IMFORMATION ABOUT SHAMISEN
The shamisen or sangen in a three-stringed banjo-like lute.
The instrument is made of four boards of Chinese quince or oak, through which a stick made of red sandalwood or Indian redwood is inserted. The skin covering both sides of the body is usually cat skin, but dog skin is used as well. Three strings of different thicknesses are strung between pegs and the lower end of the stick at the center of the lower board of the body.
The sounds produced by the right hand plectrum
together with left hand techniques of plucking stopping and sliding
give a wide variety of timbre to the shamisen.