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Opening question: If someone were to make an action figure of you, what would you be holding in your hands?
This week we warmed up with a movement and kiai exercise we did a little while ago. Focusing the word “SORE” which basically means “Ready, Go!” If you are a taiko player, you will often hear this as the count in to a song or drill to give the tempo. There are 4 different movements represented by each card. We started with just kiai and movement and then played it on the taiko.
“Line” - down, up
“Sunshine” - swoop up
“X” - cross, open
“Star” - free movement!
Sore Samba Workout
Following up from last week’s activities, Franco led some more Samba-inspired stepping and playing drills. He made this fun workout video for you to practice along with at a slower tempo. Sorry I wasn’t able to update the blog last week, I put some videos/links at the bottom for reference.
If you are interested, here is the performance video of Sore Samba, the San Jose Taiko piece written by Franco. A bit of background on SJT: we are a contemporary taiko company and our music is written by our members, reflecting our diverse backgrounds and inspirations. We do often incorporate other music influences and we were lucky to be able to learn from Franco’s experience in Samba.
For more music to listen to here is a Sergio Mendes playlist. Franco says the first and last tracks are the ones that relate to what we did during class. The other tracks are worth a listen but are primarily interpretations that span different aspects of samba.
Another interesting tidbit: Matthew Brodsky talks about music and brain in relation to Parkinson’s in this video shared by Pat (thanks Pat!). He specifically mentions Samba as a type of music that he thinks is beneficial to people with PD because of it’s polyrhythmic nature. They also give a shout-out to taiko too.
Here is a video of some of things covered last week!
We hope you have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Take care everyone!
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!