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Music for the shamisen can be written in Western music notation, but is more often written in tablature notation. While tunings might be similar across genres, the way in which the nodes on the neck of the instrument (called tsubo (壷) in Japanese) are named is not. As a consequence, tablature for each genre is written differently.
Shamisen – a banjo-like lute with three strings; brought to Japan from China in the 16th century. Popular in Edo's pleasure districts, the shamisen is often used in kabuki theater. Made from red sandalwood and ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 metres (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 7 in) long, the shamisen has ivory pegs, strings made from twisted silk, and a belly ...
Traditionally, the sanshin was covered with the skin of the Burmese python, but today, due to CITES regulations, the skin of the reticulated python is also used. Python skin is used for the skin of the body of the instrument, in contrast to the cat or dogskin used traditionally on the shamisen.
The biwa (Japanese: 琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime during the Nara period (710–794).
The lute is used in a great variety of instrumental music from the Medieval to the late Baroque eras and was the most important instrument for secular music in the Renaissance. [3] During the Baroque music era, the lute was used as one of the instruments that played the basso continuo accompaniment parts.
[2] [3] Many of the "classic" nagauta repertoire was composed in the 19th century, which is the time of the best-known nagauta composers as well. Many pieces are based on Noh theater, partly due to the number of kabuki plays derived from Noh theater pieces, and many were revived during the 19th century. [ 1 ]
The koto (箏 or 琴) is a Japanese plucked half-tube zither instrument, and the national instrument of Japan. It is derived from the Chinese zheng and se, and similar to the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and ajaeng, the Vietnamese đàn tranh, the Sundanese kacapi and the Kazakh jetigen. [1]
Xianzi (弦子) - diminutive, either a dialect word and just the same as a normal sanxian, or a southern version with a shorter neck. [14] But in Tibet the Chinese word "xianzi" refers to a 2-string version of the Chinese sanxian. [15] Erxianzi (二弦子) - sanxian with two strings. [16] Pipa - 4 strings and pear shaped body. [17]