Changes

==Construction and Manner of Playing==

==Construction and Manner of Playing==

The neck, or ''sao'', of the instrument is normally made from a single solid piece of wood, [[lacquer]]ed black. The wood traditionally used is called ''kuruchi'' in [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], and ''kokutan'' in Japanese; the tree is a sort of ebony or persimmon.<ref>Scientific name ''Diospyros ferrea''.</ref> While sanshin continue to be made of this wood today, cheaper instruments made from other, lighter, woods are quite widely available.

The neck, or ''sao'', of the instrument is normally made from a single solid piece of wood, [[lacquer]]ed black. The wood traditionally used is called ''kuruchi'' in [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], and ''kokutan'' in Japanese; the tree is a sort of ebony or persimmon.<ref>Scientific name ''Diospyros ferrea''.</ref> Another type of wood, from the ''isunoki'' (''Distylium racemosum'') was also traditionally used.<ref name=museum>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.</ref> While many sanshin continue to be made of this wood today, cheaper instruments made from other, lighter, woods are now widely available.　The wood is typically selected from pieces laid out to dry for as much as three years. The rough shape of the instrument's neck is drawn on with a stencil, roughly carved out, and then more finely shaped with the use of rulers and gauges. Finally, lacquer is applied.

The sanshin is a non-fretted instrument, and thus finger placements with the left hand (the hand not holding the plectrum/pick) must be fairly precise to get the correct sound. The vast majority of songs use the top section of the neck, and can be played without the hand moving down the neck. A particular finger of the hand is meant to be used for each note; generally, the hand remains at the top of the neck, with the index finger handling the nearest fingering points, the middle finger further ones, and the pinky finger reaching down to the furthest ones. However, some songs make use of finger positions far down the neck of the instrument, to achieve particularly high notes. An Okinawan system of musical notation called ''[[kunkunshi]]'' is used when playing sanshin; it bears similarities to systems of notation used for traditional instruments in China and Japan, but bears no resemblance to standard Western staff notation.

The sanshin is a non-fretted instrument, and thus finger placements with the left hand (the hand not holding the plectrum/pick) must be fairly precise to get the correct sound. The vast majority of songs use the top section of the neck, and can be played without the hand moving down the neck. A particular finger of the hand is meant to be used for each note; generally, the hand remains at the top of the neck, with the index finger handling the nearest fingering points, the middle finger further ones, and the pinky finger reaching down to the furthest ones. However, some songs make use of finger positions far down the neck of the instrument, to achieve particularly high notes. An Okinawan system of musical notation called ''[[kunkunshi]]'' is used when playing sanshin; it bears similarities to systems of notation used for traditional instruments in China and Japan, but bears no resemblance to standard Western staff notation.

Three large tuning pegs, called ''karakuri'', are used to tighten or loosen the strings in order to tune the instrument. Though some modern variations on the instrument, known as "peg sanshin," use pegs which can be screwed in along a groove, like guitar pegs, traditionally, the ''karakuri'' are simply carefully carved so as to fit tightly into the holes in the top of the instrument (''tin''<ref>O: ''tin'', J: ''ten'', lit. "heaven"</ref>). The scale employed is fairly different from that of traditional Japanese music, and closely resembles that used in Indonesian gamelan. In the standard tuning, called ''honchôshi'', the three strings are most typically tuned to B-E-B, though variations exist. Two of the most common alternate tunings are ''niagi'', in which the middle string is raised up to a higher pitch, and ''sansagi'', in which the bottom, highest-pitched, string is lowered to a lower pitch.

Three large tuning pegs, called ''karakuri'', are used to tighten or loosen the strings in order to tune the instrument. Though some modern variations on the instrument, known as "peg sanshin," use pegs which can be screwed in along a groove, like guitar pegs, traditionally, the ''karakuri'' are simply carefully carved so as to fit tightly into the holes in the top of the instrument (''tin''<ref>O: ''tin'', J: ''ten'', lit. "heaven"</ref>). The scale employed is fairly different from that of traditional Japanese music, and closely resembles that used in Indonesian gamelan. In the standard tuning, called ''honchôshi'', the three strings are most typically tuned to B-E-B, though variations exist. Two of the most common alternate tunings are ''niagi'', in which the middle string is raised up to a higher pitch, and ''sansagi'', in which the bottom, highest-pitched, string is lowered to a lower pitch.

The body of the instrument is a rounded square wooden box, made of two sections of wood, and pierced through by the ''sao'', which extends a half-inch or so beyond the bottom of the instrument (''chii''<ref>O: ''chii'', J: ''chi'', lit. "earth"</ref>). Python skin is used for the skin of the body of the instrument, in contrast to the cat or dogskin used traditionally on Japanese shamisen. Though Okinawa is famous for the venomous ''[[habu]]'' snake, the ''habu'' is in fact too small for its skin to be used to make sanshin, and it is believed that the snakeskin for sanshin has always been imported from Southeast Asia. Though the pythons used to make sanshin skins today are not an endangered species, the difficulty of distinguishing one snakeskin from another makes transporting real-skin (J: ''hongawa'') sanshin internationally somewhat risky. However, cheaper sanshin with plastic skins are quite common today as well.

The body of the instrument is a rounded square wooden box, made of four sections of wood, and pierced through by the ''sao'', which extends a half-inch or so beyond the bottom of the instrument (''chii''<ref>O: ''chii'', J: ''chi'', lit. "earth"</ref>). There are number of different woods which are typically used for the body of the instrument, including ''inumaki'' (''Podocarpus macrophyllus''), mulberry, camphor (''kusunoki''), and ''iju'' (''Schima wallichii'').<ref name=museum/>

 

Python skin is used for the skin of the body of the instrument, in contrast to the cat or dogskin used traditionally on Japanese shamisen. Though Okinawa is famous for the venomous ''[[habu]]'' snake, the ''habu'' is in fact too small for its skin to be used to make sanshin, and it is believed that the snakeskin for sanshin has always been imported from Southeast Asia. Though the pythons used to make sanshin skins today are not an endangered species, the difficulty of distinguishing one snakeskin from another makes transporting real-skin (J: ''hongawa'') sanshin internationally somewhat risky. However, cheaper sanshin with plastic skins are quite common today as well.

The sanshin's strings are played with a small claw-like piece called a ''chimi''<ref>O: ''chimi'', J: ''tsume'', lit. "claw"</ref>, made of water buffalo horn, lacquered wood, ivory, or another material, which is fitted over the index finger and held in place with the thumb and other fingers. Rather than plucking or picking at the strings, as is done with certain other instruments, the sanshin ''chimi'' is simply passed through the strings, coming to rest on the next string as each string is played. The sanshin is a monophonic instrument, meaning it does not make extensive use of chords, but rather is played almost exclusively one note at a time.

The sanshin's strings are played with a small claw-like piece called a ''chimi''<ref>O: ''chimi'', J: ''tsume'', lit. "claw"</ref>, made of water buffalo horn, lacquered wood, ivory, or another material, which is fitted over the index finger and held in place with the thumb and other fingers. Rather than plucking or picking at the strings, as is done with certain other instruments, the sanshin ''chimi'' is simply passed through the strings, coming to rest on the next string as each string is played. The sanshin is a monophonic instrument, meaning it does not make extensive use of chords, but rather is played almost exclusively one note at a time.