we should be allowed to feel free to create and listen to whatever music we enjoy and that’s it just like the coolest snowboarder is the one having the most fun . . . after all music should be enjoyable on whatever level and can often be about having fun and that is not something of a low value . . . 
Kevin and B H I don’t really have anything to add, as you said B H “why should I elaborate when this already sums it up.”
Thank you both for putting out there that while we should be interested in others innovations we should never stop making our own. And the point that tradition was once something new and radical and probably hated on just like innovation today that breaks from long held traditions is hated on. I agree with you both that those who formed the traditions we hold today would be cheering on the innovators of today because they understand the spirit of innovation and want to see the thing they were passionate about move on into the future.
Ok, maybe I did have something to say, but mostly it was summation so I stick by B H’s quote.
P.S. - Kevin I have seen one or two other times you have spoken on this subject and I enjoy seeing you speak about it, just thought I would let you know.
Kevin, you’ve told me all of things throughout our years being teacher/student/friends. And your way of speaking about music and Tsugaru Shamisen never grows old. I love to read your thoughts and expressions and truly believe that the future of Tsugaru Shamisen is in no better hands.
I’m always so very happy to claim you as my teacher for these exact reasons, and will always continue to follow along in your footsteps as much as I am able!
Also, I will video the technique that I was talking about as soon as I have a little time on the side! Cool that everyone is so interested and I can’t wait for more techniques to be created!
while i agree that tradition is incredibly important i also think that boundaries should be explored.
With regard to critics who say that the californian lot are messing with tradition…what about Crow x Cross playing visual kei music on trad instruments eh? or do we have to start telling everyone non-european to stop playing and innovating in classical western music now?
This makes me so cross as almost anyone starting playing will start with the traditional music to get the feel and expression and then go on to what feels right for them.
It’s also like saying that no-one but the british can enjoy afternon tea or the americans a coffee…
OK OK off soapbox now, i found that technique interesting, it must produce different tones and expresion. I think i might watch more to see if i can catch it again.
Thanks for everyone’s thoughts here. This thread gives me ideas for even more videos to make in the future . It does make me a bit cross as well when I find people talking about the California players as just a bunch of goofballs playing anime and Hollywood themes on the Shamisen. Some of us have done that purely for fun but the real deal is that we don’t want any limits for ourselves technically and learning silly famous tunes is just a way for us to explore wider finger stretches and positions that are unusual to Shamisen. That’s all. Ultimately the idea is to create a synthesis of all the worlds music and find a way to generate those specific snaps and twangs that are unmistakably the sound and emotion of “Shamisen” while expanding the musical and technical possibilities into realms that are unimaginable to current players .
Kevin, reading your comments I can’t help but think of Delta Blues and Boogie Woogie, the American styles that most closely parallel Tsugaru Shamisen. If we’d had the traditionalist attitude that thou shalt not venture beyond say, Jellyroll Morton, himself an inovator, then Rock 'n Roll, Beebop, R&B, and all that they spawned would not exist. Heck, Hank Williams would’ve been a pariah as his biggest hits were Country-fied 12 bar blues! (Travesty!) And Chicago Blues? Fuggiddaboudit! Basically most of the music that put the U.S on the cultural world map, nixed. Meanwhile, Delta and Boogie, lacking new audiences, would likely have died slow, lonely deaths. But conversely, today Delta Blues probably has as many practitioners as ever with young guitarists around the world learning every lick ever recorded by the likes of Robert Johnson. This largely thanks to “infidels” like Jimmy Page and The Rolling Stones incorporating The Tradition into their sound. In the end the inovators have actually helped to keep the tradition, not just alive, but necessary!
Thanks Chet!
Yes that is a very important point that some who are new to Tsugaru Shamisen and the world it comes from might not have any idea about. I always find it interesting to think that without knowing much about Shamisen’s history it’s easy to assume that the Tsugaru style and tradition goes back hundreds of years so to put it in parallel with Delta blues etc. that makes it more realistic to its true roots and how new it actually is as a style of music.