Hi, when I play position 6 on the ni no ito and Suberi to position 4 on the San no ito, my first instinct is to hold both notes down and strike but I find that the finger I’m using to play position 6 mutes the 4 so then I switched to striking the 6 then immediately letting go and holding 4 but I’m wondering if that is the right way to go about this
Howdy, welcome.
You’re asking about suberi-bachi/oshibachi, yes?
If I were to play this, I would likely be using my first finger (hitosashiyubi) and my third finger (kusuriyubi) on the 4th and 6th positions, respectively. Depending on the size of your hand and instrument, you may be able to keep both fingers pressed if you have good form! But that is difficult to diagnose without seeing you play (and knowing what you’re playing!)
Shamisen are not held like guitars, generally speaking. Your fingers should be able to move quite freely and crane up and over the strings.
See how their hands are positioned on the neck? That’s what I mean.
That said, I do not think there is really a wrong way to play the instrument, if it’s producing the sound you want.
But if what you’re doing isn’t satisfactory, I need more data to work with.
Thanks, I’ll try and see how if my form is the problem but for reference I’m playing ajigasawa jinku and my hands are small