sanshin surprise

Last weekend Sam and I went to the wedding of some friends from Bloomington. One half of the groom's family is from Okinawa, and they performed a dance and two songs at the reception. Since I play the sanshin (an Okinawan banjo-like instrument), I was eager to hear them play and maybe learn something from them.

They started up the first song, and I knew it. It was one of my favorites that I know how to play. When they were warming up for the second song, I recognized it too. It's my second favorite song I know how to play. Incredulous, I mentioned this to the people I was sitting with, and suddenly, I was being pushed up front to play with them. And I did.

I messed up a few times because the version was slightly different than the one I knew, but for the most part it was easy to play. And because the Japanese are so good at flattery, everyone complimented me extensively on my great skill. I don't know about that, but I did get some contact information about a group that plays sanshin in Chicago, so maybe some weekend when I don't have Ultimate, I'll go up and learn some new songs.