A TAIKO PRIMER

by Stan Shikuma

I. Taiko in Japan a. Origins -- Taiko is a synthesis of rhythm, movement and spirit, and its origins lie deeply embedded in Japanese culture and history. Taiko appears in the Japanese myths of origin involving the sun goddess Ameterasu. Taiko circle the head of the god of thunder. In olden days, it is said that village boundaries were set by the distance you could hear the taiko from the central square. Whether dancing at a festival, praying in a temple, watching a Kabuki drama or fighting a battle, the sound of the taiko could be heard as part of everyday Japanese life for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.

b. Modern -- Taiko, like many traditional arts and customs, experienced a period of decline during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the drive to modernize, industrialize and Westernize, many of the folk arts in particular suffered neglect. After World War II, a movement to return to traditional values and preserve national and regional identities arose, and interest in folk arts reawakened. This led to the birth of a modern taiko movement and development of taiko as a performing art in its own right.

II. Taiko in North America

a. Origins -- Seiichi Tanaka is known by many as the "father of Taiko" in North America. He has trained dozens of taiko players in the last 29 years, many of whom have gone on to start their own groups. The timing and the location was perfect for taiko to take off in the United States, as Tanaka Sensei started San Francisco Taiko Dojo during the late 1960's, when the movements for Civil Rights, Black Power, Anti-Vietnam War and Ethnic Studies were sparking both a desire to explore Japanese cultural roots amongst young Sansei (third generation Japanese Americans) as well as an interest in (or at least an openness to) what we now call "World Music" among the general public. Some of the earliest and most influential groups:

b. Current -- Today, there are over 100 taiko groups performing in North America. Many remain community based arts groups, mainly playing at local festivals and community events. Others have taken taiko in new directions and helped establish it as a new performing art form in the United States and Canada. Taiko groups today collaborate with dancers, poets, actors and musicians to produce new types of works that bring taiko to new settings and expose it to new audiences. Kodo, San Jose Taiko, Ondekoza and San Francisco Taiko Dojo have played Carnegie Hall in New York City. Individuals like Kenny Endo and Eitetsu Hayashi have formed small jazz ensembles using taiko, koto, shamisen, flute, sax and bass. Others, such as Tamakko-za, are exploring use of taiko in theater and dance. Cirque du Soleil even uses taiko in their Las Vegas show. Taiko is something both ancient and modern; old and new at the same time. It is alive and evolving both in Japan and here in North America.

III. Selected Taiko Glossary

IV. Playing Taiko

Taiko, like many traditional music traditions, uses an oral nomenclature to teach and preserve songs. Each hit has a particular sound (phonic or syllable) to represent it. Memorizing these sounds and learning to "sing" the song is the first step in learning to play the patterns. An ancient taiko proverb, loosely translated, states "If you can say it, you can play it."

DON hard hit on drumhead; multiple hits written as dogo, doro or doko
tsu soft hit on drumhead; multiple hits written as tsuku
ka sharp rap on the rim; wood sound; multiple hits written as kara or kaka
su rest or space; "empty hit"

Tanaka Sensei wrote a short piece called Renshu (literally means practice or training) which incorporates these basic hits and is used to teach beginners. You might give it a try at home.

RENSHU
composed by Seiichi Tanaka, SF Taiko Dojo

ichi (one) ni (two) san (three) shi (four)
1a. DON DON DON DON
1b. don - don don - don don - don don - don
2. DORO - tsuku DORO - tsuku DORO - tsuku DON - DON
3. DON - kara DON - kara DON - kara kara - kara
4. DON - tsuku DON - tsuku DON - tsuku DON - DON
5. su - DON su - DON su - DON DON - su

Play each line twice. Note that the first line (1a-b) is eight counts long. Generally, hands alternate Right-Left. Exceptions are lines 3 and 4 where the DON---ka-ra and the DON---tsu-ku are played R---R-L. Different instruments also have their own vocabulary, so you might hear:

shime TE -'n - TE-RA - tsu-ku - tsu-ku - TE-'n - tsu-TA - TE-'n - i - ya
atarigane chi - chan - cha-cha - chi-ki - chi-cha - chan - cha-cha - chi-ki
odaiko su-do - don - don - su-do - don - don - do-don - su

Counting in Japanese:

1 ichi 6 roku
2 ni 7 shichi
3 san 8 hachi
4 shi 9 ku
5 go 10 ju