TGIF, Part 14 (taiko drills)

Well, I hope you had dreams of don tsu ku last week! If you didn't, well, there's still hope:

Focus: Balance, Tempo
Watch for:
1. Make friends with your metronome for this one, and don't give up! All friendships take persistence at times. Be sure that each of these parts is on beat.

Okay, reviewing the pattern briefly from last week. Red means Right, Black means Left, and bold means emphasize! We'll call this "Pattern 1".

1 2 3 4 don tsu ku (x7) don don don tsu ku (x7) don don

Follow Pattern 1 with "Pattern 2" (another old favorite).

1	2	3	4
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko
don		don
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko
don		don

Make note of whether or not your weak hand is producing the same sound as your strong hand. This might mean volume, but it might also mean tone. If the tones are different it could simply be due to your drum's construction, but check your form to be sure this isn't the culprit.

In addition, another common problem with do ko is a slow weak hand. Don't let your left hand get behind (if you're a righty). When the left hand is the lead hand for do ko, check to make sure you are on beat.

Alright! You know what to do from here.

If you're such a taiko fanatic that you don't want a break next week, then do this one for 2 weeks, it deserves the extra attention.

REMEMBER: No drill next week, but I'll see you in the new year!

Extension:

Last week's extension focused partly on the dynamics of don tsu ku:

don tsu ku don tsu ku don tsu ku don tsu ku

Dynamics can make a piece portray feeling, capture your audience, and simply make it more interesting. Any basic rhythm can be made more complicated. See what you can come up with to challenge yourself with doko doko. Here's an example:

1	2	3	4
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko
do	ko	do	ko

don		don

Be creative and have some fun!

TGIF, Part 13 (taiko drills)

Hi there!

The time has come for the taiko staple rhythm. You all know it. We all play it. Let's practice and refine it: Don tsu ku!

Focus: Balance, Tempo
Watch for:
1. Pay attention to the tempo when starting with the right hand compared to starting with the left. Is one hand on beat with your metronome and the other not? If there's an imbalance, be sure to practice twice as much with the hand that's having trouble.
2. Watch your wrists! Make sure that they stay relaxed, but don't break the angle. Check out the videos to see what it should look like when the angle between your bachi and the drum is kept consistent.

You're here because you play taiko, so probably you already know how to play Don tsu ku, but bear with my assumption of ignorance here so I can make sure we're all on the same page.

Don tsu ku is a basic rhythm that's very common in taiko songs. The first two beats are played with the Right hand and the third is played by the Left:

RRL, RRL, RRL...

Now, let's talk about rhythm. If you're playing RLRL on an even down beat (1234) and simply skip beat 2, then you've got Don tsu ku:

1	2	3	4
don	(su)	tsu	ku

Now, let's play the drill! Start with your Right hand. The final two beats are emphasized and both are played with the Right hand.

1	2	3	4
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don		tsu	ku
don(R)		don(R)

By finishing up with the Right hand, this allows you to start the drill again at the beginning with the Left hand. Now we just loop it--15 minutes with your metronome, once a day. If you need more practice with a particular hand, just play the line twice with that hand before switching.

Check out the videos for form:

This first one is slow only.



This one starts slow, repeats at a faster pace, and repeats one more time (almost:)



Extension:

1. Don tsu ku is a very important rhythm in taiko, something to be practiced daily. The 3 hits should each be played at a different volume: don is the loudest, tsu is the quietest, ku is in the middle and leads into the following don:

don tsu ku don tsu ku don tsu ku don tsu ku

2. Remember that "tsu" is not accomplished by simply dropping the bachi to the head of the drum. "Tsu" is a very intentional, controlled hit. Really engage the 3 fingers under the bachi to snap into the drum.

3. Divide the drum into 3rds again. Play don tsu ku at the 1/3 marks and the final don don is played in the center.

Happy Weekend!
O tsukare sama deshita!

TGIF, Part 12 (taiko drills)

Happy December!

My personal lessons recently all seem to focus on my left arm/shoulder (katsugi and chan chiki), so I've been spending my time at home keeping my sense of balance. So, that's where today's drill is coming from.

Focus: Balance, Timing
Watch for:
1. Pay attention to your timing with this drill. If the tempo you're working with is too fast, be sure to back up a bit until you're ready to increase speed.
2. Don't mistake imbalance in volume for a timing issue. When one hand is hitting at a weaker volume than the other, you may suspect the timing to be off. Both of these points are important, so take the time to understand what's going on.

The pattern is a slow 8-beat line that we'll divide 3 ways:

Line 1: Play on each down beat. (quarter notes)
Line 2: Play on the upbeat and downbeat. (eighth notes)
Line 3: Play 4 hits for each down beat (16th notes)

Let's think of Line 1 as the base beat. Ideally, for anything you're playing, you should be able to say the rhythms while playing the base beat and vice versa. As discussed in Part 2, the base beat and the song you're playing should fit together in a way that they become one.

So, when you play Line 2 and Line 3 be sure to hear the base beat in your head (or even say it out loud at first). Being persistent with this will help you to find a steady sense of pace that with improve your overall timing.

If you're having trouble with keeping your timing steady, you can start out by emphasizing the base beat. Eventually, you should practice with no emphasized hits.

Cycle these 3 lines 15 minutes daily!

Extention:

You can extend this drill in a variety of ways. One I'll suggest here is to alter the number of beats to each quarter note. Try 3 beats to each quarter note (triples). If that comes naturally, then try numbers like 5 or even 6!

In addition, try choosing Line 2 or Line 3 as your mental base beat.



NOTE:
I will be unavailable to post a drill on December 26. So, take a holiday break that week!