Everything you need to know about the Shamisen!
Hajiki – Consisent Tone
I received a question from a Bachido member (let’s call him Sam) who’s learning Hanagasa Ondo. This song has a phrase where Position 3 (let’s call this ‘P.3’) is sounded with the bachi, then subsequently sounded with hajiki (pull-off technique). Though sounded with two different techniques, the pitch [...]
Shaping Your Bachi Handle
The bachi is the most important part of the shamisen. To safely execute solid bachi technique, you should have a bachi that fits your hand comfortably without struggle. Of course, the bachi is initially awkward to use, but once you get accustomed to it, it should feel comfortable. If [...]
Repairing a Chipped Bachi
If you dabble in the hard driving tsugaru style, you may have found (or will soon find out) that your bachi chips with prolonged use. Fortunately, it’s common among all tsugaru shamisen players, and is very easy to repair, taking less than 5~10 minutes to do so. All [...]