Though tuning in a chair is not as comfortable as tuning on the floor, you can still do it safely. Simply put the shamisen in between your legs and use both hands to carefully turn the itomaki.

When sitting in a chair, we must mimic the hip position of seiza. In seiza, our thighs are angled at a slight decline because the folded feet elevates our bottom slightly above the legs. So the important point is to sit on the front edge, with only your bottom touching the chair. (you can sit deeper than what’s shown in the picture). If we sit in the middle of the chair, our legs will be resting at the same level as our hips. Ideally, our legs must be free from the chair in order to angle slightly downwards, thereby elevating our bottom slightly higher. Don’t slouch!

For the reasons mentioned above, I personally find that sitting in seiza the ideal position for optimal technique and form. However, for those who find seiza too difficult or painful, it’s still possible to achieve great posture on a chair!

Most all shamisen players have accidentally dropped their bachi. Basically, the farther their bachi is from the floor, the risk of the bachi snapping increases. When playing on the floor, the bachi has a much greater chance of surviving the drop. Simple physics!

Shamisen with thinner itomaki (tuning pegs) can be difficult to turn. In the beginning, turning the thin itomaki with only one hand can be challenging, especially on a chair. Without experience, this may even lead to the itomaki snapping or slipping out of the hole. Rather, it’s much safer and comfortable to set the dou (body) on the floor and use two hands to carefully turn the itomaki.

Like many, I don’t always have great posture. Though I try my best to sit upright, my consciousness drifts and I slouch like a sack of potatoes. I personally felt the difference as I played Akita Nikata Bushi recently. Unaware that my posture had sagged, my rhythm suddenly became less consistent. My ni no ito (middle string) strike wasn’t quite as sharp, and some complex phrases just come out muddy. Realizing this, I corrected my posture and played again. Almost instantly, my techniques sounded clearer and even those complex phrases felt much easier to execute perfectly. Feeling the sudden effect of proper posture gave me newfound appreciation for what previously felt like a tedious chore.

Seiza is a formal Japanese sitting position where the legs are folded underneath of Seiza. (Check out Wikipedia for a more in-depth description of Seiza!) In my opinion, Seiza is the perfect posture for playing shamisen for a variety of reasons. I should say again, the following ideas are solely my opinions and assumptions. Individual experience might be different based on personal body type. With your legs folded under you, your hips are positioned in a way that makes maintaining a straight lower back very easy. With a straight and comfortably relaxed lower back, straightening your upper body posture is a simple matter of awareness. (Note, feet don’t have to be folded over each other if that’s too painful) When crossing your legs (shown in picture below), your lower back is already bent and will require constant, conscious effort to push your upper body straight. With an erect lower back, extended chest and shoulders straight (not slumped forward), your whole body is efficiently set up for flowing power into your arm.

Lats: With continued practice and incorporation of proper posture, you’ll discover that your shoulder and lats will be activated in your playing. It is at this stage when your bachi strike evolves from a concentrated one-motion wrist rotation (Beginning stage) to a whip-like fluidity from your lats to the tip of your thumb. Such full-arm involvement dramatically improves power consistency and articulation of technique-filled phrases. It also requires complete relaxation in your arm for the power to move efficiently. To reach this level of fluidity, we must take posture seriously.

Forearm: As you start to build a natural coordination with the bachi, you’ll find that you can shift focus away from the wrist and incorporate more of your arm into the generation of power. Swinging your arm brings more consistent power to your bachi strikes, and is far less tiring than solely swinging the wrist.

FAQs Archive - Page 6 of 14

Q: Other Benefits of Seiza

Playing on the ground will not only support your posture, but also offers other positive qualities!

Tuning in a Chair

Though tuning in a chair is not as comfortable as [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:29+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

The edge!

When sitting in a chair, we must mimic the hip [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:29+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Posture in a Chair

For the reasons mentioned above, I personally find that sitting [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:29+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Accidental Drops

Most all shamisen players have accidentally dropped their bachi. Basically, [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:29+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Tuning

Shamisen with thinner itomaki (tuning pegs) can be difficult to [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:29+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Other Benefits of Seiza

Playing on the ground will not only support your posture, [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:30+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Personal Experience!

Like many, I don’t always have great posture. Though I [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:31:30+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Seiza

Seiza is a formal Japanese sitting position where the legs [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:11:21+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Advanced

Lats: With continued practice and incorporation of proper posture, you’ll discover [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:11:21+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments

Intermediate

Forearm: As you start to build a natural coordination with the [...]

By Kyle Abbott|2023-02-15T02:11:21+00:00February 15, 2023|Perks of Posture|0 Comments