PS. Just FYI, I'm no weirdo. It is embarrassing to look at myself.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Sound of Okinawa (Kind of)
This is a clip of me playing the sanshin (a traditional Okinawa banjo like instrument). I'm just learning this song called "Ume no Kaori" loosely translated to - The Smell of Plum (Tree?). This is a famous Eisa song that traditionally only women dance to. You can see the real Eisa dance at the video bar located on this website on the right side of the screen. The videos rotate every few days but its the one where the guy has a purple bandana on with a light blue vest. You can see a megaphone in the center top portion of the screen. Anyways, I'm a little embarrased by posting this but I thought it would give people an impression of what the Ryukyu Shamisen or "Sanshin" sounds like and also what I sound like too. Be advised, this video is kinda long so it will take some time to get through the initial video buffering. And its important that you let the buffering process finish or else the video gets screwed up forever and you can't play the whole thing. I hope you enjoy it!
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6 comments:
Great. Our Dad used to say that the Bull clan was very musical, especially playing instruments. I think he said on of our great uncles was a great fiddle player. Our Mom's family were singers I think. This played out in the Peterson clan, where our cousin Linda was in a gospel band that did some recording, and our cousin Rita singing in her missionary work. Our folks pushed us hard to learn the piano for a year or two, but I think we considered it "sissy-stuff" at the time, and none of us followed it up. Steve and Sue played guitars for a while in Seattle, but that faded away. Nice to see someone involved in musical expression.
As to the dancing, I found it interesting. Some cultures go for sexual expression, some showing off, some war dancing, some aesthetic, and some more stylized versions with obscure messages for an outsider. The Eisa dancing on the street seemed stylized, but it makes one wonder what's the story behind this dance. The first third looks stylized, maybe about a Plum Tree, but the second third (with the big drums) looks like warlike gestures. The third part looked like celebration, like after a victory. Do you know any more about what the intended messages are?
Hi Mike. I did some quick searches about the origins of Eisa and found a brief but good description on wikipedia. Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisa_(dance)
I'm looking forward to this July when the Eisa Dancers hit the streets full speed ahead. I would like to join a group if I can find one that excepts someone my age. They traditionally have groups with men and women from the ages of 16 to 24.
Blogging in itself can feel so immodest in the first place, at least for me. I've really got to hand it to you for recording yourself and posting your video. After hearing about you playing it's a treat to see and hear you. Makes you feel a lot closer too!
I find blogging after a glass of wine helps me not feel so self conscious about it. Thanks for sharing!
Julia
BRAVO!! You must have been practicing, you look so accomplished. I can hardly imagine singing and playing at the same time. Maybe that's because I was a trumpet player. Thanks Ken, I enjoyed that a lot.
Deb
Ken, you sound sound great! I'm glad you have a blog. I enjoy reading about your life in Japan. Take care
Thanks for all the comments. Mercy, I'm so happy to hear that you are reading my blog! I wish I could see you and Adrian for his upcoming wedding... That's really a big dissappointment for me not being able to make it. In any case, I happy to hear from you always.
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