Playing and Technique

How do you arrange a piece for shamisen? What if you get stuck? Is it something you can learn? All good questions that you’ll eventually ask yourself. I’ve summarized the answers in this article!

Tension in the shoulders and back is a common issue among shamisen beginners. When focusing on so many new techniques at once, the body tends to join the brain in tensing up in solidarity. Luckily, a few simple exercises can quickly bring relief.

Chōshiawase is a fascinating feature of Tsugaru Shamisen performance: tuning the instrument right before a piece begins, and making that process part of the performance itself. There are rules, but also freedoms, and if you want to give it a try yourself, it’s good to know both.

If you play shamisen music with sheet music and don’t play and learn by ear as much, you should take your time and take a closer look at hazunde rhythm. Hazunde is a staggered rhythm that many folk songs are based on. But you can’t simply read it in the notation.

Who benefits from practicing scales on the shamisen? Explore the value of scales in your practice routine and why the predictability of scales can be a blessing.

Bunkafu notation is the tablature system used for shamisen music. It’s very visual, which makes it quick and easy to learn. This overview explains how to read the notation and what the interesting special symbols mean.