Strings

The word shamisen (三味線) literally means "three strings". The three strings of the shamisen are each of a different size. When referring to the strings, they are numbered from the largest to the smallest string. The largest string is known as ichi-no-ito (一の糸, "first string"), the middle is ni-no-ito (二の糸, "second string"), and the smallest is san-no-ito (三の糸, "third string").

GAUGES AND READING PACKAGES

There are varying gauges of each size string. The size chosen for jiuta is typically 14-gauge for all of the strings; however, the player ultimately chooses the size they want for the sound they want to achieve. When buying strings (especially online), it's important to make sure you have the right gauge and size. The packaging usually spells it out in one of two ways:

1. It may have the gauge and a hyphen followed by the number of the string, both in Arabic numerals. This one is 14-gauge ni-no-ito.

2. The other way it may be presented is the gauge in Arabic numerals and then the name of the string spelled out in Japanese. This one is 14-gauge san-no-ito.

MATERIALS

Strings are made either of silk or nylon. Silk is preferable for the best sound, but nylon is more durable and can be used for practice, especially for san-no-ito, as it tends to break fairly easily under the stress of playing energetic songs. When buying silk strings, it is preferable to get newer stock as the silk degrades over time and breaks more easily.

HOW TO REPLACE STRINGS

Each string is replaced slightly differently. (Please note that these pictures were given to me by my shamisen instructor, and they may not be the best quality, but I hope they will help!) Click on photos to enlarge.

First, all strings are attached in the same way to the neo (string retainer).