
And do you change the effect for each song ?

Is it possible to no have sawari at all (i mean not technically but aesthetically : do you want sometimes to play without sawari ?)

and when you teach/learn the shamisen, at which moment do you introduce the sawari ?

BIG THANKS!!

Itzana

#2

My own opinion is that the sawari effect is the unique sound that makes the shamisen sound so good. If removed, you are left with a dull instrument. If you have a sawari it should be used.

A general rule of thumb is that if you strike the thick string and then play on the two other strings, they should make the thick string keep buzzing practically forever due to resonance. The best sound can only be achieved by being very accurate with your playing, so it becomes an additional way of judging how good a player is.

You should use the sawari from start. There is one mistake that can be easily made if you have an adjustable one. If it is raised too high you can raise the tone while still buzzing. This is not good because it will give you different pitch depending on what you play. The easiest when starting out with shamisen is to lower the sawari so that there is no contact and tune the shamisen, and then start raising the sawari to the point where you get the longest buzzing while still being in pitch.

As a player gets better, it becomes easier to just lower the sawari slightly and then raise it up to the perfect position, and then tune the other two strings from that, using the buzzing as an indication to when the correct pitch has been achieved.

#3

I have noticed that a taller koma reduces the level of sawari. Are taller koma generally placed differently on the skin than lower koma? Are the higher koma for a specific style of playing? That is interesting, Karl, about tuning the shamisen based on the resonance of the strings and the resulting sawari. That sounds like a good way to get a quick tune in during a performance if needed!

#4

Oh yes. I never tune my shamisen with a tuner unless I’m going to record and need it to be perfectly tuned. Whatever the thickest string is tuned to, I tune the other two strings based on resonance when I’m just going to play for a bit.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott