The Satsuma
Biwa
The information about the satsuma biwa is divided into
three chapters. The first chapter is an introduction about
the Japanese biwa in general, written by the well-known
Japanese musicologist Toshiro Kido. The second chapter
explains about the instrument satsuma biwa. The third
chapter is about the tradition of story telling in biwa
music. To go to a chapter click the corresponding link in
the sidebar.
For in-depth information about the satsuma-biwa, you may
visit the website Biwa Vocab -
satsuma-biwa sound information system created
by Junko Ueda.
CD: Satsuma-Biwa
(ARN64577):
the recent solo CD by
Junko Ueda performing traditional biwa music as well as a
modern-style composition by Toru Takemitsu.
The
Biwa Vocab is a vocabulary
catalogue of the satsuma-biwa. Here you can find
information about various playing techniques, about the
notation and tuning system, the instrument as well as
its history. Also, the
Biwa Vocab offers you a collection
of sound samples of the various playing styles in
mp3-format. The
Biwa Vocab has been created for
anyone interested in the satsuma-biwa. However,
especially composers, who interest to compose for the
satsuma-biwa and would like to know more about the
instrument, are invited to use this
Biwa Vocab.
JunkoUeda.com is
hosted by
Studio E