The Yukyu: A Japanese Keyed Violin

A quick overview of an instrument that I've found very little documentation on in the English language! The yukyu is a taishōgoto meant to be played with a bow, and has the timbre of a violin!
David Hilowitz's free bowed nagoya harp library.
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[@bobbyjeffsupremelordofcraz3532]

I wonder if anyone's tried affixing a wheel to something like this to get a Taisho-Gurdy.

[@MabInstruments]

Yes. Atleast one person has.

[@svisvisvisvisvi]

Thanks for sharing! I like the enthusiasm. I'd be interested to hear the sound of the higher strings as well

[@BitByBitSoundRPG]

This was great dude! Very informative, loved the tune at the end.

[@BenElliottSound]

Ah, thank you, Bert! Just wanted to get some info out there on the instrument, ahah. Glad you liked the tune! A little medieval style thing, since it worked best for playing the instrument without vibrato, lol.

[@gregmonks]

A number of cultures developed a keyed violin. There's the Scandinavian Nickelharpa, for example. There's also the Shahi Baaja. Others I can't bring to mind off the top of my head.

[@bveracka]

Nyckelharpa is my favorite of the family, with hurdy-gurdy in second place. Combined with traditional songs from Scandinavia and Northern Europe, it makes for some haunting melodies. When you mentioned Shahi Baaja, I remembered the Punjabi sarod, which I always liked the sound of. Nobody tried putting buttons on the Sarod for a "sarodi-gurdi" 😆 - probably because it'd would take away the ability to play microtonally.

[@batlin]

He mentioned the Nyckelharpa about a minute into the video.

[@dereknolin5986]

The Shahi baaja is an electrified version of the bubul tarang, which was derived from the Japanese taishogoto, invented in 1912 by Goro Morita. The earliest keyed instrument like this was probably the organistrum, developed in Europe around the 10th or 11th century, although it had a rosined wheel, not a bow.

[@iggypeters5564]

​@@bverackabut don't fret, there is probably someone on earth who can make such microtonic

[@bveracka]

@@iggypeters5564 Definitely!

[@Ieriz1]

Love this video! I was looking for info on this, thank you.

[@troyserson]

Great video Ben! Thank you for sharing what you've learned :D

[@tanukibrahma]

Koto is the Japanese instrument it kind sounds like when plucked acoustically.

[@BenElliottSound]

Ah, yes! Definitely! Taishōgotos in general, especially the acoustic soprano kind, mimic the sound of the koto! Maybe it's just my ear, but I feel there's something a little uncanny about the yukyu's plucking in particular that I can't 100% nail down, though, aha. It also sounds a little like a shamisen to me. 👀

[@tanukibrahma]

@@BenElliottSound I def hear shamizen there, too!

[@okcpu]

Really cool instrument, it's versatile!

[@BenElliottSound]

Thank ya very, very much for watching! 😁 Yeah, the yukyu's really cool! Hoping a few more people can learn about it just sort of, existing, lol. 😅

[@grandwiz57]

@@BenElliottSound would you know what strings go on it, and what key would you tune them to

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Very groovy, thanks for sharing.

[@BenElliottSound]

Thank you very much for watching! 😃

[@thesoundsmith]

There are a number of other cultures with similar keys, and every one I've seen bend the keys to get a vibrato or traditional decoration. India's Bulbul Tarang, several African variations and I think some European ones as well.

[@SlyHikari03]

It’s like the Japanese Nyckelharpa. Neat

[@BenElliottSound]

Exactly!

[@Manazenum]

Fantastic presentation and my god is the ending song great as well!

[@ppapdddar6159]

The end song was actually very nice.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It can be played both bowed & Strummed.

[@sunnowo]

Reminds a lot of a simplified version of a nyckelharpa

[@chrisperyagh]

4:57 Who knew that when you take your finger off a stopped string while still bowing it, it'll revert to the note of the open string. My mind is blown! I'm off to go and tell all string players I know about this unique phenomenon.

[@wannabecat369]

He probably mentioned it for the edification of keyboard players, who are unused to such phenomena.

[@EmuBrew]

This reminds of "hi, my name is.. Charmander"

[@subhastheboss]

Beautiful VIOLYRE TAISHOGOTO. Where could I buy one from? Thank you.

[@Snoozelightable]

Change the way you talk

[@miorieser3210]

Hi, welches Plektrum verwenden Sie bei 6:40? Es dankt und grüßt MR

[@lashark06]

Just need one with a wheel and you'd have a guishow gurdy

[@wegriz5570]

If it had buttons on the other side, you could play it in a guitar position like a nyckelharpa.

[@laurastanton9140]

related to kokyu, a japanese musical instrument

[@carpet_appetite]

Really cool instrument. Even worth fighting through the cringe of the bandkid, though it is extremely difficult

[@penelopegreene]

👍

[@adelinrapcore]

Dude your acting is unplesant, it looks rather weird than funny

[@svisvisvisvisvi]

You don't have to say that. It's rude.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Your comment makes you look foolish, rather than clever. Grow up.

[@justaweeb9086]

​@@svisvisvisvisviI mean I can definitely see his point. But he should've used a bit of tact

[@papillonpromise]

To the dude who made this video: I have watched more KZbin than most people, because I started earlier. I hardly make any comments, but this could be a life changing moment for you, I sincerely hope so, for your sake. You obviously have interests, technical knowledge and are developing skills. These are good things. Please note: I have never, ever commented about a KZbinr’s personality. Right now you’re being fake. It’s not working, and only people who don’t speak English as a first language may not realise just how grievously, intensely annoying it is. If you were born in an earlier era, this disingenuous behaviour would likely incite actual violence, which - oddly - may have helped you. As would being smacked by your parents. Or even having an older male sibling may have helped. Were you home schooled? Obviously from your young age, you were brought up in a time whereby bullying was outlawed, which has allowed you to develop your personality unabated and uncorrected, so it may be very hard for you to now develop the resilience necessary to have the guts to be your true self. But I hope you do, because right now you’re being disrespectful of the whole world. If you truly think you’re boring (which might be true) then bloody-well own it. If you are boring, that’s a million times better than feigning a personality that belongs to someone else. Quit trying to be someone else. Forget about other KZbin personalities. Have the guts to be yourself. If you do, YOU will be proud of yourself and nothing is better than that. Also mature people will respect you for that. It’s not easy, but you can do it. Moreover it’s worth it. And if I can help you (for free), I will.

[@williampierce5579]

He’s probably autistic or something

[@gavinfarkas283]

Bebung like on a clavichord

[@gordonstevens6050]

It doesn't get much more annoying than this. I thought it was a joke initially - someone copying Jeremy Clarkson

[@probindemufhoes42069]

This comment is so accurate lmao

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

Would have liked this if not for the irrelevant and distracting background "music" in most of the video . . . .

[@subramaniamchandrasekar1397]

The thrill of watching a new instrument was spoiled by your over acting and waving hands. Please make next video better. Regards.

[@Z-Ack]

Think dude has parkinsons..

[@Othique]

Heya! The "kyu" part of "Yukyu" is pronounced like the first part of "cute". So it's not "Yuu-Kee-Yuu", but more like "You-queue". When plucked it sounds a lot like the Japanese Shamisen. And bruh the little test music at the end was magical AF. Imagine that echoing off of some vast mountain terrain.

[@gerassimos.fourlanos]

This strained way of speaking makes it very difficult to follow...

[@MishimaToshiro]

agree, it stopped me to keep watching

[@echodelta9]

That's partly because of the heavy and always present music at same volume instead of under. If you are demoing music then don't have any other in the demo. It's a demo not an ad with all their obnoxiousness, a "production" thanks MTV.

[@anthonyhaystead1613]

And irritating!

[@afterift]

Dude this is really good coverage on this instrument. Well done Ben! Solid tune you played at the end there 🔥

[@BenElliottSound]

Thanks so much, Rish! Wanted to show people this instrument, since I don't think there's a lot of coverage on it, ahaha. 😅

[@eh1702]

8:07. Interesting that the bridge appears to have the spaces for four strings even though only strung with two, and with only two tuning pegs. So potentially could you play it double-stringed? An even more mandolin-like sound?

[@DjDoggDad]

The bow looks way over-tensioned, which can affect the playing. Let off a bunch of tension and that scratchiness will be dulled. Don't forget to de-tension the bow when you are done playing or you're going to trash it super quick with that amount of tension! Thanks for bringing this instrument a little more into the english realm!

[@BenElliottSound]

Ah, thank you! Yeah, bowing unfortunately isn't 100% my wheelhouse, since I started more with keyboards, so everything with this instrument has been a huge learning experience, ahaha. 😅

[@nvdawahyaify]

When you played it pizzicato it sounded like the shamisen to me.

[@cgordon1955]

Overly dramatic gets boring

[@adriikko]

Wonderful video, Ben!! That's a super cool instrument, new nothing about it!! ^-^

[@BenElliottSound]

Thank ya very, very much, Adri! You're the coolest. 😁

[@pan-pangou7103]

Wow this is so cool! I love that you are enlightening my music knowledge :D

[@BenElliottSound]

Oh gosh, thank you, Pan-Pan! There's very little information on this instrument online, so I figured I might as well make a silly little video on it, so more people can potentially know about it, aha. 😅

[@nathanvanmiddlesworthmedia844]

Somewhere between the Bulbul Tarang of India & the Swedish Nyckelharpa

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

It's a Keyboard Psalmodikon

[@AClassOldie]

Please stop talking like that

[@svisvisvisvisvi]

Please don't watch it if you don't like it.

[@AClassOldie]

@@svisvisvisvisvi I didn’t.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

How childish of you, to make such a comment. Makes you sound shallow.

[@MishimaToshiro]

we didn't @@AClassOldie

[@stefangenov1362]

I couldn't watch it even though the subject is interesting to me. That intonation, changing the speed and pitch several times in a sentence is unbearable.

[@stellafishy]

"I'm pretty sure" REDNESS ENSUES

[@wizardoffrobozz]

Like a manual Hurdy-gurdy?

[@Chrisamic]

A really fascinating instrument. I like the piece you played. Forgive me, but my OCD brain compels me to chime in with a correction. That wouldn't be a "line in" it would be a "line out", and it would actually be an unbalanced instrument output unless there's a preamp in that instrument somewhere. Line level is (usually) 2 volts peak output, something that you might plug in to a power amp, such as a pre-amp or a mixing desk. Mixing desks often have inputs (one or more) that are selectable between instrument and line in inputs. Maybe that is the source of the confusion?

[@dereknolin5986]

Rather than "wiggle" the keys, couldn't you quickly vary the pressure on the key, to repeatedly subtly bend the string sharp? Also, that "trill" effect, as you called it, could also work by holding down more than one key down at once, and then releasing the upper one so that the pitch "snaps" to the lower one.

[@adnanwstro5519]

Nic video

[@BenElliottSound]

Thank you very much!

[@josephstrahl5921]

This is a very cool instrument, but the way you're talking and acting is so cringy. If you ever want to grow your channel, you gotta figure that out.

[@buddy.boyo88]

the goofy acting is unbearable 0/10