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In case its not obvious in the name, taiko is a percussion instrument and for many, the seemingly-simple act of beating a drum doesn't appear to be as difficult as something more precise in the brass or woodwind section. But that is the distinction in the Japanese performing art. For someone like me, getting the rhythm of the drumbeats down in time with pace-setter, in conjunction with the heavy amount of movement involved in taiko, it could, at times, be as frustrating as kyuudo could be for a beginner. (Below: An example of the basic taiko drum, a chuu-daiko. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / Oiwake2727).
We started as everyone else does, from the basics. Before we learned any beats or movements, we had to practice proper stance and rhythm for playing the taiko. The drums themselves are rather massive, dual-side about 3 foot in diameter and could weigh upwards of 100 pounds, often requiring two people to carry them due to their bulky size. Drums are traditionally
made from one tree, with a carpenter hollowing out the trunk, rather than using multiple pieces of wood. The skins are typically cowhide; the bigger the drum, the thicker the hide. And these skins were incredibly tough. We snapped more than a handful of bachi during our practices.
Fortunately, taiko instruction is significantly less rigid than the bow and arrow, and so while mistakes were frequent and consistent across the group, I always felt more laid-back at taiko. Perhaps because the sheer energy it takes to beat on a giant drum with two bachi, dowel rod-esque drumsticks about a foot in length and an inch in diameter. (Below: The drum circle from our first taiko lesson. Photo courtesy of Kelly Washatka).
When not in a coordinated performance, the proper stance for playing this type of drum is to stand at an angle to the drum, with your dominant foot forward. The drum should be at a length where the tip of the bachi would fall directly in the center sweet spot of the drum. Your legs should be spread beyond the shoulders, with your back leg stretched out with a slight bend in each knee. When actually playing, we were told to let gravity provide the force when striking the drum face, with little effort from our shoulders or forearms. This made playing look more fluid and our movements less static.
Due to a short time in the city, we only spent the first lesson and a half learning the basics and from there we moved on to learning introductory rhythms and movements. The first rhythm we learned was somewhat of the traditional first rhythm, nicknamed the "hamburger" rhythm. In this sequence, each "ingredient" represented a slightly different set of drumbeats with a variety of rhythms. It was a warm-up exercise to familiarize ourselves with changing rhythms within one beat. (Below: The hamburger rhythm. Each different sound represented a different type of drum strike. Photo courtesy of Kelly Washatka).
At times, I felt like I had two left hands as sometimes watching others, trying to match the beat, would actually cause me to go more off beat than I had been on my own. From there, though, the pace picked up as we added a further complication to taiko playing -- movement.
Our previous lessons had been in a drum circle as we learned basics and introductory rhythms. However, once you added movement, that's when taiko took its true place as a performing art. The particular set we were going to learn involved 10 drums arranged in a line, with the eight interior drums angled back to back and the two end drums serve to set the pace for everyone else.
In the spaces between drums, two people face one another and from there it becomes similar to a dance between you and the person across from you. The two have to time movements, such as bridging the gap and trading places all while keeping in time with the drum beat. Needless to say, the first time we tried the whole performance, it was quite a mess. Not only did you have to keep yourself coordinated, but a slight misstep could result in a collision between you and your partner.
In addition to the choreography between you and your partner, during the full performance, after each beat sequence, there was a jump and spin move that moved each person one drum down, giving you a new partner. Despite this seemingly never-ending complexity, when all the parts are put together, it is one of the coolest spectacles to see while in Japan.
After our brief stint as taiko students ended, we did put on a small performance of what we'd learned for our host families. This was followed by a performance from our senseis. Of all the instruments I'd learned or seen performed, taiko blows them all away in terms of the passion and fervor expressed. Instruments like the koto or the shamisen are a more reserved, serene art, whereas in taiko, there was the opportunity to go wild and put your all into striking the drum. You were dead tired afterwards, but it was the good tired, like after a long workout at the gym. (Below: The members of our taiko troupe. Our senseis are standing on either side of our group [in the blue and black shirts]. Photo courtesy of Kelly Washatka).
Next week will conclude my mini-series on Japanese instruments with the Japanese version of the flute, the art of yokobue.
Useful phrases in this week's post:
Wadaiko - わだいこ - 和太鼓
Meaning: A particular type of taiko drum. The most common variety.
Kumi-daiko - くみだいこ - 組太鼓
Meaning: Ensemble of taiko drums
Bachi - ばち - 撥
Meaning: Drumstick for taiko
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