Hi! I’m new to the Shamisen and I will be picking mine up in a week or so, and I was wondering which of the courses/lessons should I learn next after I feel comfortable with finishing the Crash Courses? I’m sure it’ll still be a couple months away before that point, but I would like to keep tabs on what to learn next in advance, thanks!
I would recommend Sakura, it’s a great piece for beginners
Hi-ho.
Where you go from Kuroishi Yosare depends on what you like. Within it you’ve learned most of the important fingering techniques for tsugaru style play, although you’re likely missing a bachi technique called bachidzuke and precise knowledge of positions at the highest and lowest registers.
As @Multimikstar suggested, Sakura is an option. It’ll teach you the in-scale and (depending on the arrangement) get you comfortable with some new positions. Learning the kaede (accompaniment) can also help you understand how two shamisen can work together.
Another option would be Tsugaru-jinku/Dodare bachi. This would let you practice bachidzuke in a very natural manner. It’s nearly an etude in this respect, given how much it repeats!
You could also try learning Ringo bushi. A Tsugaru arrangement would let you practice oshibachi, a more standard version will let you practice “ma” or introducing swing and negative space.
If you want to go hard into traditional Tsugaru, Rokudan Jongara is another option, as it will reinforce your technique, but I would suggest looking at Tsugaru-jinku first to at least get bachidzuke working :).
If you prefer to learn more westernized pop music, I’d want to point you towards some of the simple arrangements offered by Rakuya or on Shishi-do’s site. Many classic, folk, and soft rock songs aren’t too hard - although they will use positions and tunings that are less common in more traditional stuff.
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Thanks!! I’ll most likely start off with Sakura as @Multimikstar said and go from there, thanks for the suggestions, I’ll keep those in mind for when I get more comfortable with the instrument