This Study Guide was initially developed as part of the “Big Drum: Taiko in the United States,” an exhibition curated by the Japanese American National Museum.

TAIKOPROJECT Study Guide

TAIKOPROJECTPO Box 825Monterey Park, CA 91754213 268-4011 info@TAIKOPROJECT.comwww.TAIKOPROJECT.comyoutube.com/TAIKOPROJECTfacebook.com/TAIKOPROJECTtwitter.com/TAIKOPROJECT

TAIKOPROJECT is represented by:Kamstar Artist Management415.776.5522arts@kamstar.com

For use with TAIKOPROJECT educational programs

Yuta KatoSteven NguyenMari NakanoSteven Nguyen

INTRODUCTIONIt is now more important than ever to acknowledge the need for art education. The materials in this study guide are designed to give your class supplementary infor-mation and activities to enhance the student’s appreciation of the TAIKOPROJECTwhile instilling a broader base of knowledge and understanding of our society’s diversitythrough different cultural perspectives.

America is a country of widespread cultural diversity. Music, and drumming, is a part ofevery culture, and its function in each culture is integral to its life and vitality. What isan African dance without the drummers? What would Irish music sound like without thedohbran (hand drum)? And what is a Japanese matsuri (festival) without the taiko?

Much can be learned about different cultural traditions and lifestyles by experiencing itsmusic. The TAIKOPROJECT performs contemporary Japanese American taiko drum-ming. It is an artform drawn from our Japanese ancestry, but nurtured in America bymulti-generational Asian Americans in search of a voice for their dual-culture identity.Through the sharing of our music and stories, we share our pride in our heritage andculture, and encourage others to have pride in and explore their own cultural back-grounds, and those of others.

With our school program, we hope to expand students’ knowledge of JapaneseAmerican taiko. With our drumming and stories, we hope to cross cultural boundariesand open their minds to our world of music, history, and creative expression. Thisguide is designed to encourage students to explore the ideas and themes found in theTAIKOPROJECT through individual and class activities, and to prepare them for a moreunderstandable viewing of the performance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Origins of Japanese Taiko

• History of American Taiko

• Musical Instrumentation

• Homemade Taiko

• What is Rhythm?

• Kuchi Shoga

• Oral Tradition

• Taiko Glossary

• Additional Resources

“Home” (2003)choreographed by Michelle FujiiTAIKOPROJECT:(re)generation

photo by Robert Meyers

“Many Sides” (2003)composed by Masato Baba

TAIKOPROJECT:(re)generationphoto by Robert Meyers

“Discovery of a Voice” (2003)TAIKOPROJECT:(re)generation

photo by Robert Meyers

ORIGINS OF JAPANESE TAIKO

The Japanese word “taiko” (tye-koh) literally means “drum.” The taiko has been used

in Japanese life and culture for centuries. One of its earliest known uses was to deter-

mine the boundaries of a village. A village was as large as the powerful sound of its

taiko could carry. In the 6th Century, in battle, beating the taiko was used to give

courage to samurai warriors and to intimidate the enemy. Taiko is also found in more

formalized areas of Japanese culture, such as in Kabuki and Noh theatre and the tradi-

tional Gagaku music of the Imperial Court.

Taiko also plays an important part in religious activities in Japan. In Shintoism, all natu-

ral phenomena, the mountains, fire, water, and animals are thought to contain a spirit of

a deity or god. The taiko is often used as a voice to call these gods to give thanks to

them or pray to them. They believed that their music was an offering to these deities,

which would bring them good fortune. For this reason, taiko was often at the center of

folk festivals. Farmers played the taiko believing that its thunder would bring rain for

their crops. Fishermen played the taiko to request a bountiful catch. In other festivals

the taiko is played to dispel evil spirits, ward off sickness, or give thanks for prosperity.

In Buddhism, the taiko is considered the voice of the Buddha, along with the horagai, or

conch shell.

The modern kumi-daiko (group drumming) ensemble started after World War II in

Japan. Daihachi Oguchi, a jazz drummer discovered taiko and was captivated by its

power. In the early 50’s he started what is considered to be the first taiko group,

Osuwa Daiko, in Nagano, Japan. Taiko groups were formed all throughout Japan since

that time, in large part to a desire to return to traditional Japanese arts and culture.

Two other taiko groups from Japan are considered major influences on American taiko,

Tokyo’s “O Edo Sukeroku Taiko” and “Ondeko-za.” O Edo Sukeroku Taiko is known for

its dynamic double-drum style of taiko drumming and slant style of taiko drumming.

Ondeko-za started in 1969, by Tagayasu Den, and in 1981, the group split, giving birth

to the most internationally-known taiko group, “Kodo.”

Gagaku/Bugakucourtesy of Kinnara

Taiko skinning drawingscourtesy of Miyamoto Unosuke

Shoten

Kodo Promotional Card (1984)courtesy of Kodo

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HISTORY OF AMERICAN TAIKO

In North America, taiko started in 1968 when Seiichi Tanaka, who recently moved from

Japan, saw the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival and noticed there wasn’t any

taiko. Shortly thereafter, he started the first American taiko group, the San Francisco

Taiko Dojo, based on his studies of taiko and martial arts in Japan. In 1969, Rev.

Masao Kodani and George Abe, two sansei (third-generation Japanese American)

Buddhists were putting away the temple taiko from its once-a-year appearance at the

summer-time Senshin Obon festival, when they decided to continue playing the drum.

After hours of pounding on the taiko, they were tired, sweaty, hands bleeding, and they

decided they should “play taiko more often.” Thus was born the first bonafide

Japanese American taiko group. Rev. Kodani formed the taiko group without Japanese

formalities such as an established teacher or hierarchical leadership system and

formed a philosophy of playing taiko according to Jodoshinshu Buddhist philosophy.

Young Asian Americans took to taiko immediately, and with the influence of these first

two groups, taiko groups formed across North America, such as San Jose Taiko (San

Jose, CA – 1973), Soh Daiko (New York City, NY – 1975), and Katari Taiko (Vancouver,

Canada - 1979). There are now over 150 taiko groups throughout North America.

Taiko groups in North America are noted for their creativity and innovation in developing

a distinctively “American” style of playing taiko. Incorporating world rhythms, dance,

music, theatre, and storytelling, American taiko is an exciting, young artform that contin-

ues to thrive and become more and more diverse. Not only do those of Japanese

ancestry play taiko, but Asian Americans, and Americans of all ancestries play taiko--

anyone can play!

However, like everything else, taiko is not without its issues. Current issues in the

North American taiko community include the copyrighting of songs, movements, and

styles of taiko, the need (or not) for a governing taiko organization like in Japanese

martial arts like karate or judo, the idea of a “taiko competition.”

Seiichi Tanaka (c. 1970)San Francisco Taiko Dojo

courtesy the artist

Conference Booklet (1997)1997 North American Taiko

Conference Bookletdesign by Qris Yamashita

Kinnara Taiko (c. 1970)Kinnara Taiko

courtesy the artist

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LOS ANGELES TIMES“A Taiko Tradition: Bang the DrumLoudly”by Teresa Watanabe, Staff WriterJuly 30, 1999

Thirty years ago, two people fellprey to the lure of the Japanesebig drum.

In San Francisco, a martial artistfrom Japan attending a local cher-ry blossom festival noted the starkabsence of the taiko, the thunder-ous drum that is a fixture at mostevery Japanese community cele-bration.

In Los Angeles, a JapaneseAmerican Buddhist priest puttingaway the temple taiko after anannual Bon Odori summer festivalwondered why this glorious instru-ment should stay shuttered awaybut for a few nights a year.

Within months of each other,Seiichi Tanaka and the Rev.Masao Kodani had formed taikoperformance groups at oppositeends of the state—and pioneereda Japanese American art formthat has exploded in popularitytoday and will be featured at theNorth American Taiko Conference,which begins today in Little Tokyo.

The conference, which is expect-ed to draw more than 500 taikodrummers, manufacturers, andfans from the United States,Canada and Japan, willfeature avariety of workshops, demonstra-tions, and discussions. Two con-certs will be held Saturday andSunday at the Japan AmericaTheatre.

“As Japanese Americans, we did-n’t have any arts that were pas-sionate and physical,” said BryanYamami, a conference organizerwith the Japanese AmericanCultural and Community Center.

“We have classical dance and teaceremony, things that are veryprecise and proper. But taiko isexciting and dynamic; it’s musicalbut also visceral.”

Today, the appeal of taiko’s rawpower and commanding roar,mesmerizing choreography andcolorful costuming has moved farbeyond the Japanese Americancommunity.

Taiko groups now consist of drum-mers of all races, who perform atvenues from public schools toCarnegie Hall. The distinctivetaiko drumbeat is now featured inHollywood commercials andmovie soundtracks, including“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”and “The Thin Red Line.” Aplethora of taiko styles now mixdance and theater, salsa and jazz,with the traditional Japanesedrum.

The proliferation of taiko groupshas even sparked an emergingset of issues that will beaddressed at the conference.They include the ethics of imitat-ing styles and songs, whether aformal organization should governthe burgeoning number of groupsand how to safeguard the tradi-tion’s Japanese roots as the artmoves into the mainstream.

“How do you copyright a particularmovement? Is this going to staya Japanese American culturalthing? These are all questionspeople need to talk about,” saidJohnny Mori, a taiko pioneer whoplays for the jazz group Hiroshimaand Kinnara, the group based atKodani’s Senshin BuddhistTemple.

Shrouded in folklore and myth,taiko is said to have been broughtto Japan from China thousands ofyears ago as a Buddhist ritualtool, an instrument of court music

and a means for villagers to com-municate with one another. InJapanese folk tradition, Kodanisaid, taiko also represents regen-eration, with the drumsticks as amale symbol and the drum,female.

It was not until the 1950s, howev-er that taiko began to develop asa performing art in Japan, andthen independently in the UnitedStates a decade later.

Kodani’s Senshin BuddhistTemple, near USC, was central inpopularizing taiko by inventing away to make drums inexpensivelyfrom wine barrels, rather than thetraditional method of carving outwhole pieces of wood. The inno-vation allowed groups to maketaikos for about $400, rather thanthe Japanese price of a couplethousand dollars for a small drumto $70,000 for a huge one,Yamami said.

Many Groups, ManyInterpretations

For the nearly 100 groups thatnow flourish in North America,taiko variously represents an artform, a spiritual path, a culturalexpression and a political state-ment.“Most taiko groups in America aresearching for some kind of root intheir ancestry,” said Mt. Shastamusician Russel Baba, who,along with his wife, JeanneMercer, has played taiko for 27years and is leading a pilot train-ing program for young drummersthis week in Los Angeles.

The development of taiko as acommunity art paralleled the civilrights movement and the quest forethnic identity. For many, Morisaid, taiko was one way to re-embrace a cultural heritage thatmany cast aside in shame follow-ing the internment of Japanese

ARTICLE ONEThe following article from the Los Angeles Times contains agood retelling of the history of American taiko by TeresaWatanabe. She wrote this article as a feature on the 1999North American Taiko Conference.

Seiichi TanakaSan Francisco Taiko Dojo

courtesy of The Rafu Shimpo

Jeanne MercerShasta Taiko

courtesy of the Los AngelesTimes

Johnny MoriKinnara Taiko

courtesy of the Los AngelesTimes

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Americans during World War II.

But Mori and other members ofKinnara (which translates asBuddhist celestial music) seetaiko performance primarily as away to practice Buddhist princi-ples of interdependence, of rec-ognizing the ego and movingbeyond it. Kinnara members donot strive for musical perfection;talented showboats are nudgedaside in favor of those with fewerskills but greater humility, Kodanisaid.

“What we play, how we play it,when we play it, is all decidedcommunally,” Kodani said.

Many of the group’s pieces carryBuddhist themes. “Samsara,”which Kinnara will perform thisweekend at the Taiko Jam ’99concerts, expresses the experi-ence of being caught in the worldof self-delusion, while“Prapancha” captures theBuddhist view that most ofhuman speech is meaningless.

Similarly, Centenary MethodistChurch sees its taiko group as areligious path, with the Bibleincorporated in its mission state-ment and such compositions as“Bringing Down the Walls ofJericho.” Tanaka, in contrast,developed what he calls “powertaiko”—a musical expression ofhis martial arts combining disci-pline and strength with the rusticspirit of Japanese village festi-vals. In an effort to hone hiscraft, he shuttled back and forthfrom Japan to study with preemi-nent groups there, includingOsuwa Taiko and O EdoSukeroku Taiko.

Tanaka’s demanding approach,both controversial and respected,re-creates the feudalistic, hierar-chical relationship between mas-ter and student that character-izes sumo wrestling, tea ceremo-ny, and other Japanese arts. Healso requires a rigorous physicalregimen of up to four miles ofrunning, 400 push-ups, and 400sit-ups before every practice, andhe employs “tough love,” whack-ing with his hand the students

who don’t measure up.

In recent years, however, Tanakahas added meditation and theChinese art of energy movementknown as qigong to his curricu-lum. He now sees drumming asa path to a healthy life, derivingpower from the inner forcesrather than raw physical strength.Although his San Francisco TaikoDojo will not be performing thisweekend, Tanaka will be leadingtwo workshops today andSaturday.

“These days I am as soft as tofu,but I still have my spirit behindme,” Tanaka said.

For Generation X-er AnnIshimaru, taiko has been a wayto reconnect with her roots.Raised in white suburban com-munities around the UnitedStates, Ishimaru says she wasashamed of her heritage, proudshe could not speak Japaneseand pretended she hated sushi.

When she was about 12, shesaw her first taiko performance inSeattle and was secretly thrilledthat a Japanese American artcould be so powerful and com-pelling—and performed bywomen as well.

Years later, as a freshman atStanford University, she signedup for a class that linked theloud, steady sound of the drumand the vocal political movementto gain reparations for the intern-ment of Japanese Americans.

Ishimaru was hooked. She start-ed Stanford Taiko, and is now afounding members of PortlandTaiko. The group, which includesmembers of Korean, Chinese,Filipino, Laotian, and Europeanancestry, is aimed at promotingcultural diversity and social jus-tice, she said.

Still others pursue taiko purely asan end in itself. “I joinedbecause of the art, the musicand performing,” said San JoseTaiko member Wisa Uemura.

Despite the deep meaning taiko

seems to give many practition-ers, however, one of the menwho started it all warns againsttaiking it all too seriously.

“It’s just a cow skin sheet over awine barrel,” Kodani said with alaugh.

ARTICLE ONE continued

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTATION

Odaiko

The Odaiko is the largest drum in the taiko

family. When “O-“ is added to the beginning

of words in Japanese, it often means

“Great.” The “Odaiko” is considered the

“Great Drum,” and although they vary in

size, it is usually the largest drum in a set,

and can be as large as 12 feet in diameter.

The TAIKOPROJECT’s “Odaiko” is 5 feet in

diameter.

Chudaiko

The Chudaiko is considered the medium

drum of a taiko set, and is usually around 1

1/2 - 2 feet in diameter. The Chudaiko and

Odaiko are considered “Nagado-taiko,” their

wooden bodies carved from a single tree

trunk and the cowskin drumheads stretched

and secured with metal tacks.

Okedo

The Okedo is a lighter drum made from

wooden staves put together like a bucket.

The drumheads are stretched over metal

rings and sewn together, and then stretched

over the wooden bodies with ropes and a

special tying method. Its lighter weight

makes it easier for taiko players to carry it

while playing, often with an over-the-shoul-

der strap.

Shimedaiko

The Shimedaiko is made from a wooden

body, stretched with rope or with metal bolts.

It is tightened higher than any other taiko,

and its piercing tone cuts through the low

pitches of the other taiko drums.

Uchiwadaiko

The Uchiwadaiko is a drumhead stretched

over a metal ring, like the shimedaiko, but

then the ring is attached to a wooden han-

dle. It is often used in dances where the

dancer plays the drum with one stick but is

freed up to move around easily. “Uchiwa”

means “fan” in Japanese, as the uchi-

wadaiko looks like a Japanese fan.

Bachi

Bachi are drumsticks used for playing taiko.

They are made from a variety of soft and

hardwoods, such as hinoki (Japanese

cedar) and hou (magnolia), softwoods, and

kashi (Japanese white oak) and maple,

hardwoods. They are also made in different

sizes—with larger bachi for larger drums,

and smaller bachi for smaller drums.

Chappa

Small brass Japanese hand cymbals

Atarigane

Brass gong struck with a small mallet in dif-

ferent places to make different sounds.

Yokobue

Bamboo side flute often played in accompa-

niment to taiko, especially in matsuri, festi-

vals.

From top: OdaikoChudaiko

OkedoShimedaiko

UchiwadaikoBachi

Photos provided byAsano Taiko Company, Ltd.

From top: Chappaand Atarigane

Yokobue

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Homemade Taiko

When taiko first began in the United States, many groups had to make their own drums

due to the high expense of purchasing a taiko from Japan. Thus the invention of the

American-style wine barrel taiko came into being. In addition to being a necessity,

making one’s own drum taught the taiko player their first important lesson – to respect

the instrument.

The intention of this activity is to create your own instruments in order to form your own

taiko ensemble. While doing this process, the student’s will also potentially feel a

sense of pride and respect towards their own personal taiko.

Activity 1: Newspaper bachi (drumsticks)

Items needed: newspaper, duct tape

Take 6-8 layers of newspaper and roll them. The diameter should be about 1 1/2 – 2

inches. Fasten the ends with duct tape. If possible, tape the entire newspaper

surface so as not to get one’s hands and/or the classroom dirty from the newspaper

print.

Activity 2: Coffee Can Taiko (drum)

Items needed: emptied coffee cans, clear packing tape

Remove the lid from the coffee can. Cover the entire top with clear packing tape.

Refer to the pictures on the left. Although any taping style will work, the recommended

way is to first start by taping a cross (horizontal, vertical). Then proceed to tape an "X".

After this is done, proceed to tape

Student Outcomes:

• Create your own drumsticks and drum

• Learn about the process of making an instrument

• Learn how to respect your own instrument

Conclusion: After this activity, your class will be ready to create your own taiko ensem-

ble! Proceed to the following exercises.

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WHAT IS RHYTHM?

Rhythm is something that repeats itself, aurally, visually, or physically. You can hear

rhythms everywhere---when it rains, you hear the rhythms of rain hitting roofs of build-

ings, when you pass a construction site, you hear the rhythms of the jackhammer hit-

ting the ground, and when the telephone rings.

When you can see rhythms, they are called patterns. You can see a pattern in a suc-

cession of traffic lights down the street, in rows of windows of a wide building, and even

in the pages of a book when you flip them from back to front.

Finally, you can make rhythms with movement. Almost anything you do creates

rhythm. Walking creates rhythms with your arms, your legs, and your whole body.

When you eat something, your chewing creates a rhythm (and a tasty one, at that!).

Put your hand over your heart. This is your own unique, personal rhythm!

Musically, rhythm is defined as organized beats greouped in patterns which are repeat-

ed. Rhythm is one of the basic elements of music.

Are you ready to try it out? Here we go!

Exercise 1: Finding Rhythm Together

Student Outcomes: Students will be able to:

• Demonstrate steady tempo. Rhythms, hand/feet coordination, and group listening

• Understand the three ways we encounter rhythms in our daily lives

• Make up their own short, improvisational rhythms

Anticipatory Set: Go over the three types of rhythms and have students identify rhythms

that they have experienced.

Activity: Have the students stand up and form a circle. Explain that you are all going to

play a rhythm together, starting with a basic “stomp” walk. In an easy tempo, guide stu-

dents to walk in unison, “right, left, right, left…” until they are all together. Once they

have the “stomp” walk together, then have everyone clap on each step. Then clap

every other step…then every third step…and finally every fourth step. Once they’ve

tried all of these, try this simple pattern with clapping while still doing the basic “stomp”

walk:

• clap once every four steps four times

• clap once every three steps four time

• clap once every two steps four times

• clap once every step four times

• and repeat!

8

WHAT IS RHYTHM? continued

Once they have mastered this, then have them try passing around a “pulse” in the cir-

cle—begin with the “stomp” walk in place, then once your “basebeat” is set, designate a

student to start the pulse and the direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise), and start

with one clap and send it around, keeping in time with the “stomp” walk. Be sure they

do not speed it up and explain that if even if the person in front of them doesn’t get it,

try to keep the rhythm going. If this goes well, you can try two variations:

• sending around two pulses (after one is set and traveling around, have the same stu-

dent – or yourself – send around a second pulse)

• change direction of the pulse with a triple clap (you facilitate this, once the pulse is

traveling, after a clap, clap three times fast, with the third clap ending on the next per-

son’s clap, upon which the pulse will change direction)

If they master this, you can take the next step and have students do a four

count improvisational call-and-response. Start this the same way, with the

“stomp” and then, one by one each student has four counts to clap any rhythm,

and then the class tries to repeat with the same rhythm. Immediately after the

class is done repeating, the next student gives the four-count call and the class

responds.

Conclusion: After the activity, go over learning points and encourage students to come

up with new rhythm patterns with stomping and clapping and prep them for Activity 2.

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KUCHI SHOGA

Most taiko players learn songs through “kuchi shoga.” “Kuchi” means “mouth” and

“shoga” means “to sing.” Literally, taiko players learn how to “sing” the taiko songs and

then transfer that song into playing it on the drum. It is one of many styles of learning

music and can be notated verbally and written. Each verbal sound represents a sound

made by the drum and a time value.

Don (dohn) Hard right hand strike to the drum head (1/4 note)

Dogo (doh-goh) Hard right/left strikes to the drum head (2 – 1/4 notes)

Tsu (tsoo) Soft right hand strike to the drum head (1/4 note)

Tsuku (tsoo-koo) Soft right/left strikes to the drum head (2 – 1/4 notes)

Ka (kah) Hard right hand strike to the drum rim (1/4 note)

Kara (kah-rah) Hard right/left strikes to the drum rim (2 – 1/4 notes)

Su (soo) A Rest – don’t play – (1/4 note)

Eii-yess-SA!! A Kiai – instead of playing the drum, yell!!

(aaaayyy – like “day,”– yess—SAW!!)

RENSHU Song Patterns

“Renshu” means “practice” in Japanese and is also a taiko song that almost all

American taiko players have learned as their first taiko song. It was written by Seiichi

Tanaka, the founder of San Francisco Taiko Dojo.

Here are “Renshu” patterns one and two:

Pattern One

Don Don Don Don Dondondondon Dorotsuku Don Don

R L R L R L R L R L R L R L

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Pattern Two

Don Kara Don Kara Don Kara Kara Kara

R R L R R L R R L R L R L

1 2 3 4

Bryan Yamamiphoto by Robert Meyers

Michelle Fujii, Tiffany Furuta,Shoji Kameda

photo by Edward Ikuta

TAIKOPROJECTArizona workshop

photo by Alan Tang

10

Exercise 2: Learning Kuchi Shoga!

Student Outcomes: Students will be able to:

• Sing Renshu Patterns One and Two

• Play Renshu Patterns One and Two on their laps

• Develop their own “kuchi shoga” ideas and rhythm patterns

Anticipatory Set: Go over definition of “kuchi shoga” and vocalize with students the

vocabulary of taiko “kuchi shoga.”

Activity Part One: Starting with Renshu Pattern One, sing the patterns out with

the students. Clap on the numbered beats to help keep them together, remind

them to listen to each other and to sing the patterns strongly and in time.

Once they can sing Renshu Pattern One, go over the hand movements, which

are just right-left through the pattern. See notation for R & L denoted beats.

Have students sing and play patterns simultaneously. Repeat process for

Pattern Two, which is a little trickier. If they get through both, try splitting

them into two groups and going back and forth, and then even further, to have

one group sing/play Pattern One, while the other sing/plays Pattern Two twice

(since Pattern one is twice as long). If they get this, then try speeding up the

tempo!

Conclusion: After this activity, you can go into two directions. If the students have

homemade instruments, they can create sounds and songs on them. If you are pro-

ceeding to the next exercise without homemade instruments, you can run the exercises

with just vocal drumming/soings, or use “found” instruments to create songs and rhyth-

mic patterns.

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ORAL TRADITION

In many folk music traditions throughout the world like Africa, India, Japan, etc., learn-

ing music was transmitted orally. The music was taught by using a verbal vocabulary,

which represented the sounds of the instrument. In the previous kuchi shouga lesson,

you were introduced to this vocabulary used for taiko.

Within this activity, your class will create your own oral vocabulary. Then you can cre-

ate your own taiko songs!

Activity 1: Create your own Vocabulary of Sound

You or one student designated as the leader will play one sound at a time on the taiko.

The leader can strike the center of the drum loudly, softly, hit the side or the rim. Be

creative and find different places on your taiko that could create a variety of sounds.

As the leader makes one sound, the class will come up with a syllable or word to

descrbe what they heard. This will create your rhythmic vocabulary.

Activity 2: Create your own rhythms

Put 4 of those vocabulary words together which forms a rhythm. Slowly begin by say-

ing 4 sounds. Then have the students repeat after you. Finish by playing those

sounds on the taiko.

Slowly create longer rhythms. If adventurous, begin to join some of these rhythms.

This will create a song. Some easy formats are AABA, ABA, ABCD, and ABACA

Student Outcomes

• Students will create their own vocabulary for sounds

• Students will create their own taiko songs.

Conclusion: By now, students have learned the origins of Japanese taiko, the history of

American taiko, they have experienced rhythm patterns first-hand, and have

created their own sounds, and arranged them into short song patterns! Now, they are

ready to see the show! Encourage them to try to pick out aspects of previous

lessons in the show and musical patterns in the taiko songs and to relate their own cul-

tural origins to the stories and music of our Japanese American style of taiko drum-

ming!

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GLOSSARY

Bachi Drumsticks used to play taiko

Kama-ete “Get ready” command for preparing to play taiko

Kata The movement, discipline, and form when playing taiko

Kiai Spirited yelling and vocals while playing taiko

Kuchi Shoga Vocal notation for translating taiko into songs/sounds

Kumidaiko The artform of contemporary group taiko drumming

Narimono Percussion and other instruments used with taiko

Odaiko “The Great Drum”

Sensei “Teacher,” calling someone “sensei” is also a sign of

respect (your teacher at school, your coach in sports,

are all your “sensei”s!)

Taiko “Drum” Americans have taken to calling group drumming

“Taiko.”

Wadaiko “Japanese Drumming” Japanese call group drumming

“Wadaiko” while “Taiko” to them, just means “Drum.”

RESOURCES

www.taiko.com Rolling Thunder Taiko Resource website

Good source for general taiko information

www.taikoinfo.org More information on taiko drums and music.

TAIKO GROUP WEBSITES

www.TAIKOPROJECT.com The TAIKOPROJECT’s website! Check it out!

www.taikodojo.org San Francisco Taiko Dojo, first group to form in the U.S.

www.taiko.org San Jose Taiko, third group to form in the U.S.

www.taikoarts.com Kenny Endo’s website, one of America’s leading

taiko drummers

www.onensemble.org Contemporary taiko ensemble that Shoji, Michelle,

and Masato are also members of!

www.senshintemple.org The Buddhist temple where American taiko began!

TAIKOPROJECTSchool Show, Kyrene Pueblo

Elementary School, Arizona

Bombu TaikoJapanese Village Plaza,

Los Angeles

TAIKOPROJECT castphoto by Edward Ikuta

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