On Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 2:06 PM, Christopher Stetson <cstet...@smith.edu> wrote: > Just a thought -- on the shamisen proper, twang and rattle are pretty > much what you're going for.
It's called sawari ans is indeed what what you're going for. I quote from my own website: "The nut is made in such a way that the lowest string buzzes against the neck. Modern shamisen are sometimes fitted with a device to regulate this. This buzzing noise was probably introduced by the biwa players, who wanted to imitate the rattling sound of the low tension strings on their instruments. It is called sawari and is a means of expression in Japanese music. When playing the strings, the bachi also hits the top of the shamisen with considerable force, and this rhythmic whacking, together with the sawari, gives the shamisen its raw and uncultivated sound." David -- ******************************* David van Ooijen davidvanooi...@gmail.com www.davidvanooijen.nl ******************************* To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
