How to Choose your Bachi [in Detail]! (Patreon)

Since everyone's hand size is different, many of you might have wondered: "What kind size of Bachi should I choose?" or "Is the Bachi I use now best for me?” Hopefully, this post would answer your questions and relieve your anxiety!

If you have any questions about this post (or our English) please leave them below!!

The Points Ki&Ki Thinks Important on Choosing Bachi

① Thickness and Hardness of Tortoiseshell [Blade]

This is the part that directly affects the sound.

The thicker the tortoiseshell, the easier it is to produce loud sounds, but the more difficult it is to make delicate movements. The harder the tortoiseshell, the sharper the Bachi sound (the sound of the Bachi hitting the skin) and the stronger the timbre. The thinner and softer the tortoiseshell, the gentler the timbre and the easier it is to play quick notes.

The thickness and hardness of the tortoiseshell changes how much the tip of the Bachi flexes when it touches the string, which greatly affects the feel and timbre when you play. Threrefore, this is a very important point to pay attention to when you choose a Bachi.

② Weight of Bachi

When you produce a sound, it is ideal if you can strike the string and skin with the weight of your arm and the Bachi without putting any effort and produce a loud sound. Therefore, we do not recommend you to use something too light. However, each person has a different skeletal structure and muscle strength, so you would have to choose a Bachi that does not hurt your wrist/hand with its weight.

【Approximate Weight】Light: ~ 140 gMedium: 150 - 170 gHeavy: 180 g ~

③ Size of Bachi (Bachi Length and Blade Width)

Each person has a different hand size, so the size of the Bachi that fits comfortably in the hand will also differ. However, there are professional Shamisen players who have very large hands but use Bachi that are generally smaller in size.

In fact, depending on how you hold the Bachi, the same Bachi may feel smaller than it is; A and B show the same person holding the same Bachi, but the space between the hand and the backend of the Bachi changes by this much. Perhaps the size will be just right for you without having to change the Bachi. 

Therefore, please watch this video once again carefully to double check the correct way to hold a Bachi before you consider resizing!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-properly-46645334?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=postshare

The longer the blade width is, the wider the thumb spreads, which gives you the feel of holding the Bachi with the entire palm of your hand and creates a sense of stability. The shorter the blade width is, the more space there is between the Bachi and the palm of your hand, which gives you the advantage of increasing the flexible area so it is easier to relax.

If you feel uncomfortable with your tool, please try to look at the problem from various aspects and carefully consider the approach to solve it. If you are concerned about the size of your Bachi, since you can always adjust the size at a Bachi shop later, it might be better if you could buy a slightly bigger size.

In general, there is no prescribed size of Bachi, but for reference, here are what we think are the small (S), medium (M), and large (L) sizes .

【Bachi Length】

Short (S): ~ 17 cmMedium (M): 17 cmLong (L): 17 cm ~

【Blade Width】

Short (S): ~ 8 cmMedium (M): 8 - 9.5 cmWide (L): 9.5 cm ~

【FYI】HIKARI (Ki&Ki)Hand Length: 17 cmBachi Size: Bachi Length 17 cm / Blade Width: 7.8 cm / Weight: 175 g

KANAMI (Ki&Ki)Hand Length: 17.5 cmBachi Size: Bachi Length 17 cm / Blade Width 9.2 cm / Weight 165 gMale Shamisen Player (Ki&Ki’s friend)Hand Length: 18.5 cmBachi Size: Bachi Length 17 cm / Blade Width 10 cm / Weight 123 g

*Hand Length: measured from the tip of the middle finger to the crease under the palm