Introduction

Today, Nitta san will be teaching you all the fundamental techniques of the Nitta style.

Holding the Shamisen

Skillfully playing the shamisen starts from simply holding the shamisen correctly. Properly balancing it in order to execute techniques cleanly and easily.

Koma Placement

When beginning, setting the koma three fingerwidths from bottom of the dou is the general area to get a balanced sound and ensure the position marks line up at the right distances.

Method of Gripping Itomaki

You've probably noticed that the itomaki will unwind out of it's hole if it's loose. For this, there is a specific way to grip the itomaki.

Adjustment of the Azuma Sawari

The main purpose of the azuma sawari is to make the string buzz (or more politely, 'resonate') as long as possible.

Properly Gripping Bachi

Note: This is an advanced way to hold the bachi. Even the most basic way of holding bachi is awkward in the beginning, so having some prior experience will make this much easier for you.

Solid Tataki (Strikes)

First, hold the bachi rather parallel to the strings.

Tataki Drill (Nimai Bachi)

Practicing this drill will improve your clarity, precision and relaxedness in tataki.

Tataki Drill (Sanmai Bachi)

After you can smoothly execute double strikes (Nimai Bachi), it's time to kick it up a notch with triple strikes! (Sanmai Bachi)

Striking Positions

In the tsugaru style, the string is struck in two locations - Maebachi (front of the dou) and Ushirobachi (near the koma).

Technique Refinement (Precise Striking)

Sliding downward after striking is something that many people do, and should be avoided.

The Fingernail Notch

Pressing the string with the fingernail will make the clearest sound. To keep the smooth nylon string from slipping, make a small notch in your fingernail which will lock the string in place.

Suri - Large (Slide)

Suri is the motion of sliding from one position to the next. The most challenging part is smoothly sustaining the sound for maximum resonance.

Suri - Small (Slide)

A small suri technique on the ichi no ito is a bit different from the large suri. First, the arm shouldn't move. The sao must be locked in place between the thumb and index finger to keep the arm from moving. Only the finger and hand will move slightly to execute this suri.

Hajiki (Pull-Off)

Hajiki is mostly done with the ring finger. When executing the technique, the ring finger pulls straight off the side. Not downwards, not upwards, just straight back.

Uchi (Hammer On)

To execute Uchi, firmly press down on the string.

And there you have it!

Suberi (Striking Two Strings)

After striking the ichi no ito or ni no ito, the bachi slides straight over to the next string without lifting up.

Keshibachi (Damping the String)

For the Keshibachi technique, the thumb touches the string at the same time the bachi strikes. Keshibachi is only used in the Maebachi position of the ni no ito and san no ito.

Komatsuke (Muting the Bridge)

You can create a muted tone by touching the koma with your pinky finger. This is called Komatsuke.

Vibrato

Vibrato is a great way to give more sustain to your tone.

Resonance

When you get comfortable with shamisen, it's time to be aware of resonance. The shamisen is a tightly skinned instrument with nylon strings. It doesn't have much sustain on it's own, but a skilled player is able to increase the sustain and resonance of this instrument. Since this is an advanced topic, it's saved for the very end of the course.

Tremelo

There are a few ways to execute tremolo. Bachido member Mike Penny likes to execute tremolo with his wrist. Nitta san favors to execute tremolo with his arm, shortening the arm swing to move the bachi up-and-down faster.