Hanagasa Ondo

Upbeat Obon dance song for shamisen.

This is what you’ll get:

  • 2 pdfs with 2 pages total: tabulature notation in two versions (see details)
  • 6 mp3 files: mp3 play along files in two variations in three speed versions each

Song specifications:

  • beginner to advanced beginner level
  • honchōshi tuning (C-F-C)
  • hazunde (shuffle) rhythm

2,95 

Details

Get the notation for the popular Obon song Hanagasa Ondo plus super useful play along files to help you learn and practice the song!

The notation comes in two different versions: the normal version with ornamentations, and the basic version without tricky adornments. The basic version sounds absolutely “complete”, too. But if you want to challenge yourself, try adding in the little extras from the normal version.

The mp3 play along files come in three different speed versions for both variants: 70 bpm, 90 bpm, and 105 bpm.

You can download the files from your customer account page after the purchase – a link will be provided in the order confirmation e-mail.

 

Wanna have a short listen to see if you like the tune? Here’s the beginning of Hanagasa Ondo:

 

About the song:

Hanagasa Ondo is a fun and popular traditional Japanese dance song from Yamagata Prefecture. It has a very catchy melody and a groove you want to move your body to. “Hanagasa” means “Flower Hat” – the dancers use straw hats adorned with red flowers for the accompanying dance. The choreography is a bit more complex than other Obon songs (such as Tokyo Ondo, Tanko Bushi) but great fun with the flower hats. There are little bells attached to the backside of those flower hats that jingle along when dancing.

As every folk song, it comes in countless variations. This version is written out for shamisen in bunkafu (tabulature) notation. I made a basic version because the little ornamentations that are in the normal version sound really cute but are really just a side note that sometimes make people get stuck. So I recommend nailing the basic version first and then adding in the ornamentations (not necessarily all of them. You can also add some extra if they’re not enough!)

What makes the song extra catchy is the special rhythm “hazunde”. You might know it as “swing” or “shuffle” rhythm. I like to call it heartbeat-rhythm as it alternates between long and short pulses. If you have never heard of “hazunde” before, I recommend checking out my explainer video 🙂

There’s lots of upstrokes (sukui), but they’re slow and easy to do. There’s no pull-offs (hajiki) in the basic version, but in the normal version – often directly following an upstroke (sukui).

 

 

A General Note on Tuning:

In every tuning, the strings are tuned in a certain relation to each other. For folk songs, there’s no fixed rigid tuning to a definite pitch (in contrast, the A-string on the violin is always tuned to 440 or 442hz) but what’s most important is how the strings are tuned in relation to each other.

A good rule of thumb is to tune your instrument over the base of C. This means, the big string will be tuned to C and the other strings according to the tuning of the song:

Honchōshi: C-F-C

Niagari: C-G-C

Sansagari: C-F-Bb

 

Access to the pdf and mp3:

Please note that this item is downloadable once only – just as receiving a physical copy of the scores would be. Consider it a “direct delivery” 🙂

After the purchase, you can download the file from your account page under “downloads” or via the link in your order confirmation email.

Make sure you save your file in an easy to locate directory. Please don’t hesitate to contact us via email if you need further assistance.