Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to today's lesson entitled Key principles of taiko.

My name is Mr. Norris.

Today, we're gonna be exploring some of the real fundamental aspects of taiko and putting them into practice in some performance.

Our outcome is I can identify strikes and kakegoe, applying these to the stance and movement to recreate key aspects of taiko.

Some key words.

Kamae, this is the stance used while performing.

Waza, this is the correct technique, expression, and synchronization used within performance.

Hara, this is the head of the drum, fuchi, which is the edge of the drum, and kakegoe, which are the shouts used during performance for cues and also for emotion.

The first part of today's lesson is looking at stance and movements.

There are four key elements of taiko.

We've got kata, which is the body movements and the posture within a performance.

We've got waza, which is the technique, expression, and synchronization used within performance.

We've got rei, which is the correct attitude, respect, and professionalism used within performance.

And then finally, ki, which is the energy flow from within the performance and the audience when all of the other elements work in harmony.

So taiko is not just rhythms and drumming.

It's this much broader discipline, spiritual experience with these four key elements, kata, waza, rei, and ki.

And kata and specifically the kamae, which means stance, is very important in taiko performance.

It creates visual uniformity because the performers are synchronized in their position and their movement, but it also allows for the most effective drumming technique.

So there's a practical purpose to this stance, as well as the visual aspect.

The kamae is achieved by placing the left leg in front of the body, bending the knee, and having the back leg straight.

And this allows performers to bounce, which aids time-keeping, so the performance can feel the rhythm and feel the pulse through this stance.

Let's have a look at it here.

♪ Sore ♪ ♪ Sore ♪ <v ->As well as that stance,</v> having the correct bachi technique is also important.

Remember, bachi are the drumsticks, and the name for the technique is waza.

Correct bachi technique makes performance look better, so again, it's more synchronized, but it also allows for more control over the dynamics of the drums. Bachi actually are thicker than normal drumsticks.

If you look at them in that picture there, you might be able to tell that they're a little bit thicker and heavier than your average drumsticks.

They are held in a triangle shape with a point away from the performer.

Let's have a look at this video here that demonstrates kamae, which is the stance, and waza, which is the stick technique.

♪ Sore ♪ ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->Now let's look at some of the different strikes in taiko.

</v> First, we've got don, which is a single, loud tap with the right hand.

Let's see that.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->Then we've got doko,</v> which is two quick, medium taps with the right and then the left hand ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) And then we've got tsuku, which is two quick, quiet taps, right and then left hand.

Let's have a look.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->There are also a variety of different hands</v> and arm movements that complement strikes.

We've got sa, which is Y-shaped arms with the bachi, with the sticks.

Let's have a look.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore, sa ♪ <v ->We've got hup, which is semi-circular, upward movement.

</v> ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Hup, hup, hup ♪ (energetic percussive music) We've got sore, which is down then upward vertical arm movement.

You might come across that in the counting before.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ Let's see it here.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ <v ->And then finally, we've got su,</v> which is a rest with the bachi held vertically in front of the performer.

Let's see that position.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ <v ->Let's check your understanding.

</v> What is the correct term for the stance used in taiko? Is it kakegoe, kata, ki, or kamae? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is kamae.

That is the stance.

Well done if you got that one.

Which of the movements involve semicircle movements in the arms? Is it sa, su, hup, or sore? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is it's hup.

That's the one with the semicircle movements in the arms. Which of the movements involves Y-shaped hands with the bachi? Is it sa, su, hup, or sore? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is it's sa.

That's the one with the Y-shaped hands.

True or false? Sore is a rest where the bachi are held vertically in front.

I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is that it's false, and that's because su is a rest, whereas sore is an upwards vertical arm movement where you go down on so and up on re.

So for Task A, I'd like to practice the different movements.

Here's some success criteria.

You stand behind your chair and ensure your kamae is correct to start.

Remember that means left leg in front, slightly bent, and then your right leg slightly behind and straight.

And that allows you to bounce on that front leg.

You practice the following movements, sa, hup, su, and sore.

In a pair or a group, you perform each movement at the same time, finishing in the same position.

So really trying to simulate that synchronization that you get in taiko drumming.

And you use the count in, ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ to help move in time together.

Here are the four movements.

We've got sa, which is the Y-shaped arms with the bachi.

We've got hup, which is the semicircle upward movements.

We've got sore, which is down then upward vertical arm movement.

And we've got su, which is a rest with hands holding the bachi vertically in front.

So you can pause my video now and have a go at this task.

For the second part of this task, I'd like to replicate these following movements in order, hup, hup, su, and sa.

Pause my video, see if you can work out that pattern.

And it should have looked like this semi-circle with the left arm, semi-circle with the right arm, so that's our two hups, hands together in front of the body vertically, and then the arms in a Y shape for that sa.

So well done if you've got those movements correct.

Okay, so now we're gonna move on to looking at hara and fuchi strikes.

The strikes on the drum are on the hara or the fuchi.

Remember the hara is the head of the drum, and the fuchi is the rim.

Here are the hara strikes.

First, we've got don, which is a single, strong right hand on the hara.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->Then we've got do,</v> which is a single right hand on the hara, and ko, which is a single left hand on the hara.

And if we combine them, we get doko, which is two quick taps, right and then left, combining do and ko.

Let's see that.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->And finally we've got tsuku,</v> which is two quick, quiet taps, right then left.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->On the fuchi, which is the rim of the drum,</v> we've got some different sounds.

We've got ka, which is a single right hand on the fuchi.

We've got ra, which is the single left hand on the fuchi.

And if we combine them, just like with doko, we get kara, which is two quick taps on the fuchi, right and then left.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v Mr. Norris>We'll check your understanding.

</v> Which of the following is played on the fuchi? Is it on, doko, or kara? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer was kara.

That's the one that's played on the fuchi.

Remember, ka being the right hand, ra being the left hand.

What do doko and kara have in common rhythmically? Pause my video while you have a think.

And the correct answer here is they're both two quick taps, right hand, then left hand.

Doko is on the drum head, which is the hara, and kara is on the drum rim, which is the fuchi.

Well done if you identified that similarity.

I'd like to practice each strike eight times.

Here's some success criteria.

Make sure you use correct technique, that's the waza, and the correct stance, which is the kamae.

Make sure you play with a consistent pulse.

Make sure you practice the following strikes, don, doko, and kara.

Make sure you start each strike with the right hand first.

and then in a pair group, have a go at performing each strike in time with each other, so trying to synchronize that movement, which, as we know, is a key aspect of taiko.

And use the count-in to start in time.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ Making sure you're using that, so you come in together.

Here are the different strikes, don, do, ko, doko, tsuku, ka, ra, and kara.

So you can pause my video now and have a go at this task.

Good luck.

For the second part of this task, I'd like to watch this video.

What is the order of these strikes, and are they played together and at a consistent tempo? Let's have a look.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ (energetic percussive music) <v ->And just pause my video</v> while you're finishing your answer.

Okay, so the correct answers were the order of the strikes is eight don, eight kara, and eight doko.

The rhythms are consistent, and they change in time with the pulse.

In terms of whether they're playing together, while the kamae and the arm movements are correct, but occasionally, the don are not quite together, so there's a little bit more synchronization that these two performers could do.

Well done if you picked up on some of those points.

Finally, we're gonna have a look at kakegoe.

Now kakegoe are shouts, and these are an integral part of performance in taiko.

As well as adding to the performance by creating excitement and drama, they're also used as signals to change or progress the piece as well.

So they communicate messages to the other performance.

These kakegoe accompany the movement of the same name.

We've got sore.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ <v ->We've got hup.

</v> ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Hup, hup, hup ♪ (energetic percussive music) And we're got sa.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore, sa ♪ <v ->Now, even though su is a rest,</v> it can still be used within a pattern of kakegoe.

while practicing the placement of it, we could use the sound ma, which means space.

Here's an example.

♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ <v ->So to put kakegoe together to a pulse,</v> we need to first consider where they fit within the beats.

Sa lasts for one beat.

Su, or if we're using ma, lasts for a beat as well.

Sore stretches over two beats.

So that's a key difference there.

And hup lasts for one beat, but usually arrives between strikes, so it's not played at the same time as a strike.

So here's an example of honji with eight beats using those different kakegoe.

♪ Sa, ma, sore, don, hup, don, hup ♪ Let's check your understanding.

What does kakegoe mean? Does it mean strikes, shouts, or movement? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer then is shouts.

Well done if you got that one correct.

Which of the following accompanies a vertical arm movement? Is it, sore, hup, or sa? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is sore.

Remember there's that downward and then upward movement, on so going down and re going up.

Which of the following is shouted with Y-shaped arms? Is it sore, hup, or sa? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is it's sa that has the Y shaped arms. Well done if you picked that one.

For Task C, perform a pattern of kakegoe.

Here's some success criteria you use.

You use sore, hup, and sa.

It lasts for eight beats, so it's a full honji.

You play with a consistent pulse.

You use the correct kamae, remember that's the stance, and the kata, which are the movements.

In a pair or a group, you perform each kakegoe and kamae in time with each other and use the count-in to start in time.

Remember, that's ♪ Ichi, ni, sore ♪ Here's an example of an eight-beat pattern that you could do.

♪ Sore, sa, sa, don, hup, sore ♪ This lasts for eight beats, as sore it lasts for two beats.

So we've got two beats and then one, one, one, one, and two, so it adds up to eight in total.

So when you're using sore, so make sure you stretch it over those two beats.

You can pause my video now.

Give this task your best shot.

Good luck.

For the final part of this lesson, we're gonna reflect on your kakegoe.

What was the pattern of your kakegoe? Did they add up to eight beats and, therefore.

make a full honji? Did you perform them with a consistent pulse? And did the syllabic words match the pulse and the movements? So was the pattern of the syllables of the sounds matched in your movement and your pulse? Pause my video, reflect on these questions.

and use that to help you further improve your kakegoe.

Let's review today's lesson.

So taiko has four key principles, which are fundamental to performance.

These are kata, which is movement, rei, which is attitude, waza, which is technique and ki, which is the energy and the flow, and these are really central to being a taiko performer, taiko musician, are these aspects.

It is not just the drumming.

The correct kamae, which is the stance, helps performers to keep in time.

And there are a variety of strikes and kakegoe with some performed in synchronization.

These include sore, hup, and sa.

The common strikes are don and doko, which are on the head of the drum, remember that's called the hara, and kata, which is on the rim of the drum, which is called the fuchi.

So that's the end of today's lesson.

There's a lot of new terminology and new concepts there.

So I hope you feel like you're starting to get your head around some of those new terms and some of those new ideas.

And hopefully, you're starting to feel like you're getting a deeper understanding of taiko, the broader context of what it means to be a taiko musician, and some of the terminology, patterns, and techniques that are involved in it.

I hope you're feeling inspired to learn some more as well.

Thanks for taking part, and I'll see you in another lesson.