Question: I’m a beginner picking up the sanshin. Where do I start?
Learning to play the sanshin is easy. It’s just a tad daunting when you open up a piece of music and see characters that you’ve never seen before. Get over that, and you’ll be right on your way. All you have to do is remember where these characters are in relation to the sanshin.
These top notes are played open string.
These notes are played with the index finger.
These notes are played with the middle finger.
These notes are played with the pinkie.
When I was learning to play, I would set a chart like this one next to the kunkunshi I was working on to help me memorize where the notes were. Start with something simple like 安波節 (aha bushi) and work your way onto other songs while using YouTube searches to find song samples. It might also be wise to mark where the notes are on the sanshin to visually aid your playing.
Names of the notes
On the low string:
合 = “ai”
乙 = “otsu”
老 = “rou”
On the middle string:
四 = “shi”
上 = “jou”
中 = “chuu”
尺 = “shaku”
On the high string:
工 = “kou”
五 = “go”
六 = “roku”
七 = “shichi”
I added extra information about this site in the “About me” section. Hope you check it out! :)
Question: How do I tune my sanshin? What notes should I tune it to?
There are several different tunings for the sanshin that I’ll cover later on, but the most commonly used one is “honchoushi,” which I’ve learned is C-F-C (do-fa-do). You can use this MP3 I uploaded to tune to:
(You can also click the link to download the MP3 for uploading to your IPod, NDS or whatever.)
[Tuning from uujiru, nakajiru, to miijiru.]
The MP3 starts from uujiru, the lowest sounding string, and works it’s way up to miijiru, the highest. You can see from the image that I’m not jamming the karakui in from one side, but applying pressure to both sides using four fingers to turn the peg while keeping my thumb/pinkie on the other side for balance. No matter what notes you may be tuning to, this method for adjusting is pretty much the common rule.
Some people have trouble with their karakui slipping when they tune. For possible fixes, check this post: Karakui keep sliding.
I’m pretty proud of myself for coming this far in just a day! In my very first post I listed my plans for this site:
- Upload kunkunshi .pdf’s
- Upload sanshin music
- Write instructionals (Kinda…)
- Create FAQ (I get tons of sanshin questions. I’ll try to answer them all.)
- Find more to do
Progress so far:
I created the FAQ and Links part of this site using a tagging system, so these two sections will be sorted by the date they were added. The more questions and links I get, the fatter these two sections will become, so the best way to find something you’re looking for is using the “search” feature at the top of the sidebar. I’ll probably organize them better once I get the chance, but for now this will have to do.
As for tutorials, I’ll continue to post them under FAQs until I have a decent amount to create a separate section for. I’ve already written an “introduction” to the sanshin that briefly goes over the history, and once I post more instructionals, I’ll collect them into one area for easier navigation.
Problems:
Without proper web hosting, I’m forced to use several different sites for MP3, PDF and simple page storage. This wouldn’t be so bad if the free web hosts were stable, but they’re not. Which means that the radio can be tad glitchy at times, and the kunkunshi PDFs may be unavailable for download depending on the server’s mood. But they’re all free services, so I guess I can’t complain.
Need answers? Well, I need questions so ask me something!
You can post a question in the comments, but I recommend you ask in the sanshin forums.
You can also e-mail me at kenji@simplesanshin.com if you’re a privacy buff.
I’ll be posting various pieces of kunkunshi in this section. Some of the documents are in PDF format, so you’ll need a reader like Adobe or Foxit. (I recommend Foxit Reader because it’s smaller and faster than Adobe. Plus, it’s free.)
Asadoya Yunta （安里屋ユンタ）
Aha Bushi （安波節）
Bashoufu （芭蕉布）
Tinsagu nu Hana （てぃんさぐぬ花）
Mensoure (めんそーれ)
Donated pieces:
Bangamuri （ばんがむり）
Hounennuuta （豊年ぬ歌）
Kanikubata （かにくばた）
Shima Uta （島唄）
Toushindooi （唐船ドーイ）
Asadoya Yunta - Classic Version (安里屋ゆんたー）
Waido Bushi （ワイド節）
I’ll be continuously writing up kunkunshi to upload here, but in the meanwhile, you can find a good collection of kunkunshi on these sites:
工工四集 (Collection of Kunkunshi)
沖縄三線楽譜一覧 (List of Sanshin Music)
For you curious minds:
- I use Adobe Photoshop to draw the kunkunshi, using an “EPSON-KYOKASHO” font.
- If you would like to help me redraw kunkunshi, you can find the PSD file here.
- The package of fonts can be downloaded off this website. (Running the executable will only unpack the contents into the same directory. To install the fonts you have to drag the .ttf files into your font folder.)
Question: What’s a sanshin?
Welcome to the wonderful world of the 三線 (sanshin), which literally translates to “three strings” and is considered to be the backbone of traditional Okinawan music. Made up of basically a long neck and a snakeskin body, the instrument is said to have derived from the Chinese sanxian during the 16th century. However, there are those who believe that the sanshin may have been born out of south-east Asia because of its even closer resemblance to instruments in Thailand and Vietnam. Trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and Thailand was frequent during the 15th century, and the large snake skins used for the sanshin could have been imported to Okinawa along with the Thai rice used in making awamori. Regardless, a Chinese birth seems to be the more commonly accepted history.
(From left to right: Japanese shamisen, Chinese sanxian, Thai ping, and the Okinawan sanshin.)
Anyways, the sanshin of today comes in a variety of forms—wartime sanshin made from empty cans, imitation snakeskin sanshin made from plastic, and traditional sanshin made from large snake skins imported out of south-east Asia. You can find any of these for purchase almost anywhere on Okinawa, and you can hear them being played almost anywhere on the islands. The sanshin is truly an integral part of Okinawan culture.
