Taiko drills, Part 31 ATARIGANE

Hi!

This week's drill is by request from a reader. Have one of your own? Mention it to me! While I'm no master, I like sharing if I know something about it.

Focus: Form
Watch for:
1. When playing the basic "chan" & "chi" as explained in the beginning, the hand holding the bachi (in my case, the right) should not be moving from side to side or forward and back in relation to your body. Focus on moving the bachi up and down--it's the left hand that changes to alter your hitting spot.
2. Try to make your hitting spots consistent. Different areas of the bell will sound different.

Alright, as you may have guessed, I'm going to focus on atarigane, a.k.a. chan chiki. When playing chan chiki you want to hold it in your weak hand like this:

Step 1:



Step 2:

Place thumb underneath the little tab, snugly.



Step 3:

Complete the grip by wrapping the pinky and ring fingers on the opposite side, above the tab.
You'll notice that my index and middle fingers are pressing flat against the bell.





Here's how you hold the bachi. It's very similar to holding bachi for shime daiko:






To play "chi chan", the first step is to hold the bell so your palm is inward, perpendicular to the floor and fingers pressing on the bell. Let's call this "starting position." With a relaxed, controlled wrist, hit the center of the bottom rim (chi). Next, pull those two fingers away from the bell rotating the wrist outward. Hit the center of the bell once (chan).
Check out the demo:



Notice that bringing the fingers back to rest on the bell and rotating the hand inward should not occur at the same time as you strike "chi". You need to get those fingers and the bell in place before the stick strikes. Otherwise, it's gonna sound, well... not so good.

Okay, that's it! If you're a true beginner, don't even think about using the bachi yet. Start out by moving the hand that's holding the bell back and forth between the two positions. Vocalize "chan" and "chi", making sure you're returning to what I call "starting position" above before it's time to say "chi!"

Let me know if you have questions and I'll add a little more next week!


Extension/Alternate drill:
Please continue with the roll drill from last week. I'm sure you've figured this out by now if you've been reading every week, but you can always (and should always!) flip the drill around to start with the left hand. Make sure you're challenging yourself with speed!

Taiko Drills, Part 30 ROLLS

Hi, and welcome back!

Good timing certainly doesn't come overnight, so it's still been a focus of my practice recently. Of course, this skill is easily combined with others, so I'd like to move on from the Fraction Drill but keep the overall theme of 'timing' in mind.

A friend of mine recently asked me how to get better at rolls. My immediate response was, "Practice!" Since then my teacher brought out the basic line from KODO's shime daiko piece Monochrome at one of my private lessons and I've had to consider on a more in-depth level how to produce efficient, controlled rolls. Needless to say, Monochrome is far out of my reach, but certainly motivating.

Focus: Timing, Balance
Watch for:
1. Do your arms/hands feel different? They shouldn't, so if they do, take the time to consider how they feel different, determine which hand is correct (Check out the tips and videos below for possible ways to do this), and focus on bringing the other hand up to par.
2. Take it slow until you have the balance we're aiming for. If you need ideas on how to reach this goal, review any of TGIF 11-18!

In this first video you'll see today's drill. Alternate RLRL with an even beat for 8 counts using the basic shime daiko grip taught here. Then keep the same feeling of the grip, but lift from the upper arm as well for 8 counts, double time. Loop it!

It's not easy to combine the grip and form, so by isolating the grip and then adding the form and repeating, your body will gain a gradual sense of what you're teaching it to do.

Notice that my elbows are out, but not locked, and shoulders down. The bachi are at the same angle and rise off the drum at the same height to produce an even roll.



In this second video, you'll see me playing a roll at 3 tempos, slow to moderate pace. I tried to give you an idea here of how even though as you get faster and there is not time to lift the arms up and down, the feeling of the lift is still present. My elbows don't drop and my wrists don't break, keeping the sound consistent.



Gambatte, ne!

PS: One of these days I'll get a camera that captures audio...

Golden Week Taiko Workshops!

Do you live in the Wakayama or Osaka area? Looking for something to do this year during Golden Week?

My teacher, Ryo Shimamoto, is holding a series of workshops in Kainan (海南) during the holiday week. I highly recommend them and I'll be taking a few of them myself!

Saturday, May 2
1:00-4:00pm
Learn Ryo Shimamoto's latest composition, Yaiba 刃

Tuesday, May 5
9:00-12:00
Odaiko

Tuesday, May 5
1:00-4:00
Katsugi Okedo

Wednesday, May 6
9:00-12:00
Learn Ryo Shimamoto's latest composition, Yaiba 刃

Wednesday, May 6
1:00-4:00
Learn Ryo Shimamoto's latest composition, Yaiba 刃

You are welcome to sign up for one or all of the Yaiba workshops. It is a fun and challenging song.

The workshops take place in Kainan, near Shimotsu Station (下津駅). Each 3 hour workshop is a mere 3,500 yen and classes are limited to 8 people, reservation required.

Please email 島本　龍 (Ryo Shimamoto) to reserve your place! You can email in English if you need to, but note that all workshops will be taught in Japanese.

imakat (at) iris.eonet.ne.jp

Let me know if I should look for you!

Fraction Drill Plus Audio Addendum

Hey there!

As promised, here is the audio version of last week's drill. Sorry about the extra noises... it's pretty windy here today and the house is creaking.

First, the basic drill from last week with one hand playing the base beat, Line 1:



And, the extension! Here the base line alternates between Line 1 and Line 2:




See you back here on Friday...

Shidara Taiko Residency Update

Shidara posted more videos. Here are a few I enjoyed below. Check out the Shidara Youtube site for more!

Taiko Drills, Part 29 FRACTION DRILL PLUS

Welcome back!

I missed my personal practice today because my father is in town. While I appreciate the chance to spend time with him and share my life in Japan with him, it also teaches me something: My practice time is valuable.

By stepping away from my busy life in the US and coming to Japan to focus on taiko, I've realized that practice really does make a difference. I know, it seems obvious... but, when I choose a focus and really hone in on it with one specific drill, improvements are noticeable quite quickly.

So, that said, I'd like to add on a bit to the drill from last week. Let's focus on timing!


Focus: Timing
Watch for:
1. Even though the two hands are playing different patterns, make sure your form in consistent. Is the bachi height equal for each hand? Is the striking speed the same? (no emphasized hits this week!)
2. Stay on beat with your metronome! I mentioned Metronome Online previously, but I occasionally like to use Web Metronome because the down beat is a different tone than the other beats, which I find helpful for drills similar to today's.

The right hand will loop Line 1 from last week, 4 times as the base beat:

A slow "don" R R R R

The left hand will simultaneously play through Lines 1, 2, 3, and 4:

1 hit per beat L L L L
2 hits per beat LL LL LL LL
3 hits per beat LLL LLL LLL LLL
4 hits per beat LLLL LLLL LLLL LLLL

Each bold "L" above is played at the same time as the Right hand's base beat. There is equal space between each beat. Be sure that when your two hands hit on the down beat that there is only one sound. Return to last week's drill to hear an audio example of each line.

Try this drill at a different pace every day--playing it quickly or slowly can both be difficult. Don't change the tempo within one practice because it will take longer to make improvements if your mind and body are deprived of the focus required to do so.

This drill does not require much endurance, so try to loop it for 10 minutes with the right hand as the base and 10 minutes with the left hand as base. If one hand has more trouble with a particular part, adjust your times on the following days to allow more practice for that hand.

Extension:

After doing this drill 2 or 3 days, it might seem your body can play it without thinking. If not, then stick with it a while longer. If so, then try to alternate the base beat between Line 1 and Line 2.

I'll do my best to post an audio version of what this can sound like for those of you who might try it mid-week!

Enjoy and gambatte!

UPDATE: Audio for this lesson can be found here.

Shidara Taiko Residency 2009

Shidara Taiko, a professional group in Aichi-ken in Japan, has started a new residency program. The program is set up like a tour and participants get a taste of Tokyo and Kyoto as part of the package. But, the main attraction is 4 days of direct instruction from Shidara members in taiko, percussion instruments, and fue.

The inaugural residency is going on right now and it's being documented on YouTube! I'm excited to see how things pan out and get a glimpse of the workshops.

Here's the welcome video:



And the welcome dinner:

Taiko Drills, Part 28 FRACTION DRILL

Hi there!

In my most recent private lesson, sensei said (essentially), "Carrie, your biggest problem is timing. If you're playing with other people your timing is fine, but when you play by yourself your speed is most inconsistent!"

So, guess what I've been focusing on lately? Let's practice one of the most basic drills I know that can help ground drummers in timing. I call it the Fraction Drill because that's how I think of the beats divided up.

Focus: Timing
Watch for:
1. Keep an even amount of "ma" (space) between each hit. It gets shorter each line.
2. Listen! Do the right and left hand sound the same when you play a particular line? If not, then check to see if they feel the same (is one hand more relaxed than the other?), and check to see if the height you lift the bachi is even.

Note, the bold hits here show the downbeat, not emphasis. However, if it's helpful for you to emphasize the down beat as you get started, then it's certainly acceptable. Work your way towards playing all hits even in volume.

Play each 4-beat line once and then loop:

Line 1: Play a slow "don" alternating, (1 hit per beat) R L R L
Line 2: Play the next line 2 hits per beat RLRLRLRL
Line 3: Play the next line 3 hits per beat RLRLRLRLRLRL
Line 4: Play the next line 4 hits per beat RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL

Sorry it's totally electronic this week, but here is the audio (4 times at 120bmp):



Take your time and be consistent!

Extension:
See if you can add the next two lines to this drill... Line 5 would mean 5 hits to every beat and Line 6 has 6 hits to every beat. Be sure to start slowly at the beginning so that you can fit all the hits in when you get to the end. Make sure when you go from Line 6 back to Line 1 that you don't rush!

2009 Summer Taiko Institute, August 3, 4, 5

Applications are being accepted for this year's STI which will be lead by On Ensemble in LA. Please check out the website for full details, but here's a short excerpt on what to expect:

"On Ensemble is composing a brand new taiko piece, to be debuted at STI and taught to the 25 participants! With the piece as a foundation, the program explores each step of the song cycle: from practice to performance to critical review and revision. In addition to basic form and technique training, participants learn practical tips for improving timing, musicality, and playing as a group. As the song is further polished, supplementary drills and performance concepts for refinement are explored. Along with specific techniques, rhythms, and drills, participants learn the On Ensemble members’ underlying philosophies and creative processes. STI participants come away empowered to apply the concepts to future songs. The course provides numerous take-home materials, in addition to the new piece itself, for sharing with participants’ home groups."

I attended the STI in 2007 and found it to be a great learning experience, especially for those who live in a place with few taiko resources. It's also conveniently scheduled just before NATC, so it's easy to attend both. If you have any questions about my time at the last STI, please post in the comments. Thanks!