A couple months back I was at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. On my last day there, my friend and I were wandering around trying to find a pavilion line that was short enough for the time we had left. It was then that we stumbled upon the Korean Pavilion.
The Pavilion for Korea was quite large and the line was winding around the building, but it wasn't the 6-hour wait that Japan's was, so we jumped in. After waiting 20 minutes in line, they let us in to what (surprise to us!) was NOT the Korean pavilion, but a Korean drum performance! Very impressive--check it out below.
After the videos, leave a comment: Can we call this taiko? Why or why not?
Visit my Youtube page to see the 2 dance pieces before the drumming started.
Visit my Youtube page to see the 2 dance pieces before the drumming started.
Neato! I had no idea Korean drumming would be so similar to taiko.
ReplyDeleteAre their bachi a strange shape? In the first video it seems like the girls in front can make a raspy sound by rubbing them together. Maybe that sound is a different instrument somewhere else?
Hi Natalie!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for the extremely tardy reply!
Their bachi are pretty short and thin compared to the Japanese version. Actually, I find that Chinese drumsticks are on the shorter side as well. I'm pretty sure the raspy sound you're hearing is coming from the guy who plays the solo at the beginning of the piece. He keeps playing (the same drum, but on a stand)on periodic beats throughout the piece, but I couldn't fit him in the frame!