Shamisen of Japan: The Definitive Guide to Tsugaru Shamisen

Kyle's book is about as adorable as he is. He writes as I imagine he talks, with frequent asides and footnotes. I frequently laughed out loud, and forced my husband to listen as I read passages out loud to him. But don't get me wrong, this book is not only filled with humor, but is chock full of any information that you could want to know about this beautiful instrument.Want to play tsugaru shamisen but don't have the budget? Kyle will show you how to build one yourself, using many, many photos, diagrams, and templates with exact measurements. Instructions are even included for making the small accessories, which are woefully expensive, should you have to buy them. By the way, if you play the other, smaller types of shamisen, this book is still relevant. Do not NOT buy it if you play the nagauta or jiuta because you think it doesn't apply to you. (I own a nagauta shamisen - and sorry for the double negative.) Buy it, it's covered in there! (Just not the measurements for building one.)After you build your shamisen, Kyle writes with charm, humor and EXTREME detail about how to play your beautiful new custom built instrument, and how to utilize the proper care with it. My favorite photo is the one of him playing his shamisen in the bathtub, and then advising against getting it wet. That was another laugh out loud moment (there are MANY). Sheet music for well known Japanese folk songs are included, along with instructions about how to read it (you don't need to know how to read music notation). He even covers the history of how tsugaru shamisen playing came about.This book is written with the enthusiasm of a teenager and no wonder, because I believe Kyle was about 18 when he started writing the book. If you are interested in the shamisen, his enthusiasm will carry over to you, since he draws you in so completely, and so thoroughly.But WAIT, there's more! If there is something you don't understand in the book, Kyle and Luke, his brother, run a website that offers video lessons at extremely reasonable rates! And the first two lessons are free, right there on the website, for anyone to learn. It took me about 3 days to get through the first two lessons, in about two hour increments. Had I paid a teacher to do that, I would have paid well in excess of a hundred dollars. After that, you pay by song or technique, still at extremely reasonable rates. These kids REALLY understand that not everyone has beaucoup bucks to spend on luxuries. They make the knowledge accessible to everyone for the simple fact that they love this instrument. There is also a worldwide shamisen community, located in the forum section of the website. Anytime I have asked a question there, I have literally received an answer within minutes. Today is my two week anniversary of playing the shamisen using Kyle's website and book, and I have already passed up my two friends who have been taking a class for nearly two months.Seriously, buy this book! Even if you don't play the shamisen, it will have you laughing your behind off! Well, not literally, oh how I wish that were true, but still, it's enjoyable from start to finish. And if you didn't want to play when you started, you will want to play when you're done, because Kyle's love for all things music literally emanates through the book into the reader. Buy it buy it buy it!

Perfect.

There is little I can add to Killashandra's review. I just want to add my KUDOS to this very valuable book. I have always loved the shamisen and now I can really get into it even without a teacher thanks to this book and Kyle's online teaching.

This covers everything the beginner and crafter need. The instructions are clear and there are several pictures to helpmake it even clearer.

This book was WAAAAY more "definitive" than I expected, and it's useful to learn (and make) your shamisen.I would have loved to have an audio version together with it, but it has the links to go to the correct resources.Also, I loved the silly jokes.

The best english book on Shamisen bar none. This book is a comprehensive guide. Not written to sell you into a series, but as a tool to guide you from beginning to end. Build guides, maintenance guides, music, basic technique etc. You can tell the author truly just wanted others to enjoy the Shamisen.

Perfect to get an overview of the basics of learning shamisen. Strongly suggest to combine this reading with the use of the website [...] as it completes a lot of information and answers a many of the questions you might have while reading the book.

Funny. Well written. Great for beginners and advanced students alike. Great detail. Use with Bachido.com website. Abbott is a wunderkind.