Shamisen

The Japanese pronunciation is usually shamisen but sometimes jamisen when used as a suffix, according to regular sound change (e.g. tsugaru-jamisen). In Western Japanese dialects and several Edo period sources, it is both written and pronounced as samisen.

The construction of the shamisen varies in shape, depending on the genre in which it is used. The instrument used to accompany kabuki has a thin neck, facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of that genre. The one used to accompany puppet plays and folk songs has a longer and thicker neck instead, to match the more robust music of those genres.

Construction

The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, with a neck and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck of the shamisen is fretless and slimmer than that of a guitar or banjo. The body, called the dō (胴), resembles a drum, having a hollow body that is covered front and back with skin, in the manner of a banjo. The skin used depends on the genre of music and the skill of the player. Traditionally, skins were made using dog or cat skin, with cat skin favored for finer instruments; though use of animal skins was common throughout the 20th century, use of these skins gradually fell out of favor, starting around the mid 2000s, due to social stigma and the decline of workers skilled in preparing these particular skins. Contemporary shamisen skins are often prepared with synthetic materials, such as plastic.

The sao (棹), or neck of the shamisen, is usually divided into three or four pieces that fit and lock together, with most shamisen made to be easily disassembled. The neck of the shamisen is a singular rod that crosses the drum-like body of the instrument, partially protruding at the other side of the body and acting as an anchor for the strings. The pegs used to wind the strings are long, thin and hexagonal in shape; though they were traditionally fashioned out of ivory, due to scarcity and trading regulations regarding and constricting the sale of ivory, many are now constructed from other materials, such as wood and plastic.

The three strings of the shamisen are made of either silk (traditionally) or nylon. They are stretched between the pegs at the head of the instrument, and a cloth tailpiece anchored at the end of the rod which protrudes on the other side of the body. The strings are stretched across the body, raised from it by means of a bridge, or koma (駒), which rests directly on the taut skin. The lowest string is purposefully laid lower at the nut of the instrument in order to create a buzz, a characteristic timbre known as sawari (somewhat reminiscent of the "buzzing" of a sitar, which is called Jivari). The upper side of the dō (when on the player's lap) is almost always protected by a cover known as a dō kake, and players often wear a little band of cloth on their left hand to facilitate sliding up and down the neck, known as a yubikake. The head of the instrument known as a tenjin may also be protected by a cover. The material of the strings will depend on the skill of the player. Traditionally, silk strings are used. However, silk breaks easily over a short time, so this is reserved for professional performances. Students often use nylon or 'tetron' strings, which last longer than silk, and are also less expensive.

Variations in construction and playing method

The construction of the shamisen varies in shape and size, depending on the genre in which it is used. The bachi used will also be different according to genre, if it is used at all. Shamisen are classified according to size and genre. There are three basic sizes: hosozao, chuzao and futozao. Examples of shamisen genres include nagauta, jiuta, min'yo, kouta, hauta, shinnai, tokiwazu, kiyomoto, gidayu and tsugaru.

Shamisen used for traditional genres of Japanese music, such as jiuta, kouta, and nagauta, adhere to very strict standards. Purists of these genres demand that the shamisen be made of the correct wood, the correct skin, and are played with the correct bachi, with little room for variation. The tsugaru-jamisen, on the other hand, has lent itself to modern use, and is used in modern genres such as jazz and rock. As a more open instrument, variations of it exist for show. The tuning pegs, which are usually fashioned out of ivory, and bachi which are fashioned from a combination of ivory and tortoise-shell for example, are sometimes made of acrylic material to give the shamisen a more modern, flashy look. Recently, avant-garde inventors have developed a tsugaru-jamisen with electric pickups to be used with amplifiers, like the electric guitar.

Hosozao

The hosozao (細棹, literally "thin neck"), as its Japanese name implies, is the smallest kind of shamisen. The body is small and particularly square-shaped, with a particularly thin neck, which tapers away from the strings just as it approaches the body. Generally, the hosozao is used in nagauta, the shorter and thinner neck facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of kabuki. Hosozao shamisen built especially for nagauta ensembles are often simply known as nagauta shamisen. The hosozao is also often used in kouta, where it is plucked with the fingernails.

Chuzao

The chuzao (中棹, literally "middle neck") is a size up from the hosozao. As its name implies, the neck is slightly thicker. As the neck approaches the body of the instrument, the distance between the strings and the fingerboard is maintained, unlike the hosozao, where it tapers off. The fingerboard ends abruptly, and the rest of the neck curves sharply into the body of the instrument. The pronounced curve that occurs just before the neck meets the body is called hatomune (鳩胸, literally "pigeon's breast"). The result is an extended fingerboard that gives the chuzao a higher register than the hosozao. The chuzao is favored for jiuta-style playing, with a broader, more mellow timbre. It is also an "all-round" instrument that can be used across many genres.

Futozao

The futozao (太棹, literally "fat neck") shamisen is used in the robust music of gidayubushi (the music of bunraku), jōruri min'yo, and tsugaru-jamisen. In these genres, a thicker neck facilitates the greater force used in playing the music of these styles. The futozao of tsugaru-jamisen is quite a recent innovation, and is purposefully constructed in a much larger size than traditional style shamisen, and its neck is much longer and thicker than the traditional nagauta or jiuta shamisen.

Heike shamisen

The heike shamisen (平家) is a shamisen particularly fashioned for the performance of the song Heike Ondo, a folk tune originating from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The neck of the heike shamisen is about half the length of most shamisen, giving the instrument the high range needed to play Heike Ondo. The use of more typical shamisen is possible, but they must be properly adjusted with a capo device to raise their pitch to make them suitable for use. Today the strings are made out of steel to make a better sound and the drum heads are made out of plastic to avoid breakage in a performance.

Variations in bachi

The bachi (撥), the plectrum used to play the shamisen, also differ in size, shape, and material from genre to genre.

The bachi used for nagauta shamisen can be made out of three possible materials: wood, plastic, or ivory. While many nagauta teachers generally do not approve of the use of plastic, if ivory is unattainable and wood is still out of price range, plastic is considered acceptable for use.

Jiuta bachi are made entirely out of plastic or ivory, plastic and tortoiseshell (bekko), or ivory and tortoiseshell. Jiuta bachi are the easiest to identify as they are the longest, the widest, and also have a deep indentation where the tortoiseshell meets the handle. There are sometimes also jiuta bachi that are made with a buffalo horn handle. The material, however, makes no difference in the sound.

The gidayu shamisen style uses the heaviest and thickest bachi, though the nagauta bachi is wider.

The bachi used for tsugaru-jamisen is the smallest, and is almost always tipped with tortoiseshell.

Other structural variations

The koma (駒), or bridge, can be fashioned out of aged bamboo, ivory, ox-bone (shari), rosewood, buffalo horn, kōki wood, any combination of the above, or plastic for the student level. Koma come in many heights. The higher the koma, the louder the sound will be, and the harder it is to control a rapid sukui. Higher koma are not considered suitable for beginners.

The koma used for nagauta use a height between 3.2 and 3.6. Koma for nagauta are fashioned out of only three materials: ivory, bone, and plastic. Ivory is the most expensive and produces the most desirable sound and amplification, but due to its high price tag is normally only used in performances. Ox-bone or shari is the most popular koma material for practice and with students who are performing. Because of ivory's volume and vibration, it is normally used by a teacher or tate-jamisen (lead shamisen), so that the other players can follow their tone and signals. Plastic koma are increasingly harder in the modern day, as the material is considered to produce an undesirable sound when compared to shari koma. Shari is not much more expensive than plastic, and most teachers openly express their displeasure with plastic koma and require shari.

The koma used for jiuta vary between 2.6 and 2.8, though other heights can be specially ordered. Koma for jiuta are made out of a few select materials, such as yellow or black water buffalo horn (suigyu), which are the standard for jiuta. Blackwater buffalo horn does not have a significant sound difference when cut in the jiuta koma style, and is far less popular. Yellow suigyu is the most widely used for jiuta-style shamisen, both in practice and performance. Plastic is available because of the higher price tag of suigyu. Many people believe that for jiuta, there is not a great sound difference between the two, but there is a high change in vibration. Plastic makes a deader sound, which is not the most favorable for jiuta. Shari is used from time to time in practice, but never for jiuta performances.

Koma used for both tsugaru and min'yo shamisen are typically 2.6 in height, though sometimes 2.7 or 2.8. Tsugaru koma are very easily identifiable due to their unique structure and use of two different materials. Tsugaru koma are very thin in width, and are not very high. The base is usually made of either bamboo, smoked bamboo, or a wood of some kind, while the top half in which the strings pass through can be made of ivory, bone, or tortoiseshell. Because of the thickness of both the strings and neck of the futozao shamisen, the tsugaru bridge in general tends to be longer than the others. Both the gidayu koma (the highest koma made, fashioned out of black buffalo horn) and the kiyomoto koma (which resembles the nagauta koma exactly, save for its width) are sometimes confused with the tsugaru koma.