The Difference between Minyo shamisen and Tsugaru shamisen (Sorry, talking-only!)

In July 2021, Bachido released the Starling, our very first high end minyo shamisen! With Bachido’s high end shamisen primarily consisting of tsugaru shamisen, this is a great step in expanding the accessibility for all types of shamisen.  Shortly after the release, some folks asked what’s the difference between a “minyo“ shamisen and a “tsugaru“ shamisen. As an instrument, very little. besides the minyo shamisen being slightly smaller, the two types will sounds very similar if the same skin, strings, koma and bachi was used. The minyo-specific tone (referring to the formal minyo style, not the broader folk music) is created when particular accessories are used. Alas, I don’t own these accessories, but I did manage to fill the video with my mouth movements instead! Note, misunderstandings can often occur when referring to the instruments as “minyo shamisen“, “tsugaru shamisen“ and such, as the combination of referring to both a style and instrument is like referring to a guitar as a “blues guitar“ or “jazz