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Opening question: How have you (or will you) treated yourself during COVID?
Marlene: Zoppe Circus / Cathy: PRC and other classes / Lane: Getting a haircut! / Renira: Driving to Arizona / Keith: Getting an iPad / Ellen: Getting more books / Pat: Marvel Movie-thon every weekend / Theresa: Game/movie/craft nights with daughter / Rebecca: PRC! / Yurika: Going to the Fort Mason drive-in / Franco: Green Egg
After Warm-Ups this morning Yurika ran a kiai and coordination activity. Basically we got into a vigorous march using elbows and then did call and response of basic kiai. Since kiai are meant to be shouted with volume and intention, sometimes it’s easier to do that when the body is in motion rather than still.
“Soré!”
If you have been playing taiko for any length of time, you’ll probably have heard this word. We don’t always explain it explicitly, but basically it means - “ready, go!” It can be confusing as “Soré” can have other meanings in Japanese. In the taiko context we usually will focus on each syllable equally with intention (e.g. “SOH!-REH!”) and it serves the purposes of setting the timing of the first strike, getting you ready mentally/physically and also imbues you with ki/energy.
Today’s exercise was using “soré” to prep for gather and release of energy. On the “so” let you body weight drop a little bit and on the “ré” use that potential energy to spring yourself up and wind up your arms. Right after that you can use that energy to hit the drum. So sequentially “SO-RÉ-DON!”
Drumming Technique and Rock Drumming Con’t
Franco led us through a review of last-week’s coordination drill based on the 2’s and 4’s rock drumming. You can see a video of it below from last week. Lane made a helpful tip that he thinks about it as 2 beats (one hand / two hands).
We spent a little bit of time talking about drumming fundamentals and striking. Even though we are not playing on taiko right now at home, there are ways of capitalizing on your technique to get the best sound out of your bucket or box and also to not to cause undue strain to your wrists and elbows. A key part of this is relaxed grip.
Other things:
Fun drumming video:
Nandi Bushell a young British girl who plays drumset with attitude playing along with the Foo Fighters. Franco’s a big fan!
Have a good week!
ANNOUNCEMENTS and REMINDERS:
Payment for classes should be made here: https://www.paypal.me/sanjosetaiko OR by check made out to San Jose Taiko, 565 N. 5th Street, San Jose CA 95112 (please mark the check PRC). The fee is $10 drop-in or $36/month. Please mark on your payment what dates the payment is for. This will help greatly in reconciling payments.
Bachi can be purchased to be mailed for $10 a pair.
Our friends in southern California are also running a taiko class for Parkinson’s called “Rhythmic Flow Taiko” on Sundays. Please check their website for more info.
At any time, feel free to email yurika@taiko.org for questions!