Added: 4 years ago
From: fiddlefella
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  • How long have you been playing shamisen? Also would you be able to make some to sell?

  • Would you ever consider making and selling them?

  • crazy!!! How the hell did you make your own shamisen, that's truly as insane as your playing! I want to pick up the Shamisen but it is quite expensive and there's not a lot of expertise in my region. Fortunately my friend has a Sanshin so maybe I can borrow it off of him. Would you ever consider making and selling them?

    Great stuff!

  • crazy!!! How the hell did you make your own shamisen, that's truly as insane as your playing! I want to pick up the Shamisen but it is quite expensive and there's not a lot of expertise in my region. Fortunately my friend has a Sanshin so maybe I can borrow it off of him. Would you ever consider making and selling them?

    Great stuff!

  • crazy!!! How the hell did you make your own shamisen, that's truly as insane as your playing! I want to pick up the Shamisen but it is quite expensive and there's not a lot of expertise in my region. Fortunately my friend has a Sanshin so maybe I can borrow it off of him.

    Great stuff!

  • wow awesome man!  i play guitar, but want a shamisen sooooo bad!!!

  • Ah! When you get a shamisen, you should also get Shamisen of Japan! shamisenofjapan . c o m. It is the only English book that can teach you shamisen!

    Those guitar skills will come in handy when playing the shamisen! :-) Not that the shamisen and guitar are very similar, but all stringed instruments share a connection

  • How much was it to make a Shamisen? I might consider doing that because it's expensive to buy one.

  • Well, it all depends on the quality of wood the tools required. Not counting the tools needed, I would say a shamisen with quality wood can cost. . . oh. . . $100?

    I heartily support you! Ganbatte yo!

  • Haha arigato! Thanks for the 'ganbatte yo'.

    $100 is awesome with me. I'm normally a marimbist, but I love shamisen!

  • this was the first video i saw of this guy and it is pretty ausme. what skin is this

  • Thanks! :-)

    The skin used on this video is thin goat skin. Later, I put on thick dog skin and it sounds much better.

  • excellente

    all good you are a fine player. thanks for posting

  • fuckin' awesome! it sounds great!

  • what a cute boy .. hahaha hehe kidding

  • Well, I try. . . ;-) *well, not really.*

  • Sounds great, Kyle!

  • Wow! Very impressive! I'm curious to see your book when it comes out -- good luck!

  • do u mo

  • very very well !! congratulations!

    some question, where did you get the plans, or instructions to build it ??

  • Thanks!

    Well, I could never find any plans so, after reverse-engineering and measuring a borrowed Tsugaru shamisen, I came up with my own.

    I'm compiling a book on how to make and play Tsugaru shamisen, complete with all the plans 'n everything. It should be done by the end of the year. *hopefully* by summer.

  • wow, keep me posted because im very interested in building one!

  • Add me to that list too. I'd love to buy this book or at least, get plans to build one.

  • Yes I think it sounds much different also not to insult but I thought it sounded like a Jiuta, but why does it sound different is it the Kawa or something?

    But I thought you played very well :)

  • No offense taken. :-)

    Hmm... I never played a Jiuta but when I tapped the skin on one, it had the same pitch tension as a tsugaru.

    The sound quality on the video also isn't the greatest. I notice it does sound a bit more duller on the video.

    When I play it here, I hear the 2nd and 3rd strings sound just the same as a Tsugaru but the 1st string is just a little. . . not quite as clear as a Tsugaru when played up the neck.

    Most likely it's a little thickness variance in the kawa.

    Thanks!

  • Great stuff here man, the sound of your new shamisen is great =). It's much different from your first one. I'm guessing it's from the different type of wood you used. I'm still in the process of building mine outta poplar. Anyway, hope to see more of your videos in the future =).

  • Thanks! I used East Indian Rosewood. However, it's also a bigger dou (now standard Tsugaru size. My last one was smaller) and an Aiyasugi pattern on the inside so there are some other variables into what created a better sound. Perhaps the different wood has something to do with it too.

    Oh right! How's your shamisen coming along?

  • It's goin' along alright, since im at school i havnt been able to finish it though, im sad =(. Hopefully I can get it finished over the summer. Aiyasugi, is that the zig-zag pattern? Anywho, thanks for responding =).

  • wow, you've improved so very much since posting rokudan in 2006 (which i've watched like 800 times because you played slowly and clearly enough for me to dissect your hand movements, thanks!!)

    did you find that your history with mandolin helped your tremolo at all? that's what i'm having the most trouble with...

    good job on the tuvan throat singing, too. keep it up!

  • Thanks!

    Mmm... for me, I would say no, though maybe. Mandolin tremelo, I've found is a lot easier 'cause of the small size of the pick, it's just a matter of keeping a loose wrist. With a shamisen pick/bachi, it's a lot bigger so you have to hold it a certain/different way to get tremelo. But hey, who knows? The way instruments are connected, playing one instrument can sure help in playing another!

    Thanks!

  • Ahh, okay. I don't play mandolin, but I think my clawhammer banjo playing was helpful in getting started with hajiki and bachizuke, so I just wondered. Now I've gotten to where nothing from my culture prepares for me advancement on this instrument, so I just study the san-dai-minyo like a madwoman.

    Your videos are very helpful (and purty.) Thanks for posting them!

  • Oh yeah. Clawhammer definitely really helps with hajiki. (especially if you do Buell Kazee's style of constantly pulling off the open string ;-) )

    No problem! When you work up some shamisen songs, put em on youtube! :-)

  • i notice pierre ono doing that kind of pulling off. ima try it!

    and i definitely will post videos once my shamisen suckitude diminishes :) thanks!

  • INcredible Kyle!!! Man, I hope you can come play at the tsugaru Shamisen tournaments one year! You would blow everyone away!!

  • That is amasing... please keep up the great teaching videos!

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