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Yay, taishogoto. I've wanted one for years, it's so wonderfully silly. My dream is to join one of these huge taishogoto orchestras staffed only by elderly women, typing away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AnDN1b-6Fk Anyone else have a sanshin?  I have been playing for a few years, it's a lot of fun. Everyone should get one.
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Jul 29, 2011 15:37
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Okay, finally got around to writing about my favourite instrument ... Sanshin (aka Okinawa shamisen)  The main instrument of the Ryukyu Islands/Okinawa. Descended from the Chinese sanxian and ancestor of Japanese shamisen. The sanshin has three strings (sanshin literally means "three strings") and no frets. Made from wood and, traditionally, snakeskin. Nowadays most amateur-level sanshin use synthetic plastic skin instead. Snakeskin is more expensive, sensitive and difficult/illegal to ship outside of Japan. Compared to the shamisen, the sanshin is smaller, sounds brighter and is more fun (IMO). Here are some sanshin videos you can watch Shredding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwhYJwkKBKY Amami-style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVT3tJig5pc Folk song about a kitten: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG380dpFzLI more traditional-style folk music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCrYKp1ZQXc Okinawa/The Ryukyu islands have a vibrant music tradition and sanshin is everywhere. Serious court music, folk music, etc. There are also a lot of pop and rock groups that use the sanshin in their music. Kina Shokichi's Champloose are probably the most famous. "Haisai ojisan" is a classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAwi4lfnavs also Begin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CHf59BcLds&t=1m28s and Soul Flower Mononoke Summit from mainland Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Vidbm8aLY One obstacle to learning to play sanshin is the traditional Okinawan notation system, kunkunshi, which is still used by basically all sanshin players, and looks like this:  It's pretty easy to pick up though, or you could just jam on it. If you are handy you can also make your own sanshin from a can or some other kind of container. Kankara ("empty can") sanshin were invented in the post-war years when Okinawans were very poor:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hwLJzZ95i0 Even if you want to play shamisen you should still get a sanshin. Here's a guy playing Tsugaru shamisen-style song on can-sanshin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgDV0lYI4RM I got my sanshin from eBay for about $300 a few years ago. Nowadays there are also some stores in Okinawa/Japan shipping internationally, I think.
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Aug 20, 2011 14:03
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sithael posted:anyone curious about a shaminsen-like instrument but doesn't want to spend tons of money, try a Sung Lisu / Subu (i guess, cant find alot of info on it) from Thailand. It's obviously a relative: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lisu-Tibet-Thai-Chinese-Tribal-Tradition-Music-Guitar-/190566790536?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5eaa7588 That looks really cool. I have to get one. Do you have an example of what it sounds like? And yeah, the sanshin has nylon strings and I think shamisens do also(?) The Chinese sanxian is also a pretty cool instrument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doehGHQMSwY
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Aug 22, 2011 21:58
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Longhouse posted:Oh hey, didn't know about that dulcimer. Cool stuff Cool, good luck! And post pics! If I could make one I am sure you can. There is a nice English-speaking sanshin forum, they have some threads about making kankara iirc: http://sanshin.freeforums.org/
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Sep 11, 2011 14:55
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And thanks for the advice. I don't know when I'll start this project, since I'll have to find everything I need for the kankara sanshin first. Also, it was ages since I did woodworking, but luckily, my sister is a professional violin maker, so I'll likely get some advice from her as well
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I love this thread. I want to mention my favourite accordion type, the Russian garmon or garmoshka.  This is a true Russian folk instrument, unlike the chromatic bayan. Unlike most diatonic button accordions, garmoshkas are unisonoric. A typical garmoshka has 25 buttons on either side, including three accidentals on the right side and chords as well as a row of free-bass notes on the left. Here's a guy playing a Russian folk song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn4pn6ybV1U And a garmonist with an awesome moustache and some extra contrabass balalaika action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqTL5PVYB3c Singing and playing accordions was mentioned a few pages back, garmoshka are good for that too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5PRcWfuq8 Actually the only reason I play garmoshka is because I found one in my parents' attic. I have been having a lot of fun with it for almost a year now, but it's pretty out of tune and also annoyingly, a reduced variant with only 23x12 keys. Right now I am wondering if I should try to find a standard garmoshka in good condition to upgrade, or move on to some other button accordion. Also — "Garmon" is also used to refer to other types of accordions played in the ex-USSR, like the Caucasian garmon which actually has piano keys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZQXVyxUfP0 desert diver fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 19:55
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:One man's opinion, but if you're familiar with the garmoshka unisonoric system, I'd be tempted to just roll with that rather than learn a new kind of accordion. Unless you're living in the Slavic world currently, it's a pretty uncommon instrument, so gives a certain hip cachet, and a very distinct playing style. When you mention other button accordions, did you mean moving up to a bayan, or chucking the whole Slavic thing and just getting some two-row diatonic/bisonoric instrument for Western folk? I mean getting some bisonoric diatonic accordion. I've been worried that learning a unisonoric system will set me back should I want to play a 'normal' DBA in the future. But I do really like it and the kind of music it's meant for, so perhaps I should stop worrying. As for a bigger garmoshka, yeah, I have been coveting the extra chromatics. But getting my current one tuned is a good idea, I will look into that.  Then there's Saratov garmons ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PYte6vIyLM I like the honest description in the wikipedia article: "Another curious feature is the addition of two bells on the top of the instrument which are struck with tiny metal hammers attached to the bass and chord buttons for rhythmic accompaniment. They add a fun accent on dance tunes. It is possible to play the basses very lightly and avoid activating the bells, as they become rather tiresome after a while. " desert diver fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jun 18, 2012 |
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Jun 18, 2012 14:22
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Speaking of free reeds: desert diver, you made me buy a thing online. drat you. Should get here from Volgograd sometime in late July.  What did you buy? And did you ever hear from that Russian Tula website?I am working abroad for the summer and had to leave all of my weird instruments at home. I am missing my garmoshka particularily much right now, I think I will go buy a toy accordion or something to ease the pain. edit: OhYeah, that is awesome. I love baroque instruments, one day I want to try a theorbo:  Also I like bluegrass and all, but baroque mandolin is where it's at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPIZbBH-FNY desert diver fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Jun 27, 2012 |
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Jun 27, 2012 01:30
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:This is all desert diver's fault  How do you like it so far? If you write more about it for another site, please post the link, I am garmon-obsessed.Meanwhile I have been playing with this I borrowed from a friend's daughter  I followed your instructions for taping over half the reeds, it was really simple, and the instrument sounds pretty decent now. Fun.
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Jul 14, 2012 12:00
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Sans pants, if you are in Japan you need to get a sanshin! I don't know how widely available sanshins are outside of Okinawa but it is a lot of fun. I think we've had them before in this thread. I learned to play one very easily with only a little background of playing guitar. Maybe not the best to learn to read music, since sanshin players usually use a special tablature system. But a great instrument otherwise.
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Jul 16, 2012 22:48
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That's impressive, Nuggan. My own collection of weird instruments looks more modest: Russian garmon, Okinawan sanshin. I do have more in storage at my parents' house, including an oud, bowlback mandolin, anglo concertina, toy accordion, djembe and various harmonicas and keyboards. And now I really need to get an electric reed organ ...
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Oct 5, 2012 13:49
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SecretSquirrel posted:balalaika chat I am in a similar situation, for months an old balalaika has been sitting untouched in a thrift store I visit regularily. I have never been a huge balalaika fan, despite my obsession with Russian music, so I have resisted buying it, but your post might put me over the edge ... what do you do for strings, can you use guitar strings on it?
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Oct 22, 2012 13:33
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TapTheForwardAssist, from where did you buy your garmoshka again? I am in Sweden for the next few months and since Russia isn't that far, maybe I should order a full-size garmoshka finally. Also my small one seems to be getting worse and worse out of tune, so even as I get slightly better at playing it I still sound terrible. 
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Mar 12, 2013 17:59
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Morvus, congratulations on your garmon If you need, this is apprently the button layout for a 15x8: 'верх' is top and 'низ' is bottom, and the blue notes are the chords, I think. (It might not fit though, my small size garmon turned out to have a completely different layout to anything I found online.) Also this thread on a Russian forum has a bunch of neat videos of people playing kids' garmons. Feel free to ask me if you need any garmon-specific info, I am obsessed with this stuff. Great to have more melodeon posts in this thread too, thanks TTAF! The video with the bodhran is just great. I think I will go watch endless melodeon videos on youtube now instead of writing my thesis.
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Apr 12, 2013 13:28
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I've never tried shamisen, but I used to have a sanshin and found it rather easy to get the hang of it, and a lot of fun.
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Jul 8, 2013 13:47
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Too bad about that garmon. I have a similar one but even smaller, a "Notka", it's definitely cheap, but a lot of fun. This summer I finally realised my dream of owning a full-size garmohska, a relative of mine stumbled upon an old Tula in an antiques shop in Lithuania and bought it for me. It's not in perfect condition — there's a one note that sometimes sounds without my pressing any buttons, otherwise alright. I tried to get a local accordion repair guy to take a look at it but he apparenty thought it was too exotic. I am a terrible accordion player anyway, doesn't matter much. This reminds me to play garmon more. I've recently become enamored with a mandolin which takes up all my time.
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Nov 20, 2014 20:10
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