A bunkafu number does not name a note; it tells you where to press. Which note (do-re-mi) it gives depends on the string and the tuning (honchōshi, niagari, sansagari). On the first string, for example, 0 = C (do), 2 = D (re), ♯ = E (mi), 4 = F (fa), 6 = G (sol), 8 = A (la), ♭ = B (ti) and 10 = C an octave higher. A distinctive point of bunkafu is that, on the first string, mi and ti are written with the ♯ and ♭ marks rather than with numbers.
Basic correspondence between bunkafu numbers and note names
The pitch of the second and third strings is set relative to the first string. Here everything is shown for "yonhon" (4-hon), where the first string is C. The first string reads the same in every tuning.
- 0 = C (open string), 1 = C♯, 2 = D, 3 = D♯
- ♯ = E (a half-step position)
- 4 = F, 5 = F♯, 6 = G, 7 = G♯, 8 = A, 9 = A♯
- ♭ = B (a half-step position)
- 10 = C (octave up)
The numbers rise by half steps, but the position for E is the mark "♯" between 3 and 4, and the position for B is the mark "♭" between 9 and 10. Number 4 is F, not E (it is five half steps above the open first string), so do not remember it as "4 = E". A small ♯ at the upper right of a number (raise that note by a half step) is a different thing from the ♯ position.
How the note names change with string and tuning
The same number gives a different note on a different string, because each open string has a different pitch. The open strings (4-hon) are:
- Honchōshi: first = C, second = F, third = C (an octave above the first)
- Niagari: first = C, second = G, third = C
- Sansagari: first = C, second = F, third = A♯
The table shows the note for each position. The first string is the same in every tuning, the second string differs between honchōshi and niagari, and the third string differs only in sansagari (in honchōshi and niagari the third string reads like the first string, an octave higher). The second string in sansagari is the same as in honchōshi (tuned to F). Notes are written with sharps.
| Position | 1st string | 2nd (honchōshi) | 2nd (niagari) | 3rd (sansagari) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (open) | C | F | G | A♯ |
| 1 | C♯ | F♯ | G♯ | B |
| 2 | D | G | A | C |
| 3 | D♯ | G♯ | A♯ | C♯ |
| ♯ | E | A | B | D |
| 4 | F | A♯ | C | D♯ |
| 5 | F♯ | B | C♯ | E |
| 6 | G | C | D | F |
| 7 | G♯ | C♯ | D♯ | F♯ |
| 8 | A | D | E | G |
| 9 | A♯ | D♯ | F | G♯ |
| ♭ | B | E | F♯ | A |
| 10 | C (octave up) | F (octave up) | G (octave up) | A♯ (octave up) |
See the tuning guide for the tunings and the finger-position guide for the positions on each string.
What changes with honsuu (pitch key)
Changing the honsuu to suit a singer changes the sounding pitch but not the numbers written on the score. The table assumes 4-hon (first string = C); each step up in honsuu raises every note by a half step (in 5-hon the open first string is C♯). The link between honsuu and absolute pitch varies between schools and regions, so use the table as a guide for "first string tuned to C".
If you want to play by do-re-mi
- Keep reading the numbers, and use note names as a check. In bunkafu it is more natural to press the number and confirm the note you hear than to search for a position from a note name.
- In Shami's editor you can show note names (do-re-mi or CDEF) on the finger-position pad. The labels follow the string, tuning and honsuu, so you see the position and the note together.
- To play a staff-notation piece on the shamisen, staff notation to bunkafu can help.
The finger-position pad in Shami lets you sound a position and see its note name together. If numbers alone do not give you the pitch yet, check them on the pad as you learn.
Try the finger-position pad →