Shamisen tuner – Honchoshi (C-F-C)
C-F-C · Standard
Also known as 本調子
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your Shamisen is to Honchoshi (C-F-C) tuning (C-F-C). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About Honchoshi (C-F-C) tuning
Honchoshi (C-F-C) is the reference tuning for the Shamisen – the pitch the instrument normally ships at, and the starting point every other tuning on this page is measured from.
Played open, the strings sound C-F-C – from C3 at the bottom to C4 at the top, a span of 1 octave. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a fifth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Strummed open, the strings spell F5 – root and fifth with no third, so the tuning stays neutral between major and minor.
Honchoshi – "basic tuning" – sets the shamisen's three strings to root, fourth and octave. It is the starting point from which the two other common tunings are made: raise the middle string a tone for niagari, lower the top string a tone for sansagari.
The pitch of the lowest string is not fixed. It is chosen to suit the singer or the ensemble, so C here is only a reference. The thick first string also buzzes deliberately against the neck (the sawari), which gives the note a noisy halo; let the tone settle for a moment before reading the tuner.
History
Shamisen
The shamisen arrived in Japan in the 16th century from the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), whose sanshin descends from the Chinese sanxian. It came ashore at the port of Sakai near Osaka around the 1560s, and Japanese biwa players adapted it: they replaced the snakeskin with cat or dog skin and played it with the large bachi plectrum used on the biwa.
In the Edo period the shamisen became the voice of kabuki, of the bunraku puppet theatre and of the songs of the pleasure quarters. In the north, the blind musician Nitabō (1857–1928) is credited with the powerful, percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style, which the Yoshida Brothers and others brought to a world audience in the 2000s.
Where the Honchoshi (C-F-C) tuning comes from
Honchōshi, the “basic tuning”, sets the strings a fourth and a fifth apart. It is the foundation of shamisen music since the Edo period; the pitch is relative, set to suit the singer.
Other Shamisen tunings
Standard
How do I tune my Shamisen to Honchoshi (C-F-C)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (C-F-C).
Which notes are used in Honchoshi (C-F-C) tuning?
Honchoshi (C-F-C) tuning for Shamisen uses the notes C-F-C, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.