Last Post

My time has come to an end with the weekly Sangen (shamisen) blog postings. I started in late April of 2013. I was going to go one year but the final weeks in March and April of this year will be devoted to practicing Hana No Uta as we will be performing this piece in late April. Thus, there will not really be any news regarding my Sangen saga except for continuing to practice this song.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Many highs and lows with learning this instrument. First, based on my experience, it is a real handicap not to have a solid foundation in Western music (the general concepts and principles). I started with no knowledge whatsoever. In many cases, as the instructor tried to relate Japanese notation along with basic music terminology (like counting, rhythm, timing, upbeat, downbeat, rest, full note, half note, etc), I felt like I was learning three languages at the same time.

True, with no prior background, I could concentrate on Japanese notation and not worry about converting notes to Western notation in my head. But I have struggled not with the notation but with general music concepts of which I had no knowledge.

Second, the instructor is teaching me the same way past Sangen students have learned. Most of the pieces are concert pieces. That is, most of the music I have learned so far is to be played not as a solo but as accompaniment to the Koto and Shakuhachi.

I understand the reasoning behind this approach. However, I did not take up the Sangen to play with other instruments or to play before other people (outside of my immediate family). I wanted to learn the traditional Jiuta style of slow, melancholic, solo pieces that were played by Geishas as they entertained their guests. I wanted to entertain myself, not anyone else. Selfish? Perhaps. But this is what I desired when I began. This has been a huge disappointment.

As I continue with the Sangen in the future, I know I will have an opportunity to explore those types of pieces on my own. Why? Because when I retire, I will be moving out of state and thus will have little opportunity to continue lessons with my current instructor or anyone else. Sangen Masters are few and far between.

My disappointment is just as great with myself. After nearly a year playing, I have learned exactly four songs. When I say "learned," that is, I can read the sheet music and play it, after a fashion. I am not very good--even after a year and hundreds of hours of practice.

My instructor tells me that every person learns at their own pace. The Master is extremely patient and always encouraging. But frankly, my "pace" is just too darn slow. Too often I just don't get it. I want to get it, but I don't. I have kept this frustration mostly in check, but sometimes it overwhelms me.

On the upside, I love the instrument and the sound it makes WHEN I play it correctly, which, as mentioned above, is not very often. It is challenging and makes my old brain do things it is not used to doing. Practicing daily brings a peaceful consistency and normalcy to my life; Zen-like meditation, if you will.

The Sangen, along with the Koto, are the only musical instruments I have ever wanted to learn. And so, with continuing faith in the future, I will start learning the Koto in about a month.

I will not be giving up the Sangen, but learning the Koto concurrently. This will definitely slow me down on both instruments, but I like challenges. Will I do any better with the Koto? I doubt it. Those people blessed with musical abilities can usually transfer those to another instrument with ease. Those with limited musical talent (that's definitely me), often find other instruments just as challenging as the one they first learned on.

So why learn the Koto? Again, because of the sound it makes and the way it makes me feel inside when I hear it played. As I near retirement, I will have plenty of time to play the only instruments I truly love. Play them well? Probably not. But if we only did the things we excel in, we would soon grow bored and too self-content.

So, this is the end of the Sangen blog. I will begin a Koto blog soon. Look for it in the future and join me in the journey. But as for now, goodbye. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Shamisen Week 47 Lesson

Nothing much new happened during this week's lesson. I had practiced Hana No Uta diligently this week but found that I was not understanding completely the tempo changes. This is the first piece that I have practiced that has any real tempo changes to speak of.

The piece starts out at an 80 tempo for 56 measures; moves down to 66 for 24 measures; shoots up to 108 for 40 measures; then really hauls at 116 to the end (88 measures). One tempo is hard enough!!! Getting those changes right is a real challenge for me. More work on that is needed Big Time.

No lesson next week as the Master has a performance commitment. So we will be skipping Week 48 Lesson and going straight to Week 49 Lesson when it comes.

Shamisen Week 46 Lesson

Well, there wasn't one. I was involved in a personal move and so had to cancel my sangen lesson this week. However, I continued to practice the song Hana No Uta.

The song is 9 pages, 208 measures long. The longest song to date that I have studied.There are a few difficult measures that require speed; some measures that use an off beat (playing a note on the upbeat instead of the downbeat); and, of course, the ubiquitous troublesome transitions of 5, 7, 8 and Octave 1.

If I can ever master those particular positions I will be sitting pretty. As of now, I ain't sitting very well. Oh, well. Back to fingering the sao.

Shamisen Week 45 Lesson

The new song to learn is a modern piece written for the koto, bass koto, shakuhachi, and sangen. It is called Hana no uta or Song of Flowers. It is more difficult than Wakamizu as to beat. It is 2/4 time but with lots of measures with the note being played on the upbeat instead of the downbeat.

I still have not mastered counting when getting the rhythm and beat of the music I practice. With Wakamizu, there were no upbeats in the music. In this song, not only are there plenty of upbeats but it is a faster tempo with plenty of 7, 8 and Octave 1 transitions. Since I have not mastered the 7, 8, or Octave 1 positions, even after months with Wakamizu, this piece is a real challenge.

The Master chose this song (before I begin learning classical pieces) so that I can get better at counting and to be more consistent in finding the 7, 8, and Octave 1 positions. Need to work hard.

Shamisen Week 44 Lesson--I'm on to New Material

After 18 continuous weeks, 15 hours of instruction, and 70 hours of practice, I finally DO NOT master the song Wakamizu written by Michio Miyagi (circa 1661-1673). However, I do it well enough to move on to new material! Whew. I thought I would be playing that forever.

As you can tell from the above, I ain't no speed genius when it comes to musical accomplishment. It is slow going to the extreme. But I love the music. I love the sangen. I enjoy it so much that soon I will be learning the koto concurrently.

Playing Japanese music is like therapy for me. It helps me relax and concentrate at the same time. I find peace in the music where I do not in other aspects of my life. It is truly a calming, zen-like experience every time I take up the instrument. I had no idea playing music would have that effect on me. I'm sure this calming ability of playing a musical instrument is shared by many.

During our time with Wakamizu, I expressed an interest to the Master in also learning the koto. The master approved as the instruments complement each other and are often played together in many Japanese pieces. The timing of taking on the additional duty of learning the koto I have left to my instructor.

One blessing is that the Master could not find a suitable instrument for me and so has graciously allowed me to acquire one of her own kotos. It will need to be restrung and I will need to acquire some other necessary accessories. But soon the sangen will be joined with the koto. When that happens, I will start a separate koto blog of my first year experience learning to play that instrument.

My blog for the sangen will soon be coming to an end. I started learning the sangen in April of 2013. I said at the beginning of this journey that I would write the blog for one year. In only two months, my one-year anniversary will arrive. When that comes, I will bid farewell to this blog.

In the meantime, weekly updates are back since we are on new material with many challenges. I will be posting more information on the current song I am learning in the future.