Total noob looking for direction

General
#1

Hello all!

I’m learning shamisen, starting with nagauta, hoping to expand into other styles later on. I was wondering if you could answer some questions? I scoured the forums to see if this was answered elsewhere, and was wondering if you could give some pointers?

Is there a good source for shamisen sheet notation/bunkra-fu notation of minyo/jiuta songs(konchiki ondo, uchija, ect)?

Does anyone have a reference on how to read jiuta notation, or a how-to on jiuta to bunkra-fu notation?

What awesome songs will I get in Kyle Abbot’s book? (I’ve been looking all day, can’t seem to find a song list)

Thank you in advance for your patience with a newbie, as well as your assistance!

#2

Rokudan

Minyou . . . kuroishi yosare, ringo bushi, yasaburo bushi, ajigasawa jinku, tsugaru jinku, kase no yakko odori, tosa no sunayama, akita niikata bushi

Godai tsugaru . . . tsugaru jonkara kyu/shin bushi, tsugaru aiya bushi, tsugaru yosare bushi, tsugaru san sagari, tsugaru ohara bushi

kita no hibiki (duet by nitta oyako)

#3

I haven’t heard of any good western sources for nagauta and other classical styles. Bachido of course covers a very good starting repertoaire of tsugaru and minyou, with some western options available as well. It will take a long time before you will feel fluent with this repertoaire. I’ve been learning this stuff on a nagauta shamisen for about a month, and so far I can play (for some values of the term “play”) just one song.

I would think in japanese there’s tons of score books and DVDs available for nagauta, jiuta, and other styles of shamisen. Not sure where you’d go shopping for those except amazon.jp or music stores in Japan. Would really like to hear suggestions for shopping and other sources of nagauta!

Do you have a teacher for nagauta?

#4

You can take a look here. No score I think but very interesting anyway.
http://www.komuso.com/pieces/index.pl?genre=12

#5

I havnt had any luck finding shami music in britain,the only thing ive found is a book of japanese folktunes written in the usual way.
If you can read that maybe play it on a different instrument,record on a dictating machine then learn on shamisen by ear.
This lack of readily available music is frustrating. Music shops need waking up.

#6

My blog on learning Jiuta may be of some help. It’s at jiuta.blogspot.com.

Chords of Canada (www.chordscanada.com) may also be a good source. They have mostly Koto sheet music, but almost always there is a Sangen part included. These are in the traditional Japanese notation style.

Linda Caplan, owner of Chords of Canada, may be able to assist on a personal level. She usually travels to Japan once a year. She was able to obtain several music books for me with traditional folk songs in Jiuta notation.

As an aside for Everyone: I still have my spare Sangen for sale. Nagauta in Rosewood, dog skin, all the accessories. Send private message or email doctor1968@att.net for more info.

#7

This is a link I use to buy shamisen sheet music from Japan. http://e-kameya.com/english/about.html You do need to go to the Japanese site to find them. Once you decide what you want, you can email them in English.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott