Otamatone

Mikawa Ossan

Mikawa Ossan

いかんわ！
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My nephew wants an Otamatone for his birthday. He loves this thing! Have any of you heard of this before? What do you think?

otamatone.jp

Otamatone | 明和電機による電子楽器「オタマトーン」

音符の形をした電子楽器オタマトーンの公式ウェブサイトです。明和電機によるシッポスイッチを押すだけでカンタンに音が出せる楽器です。
otamatone.jp otamatone.jp

 
We had this or something like this. For my kids it was just a novelty that got played with a day or two and never came back out. I think for us it was more of a noise maker than a music maker.
 
Note that in the video they are playing that thing left-handed.

For someone used to playing guitar/violin/shamisen/etc, the hand that moves along the neck to get different notes is (almost) always the left hand--while the right is used to pluck, handle a bow, and so on. This is right-handed playing, I guess since it's the right hand's actions that drive or cause the strings to play.

For left-handed guitar players, the instrument (and strings) are flipped to the other side--the right hand is fretting notes, and it's the left hand that is plucking/playing notes.
 
I was tempted to get one after hearing Thunderstruck on it for the first time, but then I watched more videos and realized the 9.7 times out of 10 it was just kind of obnoxious haha


I already have too many instruments that I play poorly and neglect.
 
I've decided to get it for my nephew. He can take it on the plane in a couple of months to Taiwan and impress all the fellow travelers with his rendition of Thunderstruck. That was a pretty amazing video.

Here's another one. Apparently the Otamaphone has been around for at least a couple of years already. I don't understand what they're saying, but this guy is pretty good.

 
They probably won't mind too much; they're letting the kids fly solo for the first time this year. 🤭 Let's make it a flight to be remembered! LOL
 
I was always a fan of Spits.

 
Here's a pretty good introduction to the otamatone in English.

 
nice gaijin said:
Oh dang cherry is a go-to karaoke song for me. Maybe I don't have enough neglected instruments after all
Click to expand...
You know what? Now that I posted the link to that video, I can't get that song out of my head. Spits is clearly the winner!
 
The otamatone has arrived at my nephew's house. I think he gets to open it this weekend. It'll be interesting to see how long it will hold his attention.

In parting, if you like Every Little Thing, and you're a completist, please watch the following:
 
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