I have heard that keeping the koma set will actually damage it as the material can warp slightly due to the tension. The warped koma then has less contact with the skin and the shamisen doesn't sound as good. I haven't tested this or seen any warped koma yet, though.
Hmm... that would have to be some very, very tight elastic. :-P I used to keep mine in a regular case (before I was told about the convenience of lipstick boxes :-P ) and never noticed any warping issues. I imagine perhaps humidity could've affected the wood?
Hi, I love your informative videoes. How taut are the strings when you slide the koma in/out? Should they be loose, then put in koma, then tuned or are they as tight as directly after playing w/o loosening them? Thank you so much!
Glad you're enjoying the videos, Sascha! That's a great question. In short, there's no need to loosen the strings for sliding in/out the koma, it can be kept at the same tuning you are playing in. The main trick is to lift the strings with out hand before removing/inserting the koma with the other. That allows you to slide the koma without pressure from the strings. :-)
I have a synthetic tsugaru shamisen that will say guilty of leaving the koma in after playing from exhaustion (If it had a skin instead of synthetic no way I’d do that x3; have a habit of being a little over cautious after getting the shamisen) from leaving the koma in few times before my strings did snap after so many uses during tuning x3;
That last minute about keeping it under just the thick string is like a secret ancient technique bestowed upon this lazy guitarist
The lazy player is the efficient player! :-P
Great advice! 👍🏻
I have heard that keeping the koma set will actually damage it as the material can warp slightly due to the tension. The warped koma then has less contact with the skin and the shamisen doesn't sound as good. I haven't tested this or seen any warped koma yet, though.
Hmm... that would have to be some very, very tight elastic. :-P I used to keep mine in a regular case (before I was told about the convenience of lipstick boxes :-P ) and never noticed any warping issues. I imagine perhaps humidity could've affected the wood?
Hi, I love your informative videoes. How taut are the strings when you slide the koma in/out? Should they be loose, then put in koma, then tuned or are they as tight as directly after playing w/o loosening them? Thank you so much!
Glad you're enjoying the videos, Sascha! That's a great question. In short, there's no need to loosen the strings for sliding in/out the koma, it can be kept at the same tuning you are playing in. The main trick is to lift the strings with out hand before removing/inserting the koma with the other. That allows you to slide the koma without pressure from the strings. :-)
I have a synthetic tsugaru shamisen that will say guilty of leaving the koma in after playing from exhaustion
(If it had a skin instead of synthetic no way I’d do that x3; have a habit of being a little over cautious after getting the shamisen)
from leaving the koma in few times before my strings did snap after so many uses during tuning x3;