LEARN TO READ JAPANESE NUMERALS
Jiuta scores are written in a combination of Arabic numerals and kanji numerals. It is important to learn the kanji for 1 through 10 before you begin playing.
| KANJI |
JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION |
ENGLISH |
| 一 |
ichi |
one |
| 二 |
ni |
two |
| 三 |
san |
three |
| 四 |
shi/yon |
four |
| 五 |
go |
five |
| 六 |
roku |
six |
| 七 |
shichi/nana |
seven |
| 八 |
hachi |
eight |
| 九 |
kyuu/ku |
nine |
| 十 |
jyuu |
ten |
POSITIONS ON THE NECK
The 1st position is played as an open string in jiuta notation - that is, without any fingers holding the string down. Since there are no frets on the shamisen, the player must find the position by tone. The positions are in the same general areas, but will vary slightly as the shamisen goes out of tune.
The figure below shows the approximate positions with their numbering in jiuta style.
There are some "cheats" out there that aid in learning the positions. You can find numbered strips of clear plastic stickers that can be placed on the side of the neck of the shamisen to show the positions. I do not recommend using these as they are usually written for different styles of shamisen, which have different numbering systems. These also make you reliant on your eyes and not your ears. One trick that even advanced players use is to take very small pieces of tape and place them in strategic positions on the side of the neck. I recommend a clear piece of tape placed at positions 5, 9, and 15 (marked in green above), but you can place them wherever you seem to have trouble.
HOW TO HOLD THE SHAMISEN
The shamisen is held mostly the same if sitting or in seiza. The forearm of the right arm rests on the top of the dou. The left arm is held closer to the body in seiza, but there are variations on this. One piece of advice is to imagine that you are holding an orange between your arm and body and keep that distance. The ni-no-ito itomaki (on top) is usually level with the eye.
The shamisen should be held at approximately a 70 degree angle on the body.
BACHI POSITION
The bachi edge should be parallel to the strings and angled at about 30-40 degrees. In jiuta, the bachi should strike over the part of the dou nearest the connection with the sao, where the wood frame rests under the skins. This is a very small area of only about 2cm, so it will take some time to become accurate!
Updated August 30, 2018
