Start with a minyo shamisen?

Playing/Techniques
1

Hello,
This summer I will buy my first shamisen but after listening some tracks, I thought that I prefer the sound of a minyo shamisen (I think (?)); but I saw that a tsugaru is maybe better to learn or start, these instruments are different to play? What are the differences between them?

Thanks :slight_smile:

2

You shouldn’t start with Tsugaru when wanting to learn Min’yo. Most Min’yo videos on youtube are actually Tsugaru Shamisen, but with singing. The playing style is different. It would be like trying to learn Ichigenkin on a Dan Bau. Minyo can be easy or hard depending on what song your playing

3

Thanks for your response; but I meant: Is the learning method different? or music notation?

4

Well Min’yo shamisen are actually Hosozao Shamisen played with larger plectrums, so I would say yes.

5

and my last question, do you think that minyo could fit for actual songs despite I know that it is “made” for folk songs

(ex: http://www.amazon.co.jp/沖縄三線で弾く-島唄-弾き語りベスト20-Vol-3/dp/4285109026)

6

Hi JC,
I read this thread and wanted to clear up a few things. I’m not sure where David is getting his information, but it doesn’t jibe with my experience. I’ve been studying shamisen for over 20 years, and have played nagauta, jiuta, min’yo, Tsugaru, and Okinawan music, and have different shamisens for each of those genres.
Generally for min’yo, they use a chuuzao (neck of medium thickness) but this varies depending on the region and particular piece. Min’yo from Tsugaru and some other parts of the north use a Tsugaru shamisen, and then there are some very ‘urbane’ min’you that use hosozao to get a different sound, but in general min’yo is associated with chuuzao.
The notation most widely used for both min’yo and Tsugaru is bunka-fu, the sort Kyle uses in his videos. The basic techniques for both are the same, but Tsugaru uses a bunch of extended techniques as well.
Lastly, yes, you can play other types of music on a min’yo shamisen. You can play any scale imaginable since there are no frets, but chords are a bit of a challenge.

If you are looking for an instrument, and are concerned about the cost, the hosozao shamisen is the cheapest and most available used instrument out there. You can play anything on any type of shamisen, in the same way that you can play classical guitar pieces on a folk guitar, but of course each type is specifically made for the music it is meant to play. For a beginner, in my opinion, it doesn’t make a huge difference. The biggest factor is how much work you put in learning the instrument.

I hope that helps clear some things up for you. Feel free to keep asking questions.

7

Hi JC,
I read this thread and wanted to clear up a few things. I’m not sure where David is getting his information, but it doesn’t jibe with my experience.

Haha. Some information may be off. I should’ve warned that my experience comes from closely watching and observing the Shamisen’s sounds and playing styles. It’s really hard to tell the difference between a Hosozao and Chuzao without looking at where the neck connects to the Dou. I remember reading that Min’yo was played on Hosozao but I guess it must’ve said Chuzao and I misread the article. Speed reading does come with disadvantages.

8

I agree with Gerry, there are indeed many different kinds of Shamisen but ultimately for a beginner it wont matter. I started with Nagauta as well and played all kinds of different styles on it once I got good enough. Just be sure to practice and it will work out.

9

Kokoro is what counts. Play with heart and commitment, no matter the instrument or style. The rest will follow.

Ganbatte!