If you’ve spent any amount of time trekking through the snow-capped slopes of Ghost of Yotei, you’ve almost certainly caught a whiff of pine mixed with the soft, twangy notes of a shamisen drifting through the wind. Those aren’t just random background snippets, either. Collecting ghost of yotei all shamisen songs is one of the game’s most satisfying side activities, and it unlocks perks you won’t get from blazing through the main story alone. I’ve put over 45 hours into the game, and I missed three whole tracks on my first playthrough because I was rushing through quest markers. This guide covers everything you need to know to track them all down, no main story spoilers included.
What Makes Ghost of Yotei All Shamisen Songs Worth Collecting?
If you’ve been wondering if tracking down ghost of yotei all shamisen songs is worth the extra hours of exploration, the short answer is yes. The rewards go far beyond just having more music to listen to while you roam. Exclusive cosmetic rewards are the biggest draw for most completionists. Collect all 12 tracks, and you’ll unlock a custom carved tortoiseshell shamisen skin that changes the sound of your instrument slightly, giving it a deeper, warmer tone. It’s not available through any microtransactions or main story rewards, so it’s a great way to show off your exploration skills in photo mode.
Side quest unlocks are another huge plus. The wandering musician side quest line, which gives you a permanent 10% stamina buff for all climbing and running, only opens once you’ve collected at least 6 shamisen songs. That buff alone makes the first half of the collection worth the effort, especially if you hate running out of stamina halfway up a steep cliff. Atmosphere customization is a smaller but still fun perk. Once you unlock a song, you can play it at any campfire you rest at, replacing the default background music for as long as you’re in the area. It’s a small touch, but playing a soft lullaby while you cook meals before a big boss fight makes the whole experience feel far more personal.
On top of that, some specific songs unlock secret encounters if you play them in the right spot. For example, playing the summit shrine lullaby at the highest point of the mountain will summon a friendly mountain spirit who gives you a stack of rare frost-resistant crafting materials that are almost impossible to find anywhere else. You don’t have to be a completionist to get value out of these tracks, even casual players will benefit from grabbing the first 6 to unlock that stamina buff.
Core Shamisen Songs Unlocked Through Main Story Progression
Five of the 12 total shamisen songs are unlocked automatically as you work through the main story, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get them without paying attention. A lot of players skip post-cutscene conversations to get back to action, and that’s the most common reason people miss these easy tracks. You don’t have to complete extra side content to get these 5 tracks, but you do have to stop and talk to the old shamisen player NPC that appears in every major village after you clear its main story quest.
The first song unlocks right after you save the southern farming village from the ice bandit raid. The old musician will be sitting on a crate near the village well, and he’ll teach you the farming village work song as a thank you for your help. The second unlocks after you defeat the first major boss at the ice fortress, the third after you find the missing herbalist in the pine forest, the fourth after you clear the hot spring resort of frozen spirits, and the fifth right before the final boss fight at the mountain summit.
If you’re already halfway through the game and notice you’re missing one of these core tracks, don’t panic. You can backtrack to any of the cleared villages at any time, and the musician will still be there waiting to teach you the song. Just look for the small shamisen icon over his head on your map, and you’ll find him in a couple of minutes at most.
Hidden Shamisen Song Locations You Might Have Missed
The remaining 7 shamisen songs are hidden across the open world, tucked in spots most players only pass through once during main story quests, so it’s easy to overlook them. Most of the hidden tracks tied to ghost of yotei all shamisen songs require a small side task to unlock, none of which take more than 10 minutes to complete if you know where to look. Here are the locations of the five most commonly missed hidden tracks:
- Frost Pine Forest Tune: Found in the abandoned hunter’s cabin halfway up the western slope, tucked in a locked chest under the floorboards. You’ll need the basic lockpick you get from the thief side quest in the southern village to open it, no advanced lockpicking skill required.
- Summit Shrine Lullaby: Taught by a ghost child that appears near the highest shrine on Yotei’s peak, but only between 2am and 4am in-game time when there’s no active blizzard. Talk to her three times, and she’ll teach you the full song before disappearing.
- Bandit Camp Work Song: Hidden in the back of the leader’s tent in the northern ice bandit stronghold. You can either sneak in and steal the song scroll while the guards are distracted, or defeat all the bandits in the camp and take it as loot from the leader’s body.
- Hot Spring Melody: The old woman running the hidden eastern hot spring will teach you this song if you bring her three servings of wild berry tea. You can craft the tea from berries that grow along the southern river bank, no rare ingredients needed.
- Abandoned Village Ballad: Found on a broken shamisen left in the remains of the burned village in the southern valley. When you approach the shamisen, you’ll hear three short notes, play those notes back in order on your own instrument, and you’ll unlock the full track.
The final two hidden songs unlock through small side quests: one from the fisherman in the eastern fishing village who asks you to retrieve his stolen shamisen from a group of river spirits, and the other from the lost samurai ghost who asks you to play a song at his grave to help him pass on. None of these hidden songs are missable, you can go back and collect them even after you finish the entire main story, so don’t stress if you’re near the end of the game and haven’t started looking for them yet.
Tips for Playing Shamisen Songs to Earn Max Rewards
Once you’ve unlocked ghost of yotei all shamisen songs, you’ll have access to a wide range of small quality of life perks that make exploring the mountain far more enjoyable. But you don’t just have to listen to them—playing them correctly in the right spots will earn you extra rewards you won’t get anywhere else. The rhythm minigame for playing songs is pretty forgiving on normal mode, but hitting 90% or more of the notes on hard mode gives you double the usual reward, whether that’s extra gold, crafting materials, or friendship points with nearby NPCs.
Every NPC in the game has a favorite shamisen song, and playing that song for them will get you a small gift. For example, playing the fishing village shanty for the old fisherman at the eastern dock will get you a free golden fishing rod that never breaks, which saves you a ton of money on replacement rods over the course of the game. You don’t have to memorize every NPC’s favorite song, either—if you stand near an NPC and open your shamisen menu, their favorite track will be marked with a small heart icon.
One trick I didn’t discover until my second playthrough is that you can play shamisen songs while you’re mounted on your horse. Playing any upbeat track while you’re riding will give you a temporary 15% speed boost that lasts for 10 minutes, which is a game changer when you’re traveling across the mountain from one quest marker to another. You don’t have to hit all the notes to get the speed boost, either—just playing the song at all will trigger the buff, even if you miss every note.
The only thing to watch out for is playing loud, upbeat songs near the frozen spirit enemies scattered across the mountain. Those spirits are drawn to loud noise, and playing the wrong song near a group of them will trigger a fight you might not be prepared for. Stick to soft, slow songs if you’re exploring areas with a lot of spirit activity, and you’ll avoid unwanted fights.
Whether you’re a completionist trying to 100% the game or just someone who loves the game’s atmospheric soundtrack, tracking down ghost of yotei all shamisen songs is a side activity that’s well worth your time. You don’t have to rush through collecting them, either—wandering the mountain and stumbling on a hidden track while you’re exploring other content is half the fun. If you’re still missing one after going through this guide, double check the abandoned cabins and high-altitude shrines first, those are the spots most players overlook. Once you have all of them, you’ll have a permanent way to customize your playthrough and unlock some of the game’s most unique rewards.