In my last two posts Learning Something New and Finding the Time vs Making the Time I discussed why we should be happy about the time it will take to learn something new. I also mentioned that I would be starting to learn the Sanshin. A traditional three-stringed guitar like instrument of Okinawa.

I had my first lesson last Thursday which consisted of learning the chords, learning to read the notes (all in Japanese of course) and learning how to hold and generally play the instrument. I also chose a song to practice (the one in the video above). So I am playing like a pro now right. Um, not exactly. The first several hours were fun, but also extremely frustrating. I knew what I wanted my hands to do, but they were just to clumsy to hit the tiny strings. This was further complicated by a large piece you partially put over your finger as a pick. Which I gripped too tightly and ended up with pain and dark red line on my finger.

However, I have been practicing for an hour to two hours a day and I am starting to be able to hit the chords and can play the basic melody of the song. I still miss a lot of chords and haven’t quite remembered all the notes, but it is getting easier. Not to mention funner and funner. The key is to just keep pushing forward even though it doesn’t feel like you are making progress. Your body and your mind are learning. Each time I would put down the sanshin and come back to it, it got a little bit easier.

The hardest part will come when I try to both play the sanshin and sing he song. The song is a traditional Miyakojima song and native Miyakojima language is so different from standard Japanese that I can’t recognize barely any of the words. Basically I am just remembering sounds.

I will post with updates on my progress and once I feel a little more confident, will create a video and post it on youtube. In the meantime, here is another video of some Okinawan music and the sanshin. This is one of my favorite Okinawan songs called Shimanchu Nu Takara by a group called Begin. The title translates as “The Island People’s Treasure”.

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