Okay this may be normal but for some reason in my two years of playing shamisen I’ve broken 3 ichi no itos, maybe 7-9 ni no itos, and I’m pretty one San no ito. I’m kinda confused and don’t know why this would be
Hi there.
Shamisen strings are not particularly durable, and depending on their material (silk, nylon, or tetoron) will wear at different rates.
The kinds of songs you play, your technique, and the frequency you practice will also impact this.
But it’s odd to hear your thicker string (ichi) are wearing at a much faster rate than your thin string (san).
Over the course of two years, how often have you played? What kinds of songs do you play?
Do you find they tend to break near the tenjin or near the koma?
What sort of strings (brand, material) and what size are they?
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I typically play folk songs and covers with a bit of tsugaru mixed in everyday or so. The strings (ni no ito in particular) tend to break around the Tenjin, possibly due to the fact that I have to shift the ni no Ito from G to F then back to G during the course of a practice session but there’s a golden wire covering the sharp edge of the tuning cage. And I use the gintsuki or gokujo brand for all the strings, all of them all silk I think, and the gauges are 30, 15, and 14 for ichi, ni, and san no ito respectively
Again, I should point out that strings breaking is very normal - and that your rate isn’t even particularly high. With daily practice, I tend to pop a string once every couple of weeks (effective, since I rotate through my instruments). Sometimes the go more frequently, if I’m using older string-stock.
But what’s odd is the rate of ichi and san being as they are. That should be flipped at an absolute minimum. Moreover, breaking at the tenjin is also very strange. Usually, strings will pop over the dou as a result of fraying from the bachi. If they are breaking near the tenjin, my suspicions would be a burr on the nut (kamigoma), or that you’re kinking them as you put them on the pegs (itomaki).
What do you mean by “golden wire” can you show me a picture?
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The golden wire was the kamigoma, I just didn’t remember the name for it