Unfortunately, the drill from last week was truncated and the final upbeat and bit of instruction was missing! My sincere apologies for missing this. It has now been remedied.
You can find this week's drill here.
Carrie
A place for useful tips, drills, and information about taiko.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Taiko Drills, Part 23 COUNTING IN 2 & 3
Thanks for coming back!
I've got a bit of an aside drill today that's kind of a mind/body teaser. Hope you like it:
Focus: Timing, Counting
Watch for:
1. Count!
2. Don't stop counting!
So, today let's hone in the focus on one particular thing. You guessed it--counting. We've talked about counting in 4 and counting in 3. There are a few different drills you can do to layer rhythms that are in different time. To keep things simple, let's try 2 and 3 today.
Take a look at the table below, and play the down beat a few times with your Right hand, while counting out loud:
There is an equal amount of "rest" time between each hit. If you were to divide the same 3 beats evenly starting on beat 1, but only strike 2 times, where would the hits fall?? Give the left hand a few tries with the following (count!):
Now, see if you can play the two lines together: Right hand plays 3 beats for the Left hand's every 2. Here's the simple way to think about it:
Okay, so what should you spend your daily 15 minutes practicing this week? Here you go:
Right hand on 3, Left hand on 2 | 4X
Right hand on 3 | 4X
Right hand on 3, Left hand on 2 | 4X
Left hand on 2 | 4X
Loop it up!
If you find that you have two sounds on beat 1 when both hands hit together, take some time to back up to Part 17 for some extra practice and a few ideas on what might be going wrong. It never hurts to check your shime grip in the process. You can do this in Part 9.
Extension:
So, you certainly can play around with this in multiple ways in terms of which hand plays which part, how many times you repeat each line, et cetera. But in terms of increasing ability to understand how the two times are fitting together, there's nothing more challenging (and helpful) than this:
Find a partner (or email me for the MP3). One of you will play 3 with both hands, rather than alternating. At the same time, the other will play 2 with both hands. You'll only be successful if you keep the timing, listen, and count. Remember to switch parts at some point!
Count, Have fun, and Please Rate below!
I've got a bit of an aside drill today that's kind of a mind/body teaser. Hope you like it:
Focus: Timing, Counting
Watch for:
1. Count!
2. Don't stop counting!
So, today let's hone in the focus on one particular thing. You guessed it--counting. We've talked about counting in 4 and counting in 3. There are a few different drills you can do to layer rhythms that are in different time. To keep things simple, let's try 2 and 3 today.
Take a look at the table below, and play the down beat a few times with your Right hand, while counting out loud:
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & |
| X | X | X |
There is an equal amount of "rest" time between each hit. If you were to divide the same 3 beats evenly starting on beat 1, but only strike 2 times, where would the hits fall?? Give the left hand a few tries with the following (count!):
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & |
| X | X |
Now, see if you can play the two lines together: Right hand plays 3 beats for the Left hand's every 2. Here's the simple way to think about it:
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & |
| both | do | ko | don |
Okay, so what should you spend your daily 15 minutes practicing this week? Here you go:
Right hand on 3, Left hand on 2 | 4X
Right hand on 3 | 4X
Right hand on 3, Left hand on 2 | 4X
Left hand on 2 | 4X
Loop it up!
If you find that you have two sounds on beat 1 when both hands hit together, take some time to back up to Part 17 for some extra practice and a few ideas on what might be going wrong. It never hurts to check your shime grip in the process. You can do this in Part 9.
Extension:
So, you certainly can play around with this in multiple ways in terms of which hand plays which part, how many times you repeat each line, et cetera. But in terms of increasing ability to understand how the two times are fitting together, there's nothing more challenging (and helpful) than this:
Find a partner (or email me for the MP3). One of you will play 3 with both hands, rather than alternating. At the same time, the other will play 2 with both hands. You'll only be successful if you keep the timing, listen, and count. Remember to switch parts at some point!
Count, Have fun, and Please Rate below!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Taiko Drills, Part 22 PARADIDDLE VARIATION
Hey there!
Without a doubt, I find that varying the types of drills I practice helps to keep my skills balanced. Take a quick moment to review the paradiddle drill we did back in Part 9. If you've incorporated this drill into your regular practice you should be feeling quite comfortable with it. Here are some ideas for other things you can try with it!
Focus: Timing, Speed, Balance
Watch for:
1. Remember that when you make emphasized hits with this drill, the stronger sound comes from a quick movement of your stick up and then down again.
2. If you're already comfortable with the general feel of this drill, go ahead and make this transition: Strike all of your emphasized hits at the center of the drum and be sure to choose a "home" for the non-emphasized hits at the 1/3 marks. Always, return to the same home position.
Grab some shime bachi and let's get started! Notice that this time we're starting with the LEFT hand! Red means Right. Bold means emphasize:
Repeat at your own pace. If you think your pace is changing (faster or slower), then make use of that metronome.
No extension this week. Just focus on increasing speed and dexterity by challenging yourself to be consistent with timing and picking up the pace a little each day (within your limits). Are your emphasized hits equal in volume and tone? Are the non-emphasized hits still intentional and focused?
Questions? Email me or leave a note in the comments.
Please rate this drill by clicking below. Thanks! Until next time...
Without a doubt, I find that varying the types of drills I practice helps to keep my skills balanced. Take a quick moment to review the paradiddle drill we did back in Part 9. If you've incorporated this drill into your regular practice you should be feeling quite comfortable with it. Here are some ideas for other things you can try with it!
Focus: Timing, Speed, Balance
Watch for:
1. Remember that when you make emphasized hits with this drill, the stronger sound comes from a quick movement of your stick up and then down again.
2. If you're already comfortable with the general feel of this drill, go ahead and make this transition: Strike all of your emphasized hits at the center of the drum and be sure to choose a "home" for the non-emphasized hits at the 1/3 marks. Always, return to the same home position.
Grab some shime bachi and let's get started! Notice that this time we're starting with the LEFT hand! Red means Right. Bold means emphasize:
| 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & | |
| don | tsu | tsu | tsu | tsu | tsu | tsu | tsu | X4 |
| don | tsu | tsu | tsu | don | tsu | tsu | tsu | X4 |
| tsu | don | tsu | tsu | tsu | don | tsu | tsu | X4 |
| tsu | tsu | don | tsu | tsu | tsu | don | tsu | X4 |
| tsu | tsu | tsu | don | tsu | tsu | tsu | don | X4 |
Repeat at your own pace. If you think your pace is changing (faster or slower), then make use of that metronome.
No extension this week. Just focus on increasing speed and dexterity by challenging yourself to be consistent with timing and picking up the pace a little each day (within your limits). Are your emphasized hits equal in volume and tone? Are the non-emphasized hits still intentional and focused?
Questions? Email me or leave a note in the comments.
Please rate this drill by clicking below. Thanks! Until next time...
Friday, February 13, 2009
TGIF, Part 21 (taiko drills)
Okay, let's put the balance practice to a bit of a test!
Focus: Balance,Timing
Watch for:
1. Don't lose the down beat; try to hear how the two rhythms fit together.
2. Relax. See if your body/mind has blurred that line between right and left--both hands are equal in speed and power as they hit the drum!
Okay, here we go. Red means Right and Black means Left. Bold is emphasized. "SU" means rest.
Please check the tips and videos of TGIF 13 if you need a "don tsu ku" review!
Find a parter and layer the two patterns. A large part of playing kumi-daiko is listening to and connecting with other players. Use this drill to practice that! One person starts with "don tsu ku", while the other person starts with "su ko do ko". Switch patterns every 4 times.
If you're practicing alone and need an MP3 of the pattern to get the layering practice, just email me the speed you're working at and I'll send you a file.
Extension
So, you've been balancing out your strong and weak hands? Give it a test here--reverse the right and left hands to the pattern, as described above.
Gambatte-yo!
Focus: Balance,Timing
Watch for:
1. Don't lose the down beat; try to hear how the two rhythms fit together.
2. Relax. See if your body/mind has blurred that line between right and left--both hands are equal in speed and power as they hit the drum!
Okay, here we go. Red means Right and Black means Left. Bold is emphasized. "SU" means rest.
Please check the tips and videos of TGIF 13 if you need a "don tsu ku" review!
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| don | tsu | ku | |
| don | tsu | ku | |
| don | tsu | ku | |
| don | tsu | ku | |
| su | ko | do | ko |
| su | ko | do | ko |
| su | ko | do | ko |
| su | ko | do | ko |
Find a parter and layer the two patterns. A large part of playing kumi-daiko is listening to and connecting with other players. Use this drill to practice that! One person starts with "don tsu ku", while the other person starts with "su ko do ko". Switch patterns every 4 times.
If you're practicing alone and need an MP3 of the pattern to get the layering practice, just email me the speed you're working at and I'll send you a file.
Extension
So, you've been balancing out your strong and weak hands? Give it a test here--reverse the right and left hands to the pattern, as described above.
Gambatte-yo!
Friday, February 6, 2009
TGIF, Part 20 (taiko drills)
It's Friday again! Let's get started.
Focus: Balance
Watch for:
1. Two hands, one sound.
2. Really work toward increasing speed with this drill, but make sure you do not sacrifice form to do so!
Okay, back to focusing on balancing out the weak and strong hands. Ryou-te, hitting with both hands simultaneously, is a great way to continue with this. Today's pattern is simple for two reasons: 1) it allows you to jump right into it, repeating it again and again for maximum improvement, 2) it allows you to free your mind from trying to play the pattern right--you can focus on being consistent with form and sound.
Here you go:
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
The part in bold is emphasized. Be sure to raise your hands up and snap down quickly to accomplish this. "Tsu" is accomplished with a quick press of the three fingers placed on the underside of your bachi. (Review this by visiting the photos in Part 9 )
If you have a video camera or mirror available, turn so you can see your profile, weak hand closest to the camera or mirror. If your hands are not balanced, you'll probably notice that the kata, or form, is different.
Perhaps your weak hand doesn't come up as high as the strong one? Do your hands rock back and forth, arms pulling in after "don" and moving away for "tsu"? This means both hands are regularly inconsistent--try to eliminate this.
Make sure to take a look at your hands from your point of view as well. Is the path to the drum straight, without curving or angling? If you feel you have good control with the grip, but hear inconsistencies with your sound, this is possibly the culprit. Relax, slow down, and focus on making a direct strike.
Okay, you know how it goes, but I've gotta say it anyway: 15 minutes a day--Loop it! Enjoy:)
Extension
If you find that by day 4 or so that you're pretty comfortable with the drill above (let's say, 132 bpm, 1 don tsu per beat) you can challenge yourself by switching back and forth between "Don tsu" and "Tsu don". Here's one example, but feel free to create your own:
Don tsu
Don tsu
Tsu don
Tsu don
Don tsu
Don tsu
Tsu don
Tsu don
Make sure all your tsu's are equal in volume and your don's are equal in volume.
Focus: Balance
Watch for:
1. Two hands, one sound.
2. Really work toward increasing speed with this drill, but make sure you do not sacrifice form to do so!
Okay, back to focusing on balancing out the weak and strong hands. Ryou-te, hitting with both hands simultaneously, is a great way to continue with this. Today's pattern is simple for two reasons: 1) it allows you to jump right into it, repeating it again and again for maximum improvement, 2) it allows you to free your mind from trying to play the pattern right--you can focus on being consistent with form and sound.
Here you go:
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
Don tsu
The part in bold is emphasized. Be sure to raise your hands up and snap down quickly to accomplish this. "Tsu" is accomplished with a quick press of the three fingers placed on the underside of your bachi. (Review this by visiting the photos in Part 9 )
If you have a video camera or mirror available, turn so you can see your profile, weak hand closest to the camera or mirror. If your hands are not balanced, you'll probably notice that the kata, or form, is different.
Perhaps your weak hand doesn't come up as high as the strong one? Do your hands rock back and forth, arms pulling in after "don" and moving away for "tsu"? This means both hands are regularly inconsistent--try to eliminate this.
Make sure to take a look at your hands from your point of view as well. Is the path to the drum straight, without curving or angling? If you feel you have good control with the grip, but hear inconsistencies with your sound, this is possibly the culprit. Relax, slow down, and focus on making a direct strike.
Okay, you know how it goes, but I've gotta say it anyway: 15 minutes a day--Loop it! Enjoy:)
Extension
If you find that by day 4 or so that you're pretty comfortable with the drill above (let's say, 132 bpm, 1 don tsu per beat) you can challenge yourself by switching back and forth between "Don tsu" and "Tsu don". Here's one example, but feel free to create your own:
Don tsu
Don tsu
Tsu don
Tsu don
Don tsu
Don tsu
Tsu don
Tsu don
Make sure all your tsu's are equal in volume and your don's are equal in volume.
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