Shamisen

The , also known as the or
(all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi.

The Japanese pronunciation is usually but sometimes when used as a suffix, according to regular sound change (e.g. ). In Western Japanese dialects and several Edo period sources, it is both written and pronounced as .

The construction of the varies in shape, depending on the genre in which it is used. The instrument used to accompany kabuki has a thin neck, facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of that genre. The one used to accompany puppet plays and folk songs has a longer and thicker neck instead, to match the more robust music of those genres.

Construction

The is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, with a neck and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck of the is fretless and slimmer than that of a guitar or banjo. The body, called the , resembles a drum, having a hollow body that is covered front and back with skin, in the manner of a banjo. The skin used depends on the genre of music and the skill of the player. Traditionally, skins were made using dog or cat skin, with cat skin favored for finer instruments; though use of animal skins was common throughout the 20th century, use of these skins gradually fell out of favor, starting around the mid 2000s, due to social stigma and the decline of workers skilled in preparing these particular skins. Contemporary skins are often prepared with synthetic materials, such as plastic.

The , or neck of the , is usually divided into three or four pieces that fit and lock together, with most made to be easily disassembled. The neck of the is a singular rod that crosses the drum-like body of the instrument, partially protruding at the other side of the body and acting as an anchor for the strings. The pegs used to wind the strings are long, thin and hexagonal in shape; though they were traditionally fashioned out of ivory, due to scarcity and trading regulations regarding and constricting the sale of ivory, many are now constructed from other materials, such as wood and plastic.

The three strings of the shamisen are made of either silk (traditionally) or nylon. They are stretched between the pegs at the head of the instrument, and a cloth tailpiece anchored at the end of the rod which protrudes on the other side of the body. The strings are stretched across the body, raised from it by means of a bridge, or , which rests directly on the taut skin. The lowest string is purposefully laid lower at the nut of the instrument in order to create a buzz, a characteristic timbre known as (somewhat reminiscent of the "buzzing" of a sitar, which is called '' Jivari''). The upper side of the (when on the player's lap) is almost always protected by a cover known as a , and players often wear a little band of cloth on their left hand to facilitate sliding up and down the neck, known as a . The head of the instrument known as a may also be protected by a cover. The material of the strings will depend on the skill of the player. Traditionally, silk strings are used. However, silk breaks easily over a short time, so this is reserved for professional performances. Students often use nylon or 'tetron' strings, which last longer than silk, and are also less expensive.

Variations in construction and playing method

The construction of the varies in shape and size, depending on the genre in which it is used. The used will also be different according to genre, if it is used at all. are classified according to size and genre. There are three basic sizes: , and . Examples of genres include , , , , , , , , and .

used for traditional genres of Japanese music, such as , , and , adhere to very strict standards. Purists of these genres demand that the be made of the correct wood, the correct skin, and are played with the correct , with little room for variation. The , on the other hand, has lent itself to modern use, and is used in modern genres such as jazz and rock. As a more open instrument, variations of it exist for show. The tuning pegs, which are usually fashioned out of ivory, and which are fashioned from a combination of ivory and tortoise-shell for example, are sometimes made of acrylic material to give the a more modern, flashy look. Recently, avant-garde inventors have developed a with electric pickups to be used with amplifiers, like the electric guitar.

The , as its Japanese name implies, is the smallest kind of . The body is small and particularly square-shaped, with a particularly thin neck, which tapers away from the strings just as it approaches the body. Generally, the is used in , the shorter and thinner neck facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of kabuki. built especially for ensembles are often simply known as . The is also often used in , where it is plucked with the fingernails.

The is a size up from the . As its name implies, the neck is slightly thicker. As the neck approaches the body of the instrument, the distance between the strings and the fingerboard is maintained, unlike the , where it tapers off. The fingerboard ends abruptly, and the rest of the neck curves sharply into the body of the instrument. The pronounced curve that occurs just before the neck meets the body is called . The result is an extended fingerboard that gives the a higher register than the . The is favored for -style playing, with a broader, more mellow timbre. It is also an "all-round" instrument that can be used across many genres.

The is used in the robust music of (the music of ), , and . In these genres, a thicker neck facilitates the greater force used in playing the music of these styles. The of is quite a recent innovation, and is purposefully constructed in a much larger size than traditional style , and its neck is much longer and thicker than the traditional or .

The is a particularly fashioned for the performance of the song , a folk tune originating from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The neck of the is about half the length of most , giving the instrument the high range needed to play . The use of more typical is possible, but they must be properly adjusted with a capo device to raise their pitch to make them suitable for use. Today the strings are made out of steel to make a better sound and the drum heads are made out of plastic to avoid breakage in a performance.

Variations in

The , the plectrum used to play the , also differ in size, shape, and material from genre to genre.

The used for can be made out of three possible materials: wood, plastic, or ivory. While many teachers generally do not approve of the use of plastic, if ivory is unattainable and wood is still out of price range, plastic is considered acceptable for use.

are made entirely out of plastic or ivory, plastic and tortoiseshell (), or ivory and tortoiseshell. are the easiest to identify as they are the longest, the widest, and also have a deep indentation where the tortoiseshell meets the handle. There are sometimes also that are made with a buffalo horn handle. The material, however, makes no difference in the sound.

The style uses the heaviest and thickest , though the is wider.

The used for is the smallest, and is almost always tipped with tortoiseshell.

Other structural variations

The , or bridge, can be fashioned out of aged bamboo, ivory, ox-bone (), rosewood, buffalo horn, wood, any combination of the above, or plastic for the student level. come in many heights. The higher the , the louder the sound will be, and the harder it is to control a rapid . Higher are not considered suitable for beginners.

The used for use a height between 3.2 and 3.6. for are fashioned out of only three materials: ivory, bone, and plastic. Ivory is the most expensive and produces the most desirable sound and amplification, but due to its high price tag is normally only used in performances. Ox-bone or is the most popular material for practice and with students who are performing. Because of ivory's volume and vibration, it is normally used by a teacher or (lead ), so that the other players can follow their tone and signals. Plastic are increasingly harder in the modern day, as the material is considered to produce an undesirable sound when compared to . is not much more expensive than plastic, and most teachers openly express their displeasure with plastic and require .

The used for vary between 2.6 and 2.8, though other heights can be specially ordered. for are made out of a few select materials, such as yellow or black water buffalo horn (), which are the standard for . Blackwater buffalo horn does not have a significant sound difference when cut in the style, and is far less popular. Yellow is the most widely used for -style , both in practice and performance. Plastic is available because of the higher price tag of . Many people believe that for , there is not a great sound difference between the two, but there is a high change in vibration. Plastic makes a deader sound, which is not the most favorable for . is used from time to time in practice, but never for performances.

used for both and are typically 2.6 in height, though sometimes 2.7 or 2.8. are very easily identifiable due to their unique structure and use of two different materials. are very thin in width, and are not very high. The base is usually made of either bamboo, smoked bamboo, or a wood of some kind, while the top half in which the strings pass through can be made of ivory, bone, or tortoiseshell. Because of the thickness of both the strings and neck of the , the bridge in general tends to be longer than the others. Both the (the highest made, fashioned out of black buffalo horn) and the (which resembles the exactly, save for its width) are sometimes confused with the .

Variations in playing

In most genres, the strings are plucked with a . The sound of a is similar in some respects to that of the American banjo, in that the drum-like , amplifies the sound of the strings. As in the clawhammer style of American banjo playing, the is often used to strike both string and skin, creating a highly percussive sound. When playing on the , and occasionally in other genres, the is plucked with the fingers. Sometimes, the is bowed with a violin bow, similar to the , a similar instrument.

Tuning

The is played and tuned according to genre, with the nomenclature of the nodes in an octave also varies according to genre. A number of styles exist across Japan, and tunings, tonality and notation vary to some degree. Three of the most commonly recognized tunings across all genres are , , and .

means "home tuning" or "base tuning," and is called so because other tunings are considered to derive from it. For , the first and third strings are tuned an octave apart, while the middle string is tuned to the equivalent of a fourth, in Western terms, from the 1st string. The most commonly used tuning is C-F-C. An example of a song that uses this tuning is .

means "raised two" or "raised second", referring to the fact that the pitch of the second string is raised (from ), increasing the interval of the first and second strings to a fifth (conversely decreasing the interval between the second and third strings to a fourth). The most commonly used tuning is C-G-C. An example of a song that uses this tuning is .

means "lowered three" or "lowered third", referring to tuning the to and lowering the 3rd string (the string with the highest pitch) down a whole step, so that the instrument is tuned in fourths, e.g. C-F-B♭. An example of a song in this tuning is .

Instead of having a set tuning, such as on a guitar (i.e. E, A, D, G, B, E) or a violin (i.e. G, D, A, E), the is tuned according to the register of the singer, or simply to the liking of the player. The player can tune the to whatever register desired, so long as the above conventions are followed.

Musical notation

Music for the can be written in Western music notation, but is more often written in tablature notation. While tunings might be similar across genres, the way in which the nodes on the neck of the instrument (called in Japanese) are named is not. As a consequence, tablature for each genre is written differently. For example, in the style, nodes on the are labeled from 0, the open string called "0". However, in the style, nodes are subdivided and named by octave, with "1" being the open string and first note in an octave, starting over at the next octave. The nodes are also labeled differently for -style . To add to the confusion, sometimes nodes can be "sharped," and since the names of nodes and their positions are different for each genre, these will also vary. Consequently, students of one genre of will find it difficult to read tablature from other genres of , unless they are specially trained to read these kinds of tablatures.

Tablature can be written in traditional Japanese vertical right-to-left notation, or it can be written in more modern horizontal left-to-right notation, which resembles modern guitar tablature. In traditional vertical notation, Chinese characters and older symbols for dynamics are used, however notation from Western style music notation, such as Italian names for dynamics, time signature and the fermata have been imported. What tuning a work calls for is usually indicated on the tablature.

History and genres

The Japanese originated from the Chinese (). The was introduced through the Ryūkyū Kingdom (Okinawa) in the 16th century, where it developed into the Okinawan , from which the ultimately derives. It is believed that the ancestor of the was introduced in the 16th century through the port city of Sakai, near Osaka.

The can be played solo or with other , in ensembles with other Japanese instruments, with singing such as , or as an accompaniment to drama, notably kabuki and . Both men and women traditionally played the .

The most famous and perhaps most demanding of the narrative styles is , named after Takemoto Gidayū (1651–1714), who was heavily involved in the puppet-theater tradition in Osaka. The and its plectrum are the largest of the family, and the singer-narrator is required to speak the roles of the play, as well as to sing all the commentaries on the action. The singer-narrator role is often so vocally taxing that the performers are changed halfway through a scene. There is little notated in the books () of the tradition except the words and the names of certain appropriate generic responses. The player must know the entire work perfectly in order to respond effectively to the interpretations of the text by the singer-narrator. From the 19th century, female performers known as or also carried on this concert tradition.

In the early part of the 20th century, blind musicians, including Shirakawa Gunpachirō (1909–1962), Takahashi Chikuzan (1910–1998), and sighted players such as Kida Rinshōei (1911–1979), evolved a new style of playing, based on traditional folk songs () but involving much improvisation and flashy fingerwork. This style – now known as , after the home region of this style in the north of Honshū – continues to be relatively popular in Japan. The virtuosic style is sometimes compared to bluegrass banjo.

is a style of historically developed by and mostly performed by geisha and . Its name literally means "little song", which contrasts with the musical genre of found in and kabuki; though both and geisha training to play the will also learn and will occasionally perform at banquets, the vast majority of musical performances seen at the parties and events they attend are .

is a more classical style of music.

in non-traditional genres

One contemporary player, Takeharu Kunimoto (1960–2015), played bluegrass music on the , having spent a year studying bluegrass at East Tennessee State University and performing with a bluegrass band based there. Another player using the in non-traditional genres is Michihiro Sato, who plays free improvisation on the instrument.

Japanese American jazz pianist Glenn Horiuchi played in his performances and recordings.

A duo popular in Japan known as the Yoshida Brothers developed an energetic style of playing the , heavily influenced by fast aggressive soloing emphasizing speed and twang, usually associated with rock music on the electric guitar.

Metal guitarist Marty Friedman has often used a in his recordings to give a more exotic sound to his music.

Takeshi Terauchi & Bunnys utilized played by Michiya Mihashi in combo with their instrumental rock group on their single with "Dark Eyes".

Japanese extreme metal band Zenithrash played and in their latest album to achieve the band's ideal of Japanized extreme metal.

Japanese rock musician Gackt opened his "Sixth Day Seventh Night" concerts in 2004 seated on stage with a , joined by two musicians from his band, GacktJOB, also playing .

Japanese rock musician Miyavi has also played the on various occasions, incorporating its use in albums and during concerts (e.g. during the debut live of superband S.K.I.N concert at the 2007 Anime Expo convention at Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007).

Japanese folk rock/metal band Wagakki Band takes several different traditional Japanese instruments and combines them with Western rock and Vocaloid songs. One of their members, Beni Ninagawa, plays a on albums and during concerts.

American player and guitarist Kevin Kmetz leads a rock band called God of Shamisen, which is based in Santa Cruz, California, and also plays the instrument with the band Estradasphere.

Japanese traditional and jazz musician Hiromitsu Agatsuma incorporates a diverse mix of genres into his music. He arranged several jazz standards and other famous western songs for the shamisen on his album '' Agatsuma Plays Standards'' in 2008. His previous recordings, such as ''Beyond'' from 2004, displayed traditional Japanese styles mixed with funk, techno and rock.

The is also used in the music of pop speed metal band Babymetal; it can be seen in their music videos and is played live onstage.

The French Metal band GaidjinN use the in their compositions. One of their song Illusion Of Love is based on the traditional song . The main guitarist Guillaume Fiat is also a player.

A magical is featured in the 2016 movie '' Kubo and the Two Strings''. In the movie, the main character (Kubo) uses its power to defeat his enemies and complete his quest. The instrument is featured in Regina Spektor's cover of " While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which plays over the end credits and is included on the film's soundtrack.

Shinobu Kawashima plays on a cover version of "What is hip" by Tokyo Groove Jyoshi.

Noriko Tadano is a player born and raised in Japan, who now resides in Australia. She has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians from genres such as blues, jazz, folk, experimental and electronic music. Tadano has performed in collaborations at a number of world festivals. Tadano performed in the blues duo 'George & Noriko' on season 6 of ''Australia's Got Talent'', making it to the finals.

See also

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References

Bibliography

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External links

Book on ShamisenJishin Shamidaiko (Brazil)God of Shamisen is a progressive/metal band that has implemented the acoustic and amplified sound of the tsugaru-jamisen
(feature movie about the disputed origin of the Tsuragu-jamisen style)
Kouta

S.K.I.N.'s World Debut
– S.K.I.N. debut concert live report at JAME

Audio

Listen to a shamisen (in modern times)

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Japanese musical instruments
Drumhead lutes
Spike lutes
Shamisen players
Continuous pitch instruments
String instruments
Japanese words and phrases