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The sound of a shamisen is similar in some respects to that of the American banjo, in that the drum-like dō, amplifies the sound of the strings. As in the clawhammer style of American banjo playing, the bachi is often used to strike both string and skin, creating a highly percussive sound.
Shamisen – a banjo-like lute with three strings; brought to Japan from China in the 16th century. Popular in Edo's pleasure districts, the shamisen is often used in kabuki theater. Made from red sandalwood and ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 metres (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 7 in) long, the shamisen has ivory pegs, strings made from twisted silk, and a belly ...
In Japanese music, there is a buzzy sound quality that is often preferred called "sawari," and this effect is adjusted by a device often found built into the shamisen, that raises or lowers the 1st string at the nut. A drawback to using a shamisen with a capo in place of a heike shamisen is that it disables the use of an on-board sawari device.
The sanshin (三線, lit., "three strings") is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese shamisen . Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings.
Tsugaru-jamisen (津軽三味線, つがるじゃみせん) or Tsugaru-shamisen (つがるしゃみせん) refers to both the Japanese genre of shamisen music originating from Tsugaru Peninsula in present-day Aomori Prefecture and the instrument it is performed with. It is performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru remain ...
In the 20th century, a number of composers have integrated Western elements into nagauta styles, including playing the shamisen at a faster tempo, in violin cadenza style, or by using larger ensembles to increase the volume. [1] Nagauta is the basis of the Nagauta Symphony, a symphony in one movement composed in 1934 by composer Kosaku Yamada.
A closely related musical instrument is the Japanese shamisen, which originated from the Chinese sanxian. [5] [9] [10] Even more closely related is the Okinawan sanshin, which is also covered in snakeskin. Additionally, the sanshin and sanxian share a structurally similar body part consisting of a round-edged square of wood.
They used the plectrum of the Japanese biwa to play the shamisen, thus creating the beginning of jiuta as shamisen music. Ishimura-Kengyo is particularly regarded as originator of shamisen music. After that, musicians, mainly at Tōdōza, performed, composed and handed down jiuta. The existing oldest piece is considered as a work of the early ...