As I was sitting in Beppu’s Concert Hall not too many nights ago, I decided it was time to take my life in a new direction. Previously, sport and the pursuit of athletic glory had been central themes in my life, driving forces if you will. While I would not trade a second of the previous 22 years of my life on the field for anything, such pursuits have left my body, knees especially, in shall we say ‘less than optimum‘ condition. In short, while the competitive fire will forever smolder inside me, I can no longer sustain the physical requirements. Thusly, whilst blissfully reclining in an inundation of aural euphoria, I decided it was time to pursue more cultivated ventures. Conveniently enough, one might suggest that I am currently residing in the land of ‘more cultivated ventures.‘
What to do? “Well, why not try my hand in a traditional Japanese art at the foot of a master?” I flippantly proposed to no one in particular. After some contemplation I decided my new-found paradigm shift would best be served by securing an apprenticeship in a classical Japanese instrument. After some background research, I chose the shamisen. For most people, such musings would have never matured any further than that, ‘yes, it would be neat to study the shamisen, wouldn’t it?’ — and then we all have a good laugh and forget it. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I am not most people.
Acting upon the axiom (I’ve now used this word twice today!) that all musicians in a given geographical radius know each other, I asked Prof. Fellizar if he might inquire as to the shamisen-study-potentialities (I know this is not a word…) in Beppu. Sure enough, Saturday (yesterday) I received an email from his wife who just so happens to know somebody who knows somebody who gives shamisen lessons. You might need a piece of paper to keep up with this next part…
The friend of Prof. Fellizar’s wife is called Choki-san. Choki-san is a wizened old grandmother who teaches English to elementary and middle-school aged children in and around Beppu. Also, Choki-san is the one who knows of a shamisen-sensei. When Prof. Fellizar’s wife, Auntie Necta, mentioned making my acquaintance in passing to Choki-san and how much I enjoyed Japanese culture, she immediately wanted to meet me. I reached Choki-san by phone last night, and arranged to meet at just after 6pm tonight. After a brief introduction, and another one with her husband, Choki-san whisked me away to go in search of this as-yet-unmet shamisen teacher.
I should preface the next events with a bit about the need for a teacher. The shamisen, as you’ll know by now if you followed the aforeprovided link, is a three-stringed instrument lacking frets. Additionally, because it is a classical Japanese instrument, virtually no books, videos, etc. on how to play are available. You can’t just go down to Walmart and buy one, folks. Instead, one finds a willing sensei and apprentices, copying his(or her!) every move and technique, such is the method for passing on classical arts. SO, I needed a teacher, and Choki-san had heard of one.
After some searching (again, no small streets in Japan have names) we found the correct house and after much bowing and introductions, made our way inside. With Choki-san’s translation help I was able to keep up with the ensuing negotiations. Obviously the scope of my vocabulary is inadequate when discussing 1) business matters and 2) methods by which an instrument is to be played (for now at least…).
So, after 30 minutes or so of introductions, me stating my reasoning as to my desire to study shamisen, some question and answer, and a brief experience with the instrument itself, we finished. I am going to visit him once a week, every Wednesday afternoon, for just under an hour of lessons, for which I am paying a very reasonable 5000Y a month ($43). That alone is pretty awesome, but here’s where stuff just gets CRAZY…
The shamisen, like all other classical instruments, is hideously expensive. The cheapest versions command upwards of $1,500, and if you want one with cat skin, fuggedaboutit.. This prevents a problem for the beginning student, who may or may not eventually desire to undertake the study for the long term, and therefore does not wish to buy one immediately. The problem grows worse due to the fact that in lil ol’ Beppu there isn’t exactly a chain of Rent-a-Shamisens on every corner. Lastly, a student who cannot practice outside of class, is not going to be a very good student.
In recognizance of these realities, my new sensei performed an act of extreme kindness – and also an act that explicitly conveys his desire that I put my nose firmly to the grindstone – he is lending me one of his shamisen starting this Wednesday. I was, quite simply, agog. He further commanded that in order to protect the instrument, I was not to bring it to and from our lessons. Instead, it is only for practicing back at APU, and I shall play an alternate one when I come to study. And yet the craziness does not stop there folks!!!
After we finished the first meeting, Choki-san and I got back in the car and headed back to her house. Along the way Choki-san gave me a proposition that just annihilated any remaining semblance of un-agoggedness I still had. Simply, she requested that I teach her English for an hour every Wednesday *before* I visited my shamisen-sensei, and that if I did she would happily pay my shamisen lesson fees in their entirety. //me dies
To summarize – I have secured weekly lessons one-on-one with a professional shamisen musician who is kindly lending me a $2,000 instrument with which to practice, and for simply teaching English to a kindly old woman beforehand, the net cost to me is zero. Un-be-lievable.
Language is a currency, baby, and I am the BANK!
(One final note to my former Japanese teachers, Ikeda-sensei and Ujie-sensei – I promise I was *extremely* polite the entire time with both Choki-san and my new shamisen-sensei, and that I did *not* embarrass myself, or therefore by extension you!)