Kouta was mainly performed in a Japanese-style drawing room of the size of four and a half tatami (a Japanese floor mat), so the player naturally began to pluck with its fingers, instead of the plectrum that made the sound too big for the room.
演唱の場は主に、お座敷（4畳半）が多く、撥を使用すると音色が大き過ぎる為に自然と爪弾きとなった。