5 Things You Need To Know About: The Shamisen

[@tazman5001]

what a character, I want to see more of her!

[@katzz0078]

That's what she said

[@kitsunestudios3754]

She is the music teacher I always wanted!!! I absolutely love her and the ending of the video is gold!

[@waynechanner4339]

I love this lady. As a musician, I understand her passion, you can tell she's a teacher.

[@JustPlainRob]

This is so awesome. At 6:50 when she says "etcetera" after that long list and sighs it was adorable. I cracked up. The frayed bow noises made me cringe a little, though.

[@Matsubusa69]

This is the video that started it all. Over a year ago I became enthralled with the shamisen. Thank you for giving my life purpose again.

[@OR0R0]

I love this video. The lady is so tiny and adorable too.

[@JadeFraun]

I Like her she is a laugh!!! Just started playing the Nagauta shamisen, Think i might be the only one in South Africa LOL

[@justaway_of_the_samurai]

It's been 5 years. How is it going? Are you still playing it?

[@brenden8548]

I love Japanese music so much! Japan has such a rich history and amazing culture. I hope to go there someday!

[@MishimaToshiro]

Oh my god that bonus was amazing!

[@broderick.8054]

Please don't encourage her, she's broken enough shamisen bridges and strings already!

[@isaaccastillo8628]

Don't take the name of God in vain. It's a huge sin, and God is going to Judge you in the Day of Jugdment so please, repent, and believe in LORD Jesus and His Gospel, He is the only Savior we have, if you believe on Him you are save and in the Day of Judgment the Holy Wrath of God it's not going to fall upon you, because LORD Jesus die for you and take the Wrath you deserve. He was dead, but He rose at the third Day, He is now sit at the right hand of God the Father, but LORD Jesus, the God of Israel who becomes a human being, He is coming back soon to Earth as the Supreme Judge. So come to LORD Jesus, the end is near! If you die without believe on Him, you are totally lost forever. And You can die at any moment, so take this message with extreme urgency and deadly serious importance!

[@MrJotsen]

i studied abroad in japan in 2007 for a year and got to play shamisen at school there. it was the first instrument i felt comfortable with. i found the music easier to read too. i miss my friends and the culture of japan so learning to play shamisen has been a fun and interesting journey.

[@yuulfuji]

Hows it going?

[@pJoly]

Thank you Madame Tanaka Sensei for this exellent Video . I m very proud to learn that shamisen is now taught everywhere . Continue to be proud of this great Land of Japan !

[@soundlemonade]

She's so much fun!

[@grantsolomon7660]

So nice to see a documentary on Shamisen.The history lesson is great.

[@kevinmkraft]

This woman is amazing, a force of nature! I love it!

[@williamfranklin860]

Yumiko Tanaka seems like a very interesting woman. I plan on getting a shamisen with a pickup. I am a guitarist, and I keep hearing ideas in my head that I need to try out. I love channels such as this, as I try to learn as much about Japan as I can - especially ancient Japan.

[@elderwolves]

*watches end of video, laughing in confusion* "Eh.... bye, sensei!" ^_^

[@algordon5843]

Great video. Thanks for the insights and the music.

[@giornozimmer1986]

this was very informative! I love it. plus its nice to listen to her.

[@paperchazz]

greetings from the united states. thanks for the video! currently seeking a shamisen instructor in the charleston, south carolina area. love the intrument and the sound. wish it was more popular!

[@VinniePaah]

Thank you kind woman! You are very expressive.

[@MrsTavington]

Thank you so much for this video. I love listening to shamisen music, mostly kouta, hauta, jiuta, and nagauta.

[@signbear999]

I love all those styles as well. I think they're overlooked in the international idea of Japanese music. I've been translating the lyrics as well.

[@anaird9348]

Fantastic in every way!

[@constancewang3660]

I love this instrument. The sound is Beautiful I just absolutely love the sound I would love to play it one day.

[@kcfox0971]

Thank you for a very informative and entertaining video. Love from Southern California!

[@CubicSugar]

I think I fell in love the instant I heard "Special Mechanism". She's wonderful. Sugoi, Sugoi.

[@sooslikas]

Domo arigato ! This video is gold! and description is just what i need to research !!!

[@Foozkillah]

All I can say is... Yumiko is absolutely adorable and talented.

[@spiritofjapanbytanyarichey9331]

Great video. I linked it to our channel to help fans understand the amazing instrument which in one of the paintings. Thank you Japan Society!

[@CubicSugar]

This is literally the most helpful video I have ever seen. She is so funny.

[@MaximinoSantos]

Bela explicação! Eu amo o som do Shamisen. Obrigado

[@geneangelonucal234]

She’s great. I love her.

[@GaryAa56]

This was very helpful, I just recently started listening to Shamisen music and I love it!

[@Walpegh]

Super serious kabuki transforms into adorable goofball XD

[@CloneShockTrooper]

It was very helpful. Thank you Tanaka san.

[@aigaakaba9579]

0:34 - 0:44 Me trying to kill a spider

[@rrrayrrray]

This is total greatness! Thanks for posting the video! :)

[@cvetanvelinov4404]

Thank you Master Tanaka :)

[@1rgam3r]

That was AWESOME! I loved the history.

[@kurtwm2010]

got to love the end

[@JupiterBullet]

the sound of shamisen is relaxing and has this healing property. Knowing more about it I grow to respect it more

[@Nathouuuutheone]

Amazing video. Perfect research.

[@hualofarias]

que gran video ella me encantó

[@yobrojoost]

I'm just fixing a shamisen (new skins and pegs) that I picked up in a second hand shop in Japan. I'm a guitarist so I think it will be fairly easy for me to play it. I came across this video, really enjoyed watching it. Apart from being very knowledgeable on the subject, Yumiko is also very entertaining! Thanks for posting!

[@jms_rocker_8868]

I'm a fellow guitarist and Bass player, I'm thinking about buying Sanshin Shamisen from Okinawa, but the two things I'm worried about is, the tuning as she says in this video the three strings are tuned to C, F, C, now does that tune to C, and F, on a 4 string Bass or is it more like regular guitar tuning, I never played a banjo or a any kind of small folk string instrument so I'm kinda confused. My other concern is how high the string action is set on the neck of that Shamisen that I saw on this video, I mean are the strings normally set that high above the neck on a Shamisen. because I'm so use to playing 4 string Bass guitars and electric guitars with low string action.

[@almishti]

@@jms_rocker_8868 hiya, it's been a year so you might've found the answers to your questions already, but *just in case* you're still wondering...the C and F would be what you find on a guitar, the low C is not as low as on a bass. For the action, shamisen strings tend to be higher than on guitars, but the silk strings are both more pliable and muuuuuch easier on the fingers, so it actually takes less effort to press them down than it does with metal guitar strings. Also, the action is better to set low on guitar b/c you typically are pressing down multiple strings at once, so the less effort needed the better; on shamisen, you're mostly stopping one string at a time, chords aren't a native part of Japanese music.

[@silvakendimian9242]

Beautiful thank you

[@Aliceislove79]

Awesome💖

[@baptistegautier-lorenzo9244]

Perfect explanation!! Thanks a lot

[@stevecendales7560]

Speaks very well too!

[@verta4932]

Greetings from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Very good video. Shamisen seems to be a simple and, at the same time, complex instrument. I loved to learn about it. Japanese culture is very interesting and I like to learn about it reading texts here and there, from the web. Recently I read Musashi, an awesome book, and I was very pleased to learn about the ancient Japan. What a wonderful society. Thank you! :-)

[@음잘알레퍼런스]

This is exactly the same as the Sanxian of China. See the Historic sanxian "Song of monk". This Okinawa is imported. Okinawa is not original japanese. The shamisen is famous Okinawa.

[@ChrisHanline]

I love this lady. ❤

[@Chibz]

I love and appreciate her

[@stephenwrightpayne3472]

wow!!! I love the Japanese!!

[@willardleap1289]

Wow! My mind is blown.

[@chinesecabbagefarmer]

Very helpful!! Thank you for posting this.

[@cheezyridr]

that was great! thank you!

[@alphamike87]

This is great

[@Dojan5]

いい音色！

[@v95navarro]

awesome

[@astroplutonium]

I found my Yoko...... she is amazing.

[@Potato-pn8sg]

YES! This is great.

[@JustClaude13]

Very informative. I learned a lot from your video.

[@shadowthehedgehog9190]

I saw an instrument at a thrift store I thought might have been a shamisen, but now I'm not sure. It had three strings, but it had a flower-like shape for the body.

[@luisalfonsogonzalez8172]

The ending is a big WTF

[@randywilliams208]

Luis Alfonso González Kinky lady... she seems cool 😎 😊

[@sasufreqchann]

@@randywilliams208 ahaha xD

[@awanderer.adrift]

it sounds like my brain during a math exam

[@synesthesiacoyote7575]

9:13 chef's kiss

[@gandako627]

I was like, What in the hell, is happening right now. My ears are dying.

[@simonesimone2754]

Fantastica !!!

[@sharonballantyne1735]

Well...That was Most Interesting! 🙂

[@aspen9102]

I would love to learn the shamisen

[@benderbendingrofriguez3300]

for some reason, i remember Samurai champloo.

[@fullmindstorm]

Very awesome video,subbed.

[@SimonJ57]

I'm almost surprised she didn't go over the Doukake (Body cover) The thing she actually touches when talking about the Dou, and the Yubikake (Finger cover) the white thing between her thumb and index finger, it just helps you slide along the Sao. Or follow through with just the naming of the Sanxian of China, Sanshin of Okinawa. But of course this is a Shamisen focussed video so I guess it is just a condensed version. Wow, that was a very comprehensive list of styles but in my opinion the one:「民謡」 should have been said as "Minyo or folk song" to continue with calling each one its native name, while teaching (this one) its general meaning, not sure if it would work for them all. With my limited knowledge of Chinese and Japanese, is it correct to speculate "Icchu Bushi" roughly translates to "One string melody"? And the use of a Kokyu bow on a Shamisen? Fascinating. I like how a Kokyu usually looks like a Tiny Shamisen with an extra string (Look up NHK blends Kokyu to see one played). I wouldn't be surprised if that last move with the bamboo skewer hasn't destroyed a couple of Kawa (skin) during testing or a number of performances. I'd run away at the thought of doing that too.

[@kyleriley9786]

The ending confused me more than the beginning I think lol. Great video though.

[@michaelsmusicinstruments9980]

I agree, lol :-)

[@thunderspud4181]

I love her! I want her to be at my thanksgivings all of the time X,(

[@ghostnumber3494]

Yumiko Tanaka in the house, what a magnificent ending ! pure melted fire!

[@paringokaldas8325]

Nice shiny shamisen

[@Erowens98]

Would love to learn more about the sawari

[@Ucceah]

i would have loved subtitles at the beginning.

[@xyloplax]

She is fantastic. I want to high five and hug her. I don't understand some of the comments below.

[@andrewtodaro2874]

Domo arigato, Tanaka San, nice video!

[@alphamike87]

I hope someone in Japan has all the types to show off, I’d like to see them

[@maurosanchez5439]

los amo saludos desde argentina yumiko esta bien(?

[@Raikumi]

I might buy on :)

[@MilkCrate801]

Peace and love from north Carolina US I am curious about this instrument and want to know more about it :)

[@MinhThanhNguyenVietNam]

Deeply admire her energy, skills and knowledge And I wont forget to mention that at the end, she’s like she walked out of Pananormal Activity and playing Insidious music #noscarsm #purerespect

[@slusheewolf2143]

1:30, so the basic inner workings of a shamisen are similar to that of a daxophone?

[@Max-dr6rz]

That reminds me of 3:58 a pull off and the other one like sliding. I kinda want a shamisen I want to be a multi instrumentalist

[@bradc7764]

what brand Shamisen are you playing? and what are a few good brands I should look for when buying a Shamisen?

[@Obeijin]

Cool video. Can you play ' Smoke on the Water ' ?

[@varis2000]

Yes. Just type it in the search field.

[@KeizerHedorah]

Shamisen fo life yall!

[@johnhanley9946]

There must have been some beer involved with that bit at the end...

[@murfolk6246]

2:56 "Bamboo~"

[@jozefbania]

Bery nice bideo

[@Iracord]

Great informative video! Why -in 2017 after Kubo & the 2 Strings-was there not ONE shamisen at the current NAMM show in California!? That is a shame! What a great instrument!!! Sitar meets banjo! Seems there are small and large ones! How much does a decent one cost? I have seen from $150-$2000.

[@YourMiddleBroPhil]

I shit my pants with visions of campy martial arts movies... i love this

[@shannan4331]

Totemo omoshiroii desu. Tsuki video. 😸🦊

[@petethueson2043]

i make guitars i want to make a shamisen this great i was looking for info on this type of instrument thanks i will set mine up like more like a guitar

[@SimonJ57]

A guy called Kyle Abbot has made a book called "Shamisen of Japan" that goes through how to make each part.

[@ebiartics]

my question is, what is utoza, chuzao and hosozao? no webiste is telling me. but overall this video was very usefull!

[@signbear999]

Isn't that long list a bit redundant? Aren't Kouta and Hauta just descendants from the Utazawa style? And Zokkyoku is just an old term for Minyo.

[@RayCasey2010]

omg that is so cool. hilarious and bat shit crazy funny! thank u

[@Saif_Al_Dajjal]

Anyone know what style of playing and shamisen is played in the anime ninja scroll?

[@waltertroina8966]

My inner musician dream is having and being able to play one of these😢

[@diegoherrera1422]

I wonder what the tuning is for the instrument I find it pretty intresting since I already do the banjo and other instruments

[@lamxung5000]

Can you finger pick this instrument? I don't see any videos about that anywhere.