Group/individual and change

Every taiko group eventually develops its own style based on the training and direction of the sensei or main teachers, or through active group decisions. Soh Daiko developed its core style through long relationships with Sensei Seiichi Tanaka, Reverend Mas Kodani and Kinnara Taiko, San Jose Taiko, Russell Baba, Reverend Ron Miyamura, and Kodo. In general terms, the playing style is strong, clean (with sharp movements), and to be honest, perhaps a little rigid. But from the perspective of the audience, this rigidity can look pretty impressive.

Taking a closer look, however, you’ll notice that each drummer has unique habits. Choose five random drummers in Soh Daiko and you’ll find five similar but appreciably different approaches to the core style. In addition, there are members of Soh Daiko with previous training in the Sukeroku or Nihon Taiko Dojo schools. Elements of these styles—particularly the fluid and flexible movements—have been adopted by a few members, but in an inconsistent manner. This leads to a familiar question: how do you achieve group solidarity (a definitive style, agreement in kata) with a roomful of individual drummers?

If there is a sensei or main teacher, the answer is quite easy. You, as an individual drummer, should adapt your style immediately. It would be disrespectful to insist upon your previous training when in a new environment. If the group is run collectively, however, the answer is not as obvious. Decisions concerning kata and execution must be made within each piece and drills should be developed to naturalize the new or old movements. This post is not exactly about making these executive decisions. Rather, I want to take a step backwards and address a more basic question: can taiko drummers change their style?

In my experience, it is extremely difficult to get taiko drummers to alter their style. No doubt, this is due to the bodily habits accumulated through years of playing or simply living. Unless we are paying close attention to ourselves, these habits will be automatic, unrecognized, or simply categorized in our minds as this-or-that style. In fact, we have to acknowledge that these habits might just be bad habits. In order for us to address the first question concerning group style, we have to figure out how to alter our individual bodily habits. In other words, decisions about the group will be fruitless unless each drummer can actually change.

The task at hand, then, is getting drummers to change.

During my month as practice leader, I will first be addressing the basic hit, stance, and kata. Soon afterwards, however, I will be attempting to get drummers to change. Rather than prescribe a single style or goal, I will attempt to get each drummer to perform basic patterns in three different styles (which for now, I am calling Sword, Snake, and Bell Tower). We, as drummers, have all experienced instruction based on a prescribed singular style. Three different styles might actually wake people up and allow them to compare, adjust, and assess. Ultimately I am hoping to provoke wakefulness, bodily awareness, and engagement. We’ll see if it works or not…

PS. If you want to see an example of the “fluid and flexible movements” I mentioned earlier, check out this video labeled “Wadaiko [S]ukeroku.” This is one of my all-time favorite taiko posts on Youtube.

Leading practice 3

Yuudachi. Written by Sanford Ikeda, this composition utilizes the Chichibu Yatai Bayashi pattern as its centerpiece with an overall arrangement strongly influenced by early Kodo compositions. Due to its extreme dynamic range, this piece works best in indoor concert settings. The lead shime and kane part requires someone who is steady, can keep the front drummers from rushing, and can drive the group forward during solos and the final Chichibu pattern. The front drummers should look as uniform as possible, and the soloists should be confident.

Rehearsal techniques:
1. Practice the Chichibu pattern on up-stands. You can alternate with one side providing the backup part (do-kon), drill it as a duet (like the odaiko players in the piece), or change tempos after each successive pattern. Three to five times through the pattern.
2. Practice the Chichibu pattern on down drums. You can watch for uniformity between the three front drummers while others learn the pattern. Watch from the side to see the angle of everyone’s bachi in the raised position. Stress using the lower body to make it look stronger and more fluid. Watch from the front to get the audience view.
3. Solos. Encourage the soloists to build a “story” within their solo with a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

Hachidan. Arranged by Jenny Wada and Peter Wong, this composition is based on Oedo Sukeroku’s Yodan Uchi. The basic elements were taught to Soh Daiko by Seiichi Tanaka of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, and Jenny and Peter took on the task of arranging it for eight drum sides. Apparently, they figured out the end jumps at a restaurant, with salt and pepper shakers, napkins, and utensils for performers.

Rehearsal techniques:
1. Practice the Hachidan middle pattern. Watch for uniformity. Make sure everyone is executing the “reverse turn” as cleanly as possible. When in doubt, go back to basics and review the “2 basic, turn, 2 basic.” There has been an ongoing discussion as to how “smooth” we perform the basic movements. In other words, should we strive for Sukeroku-style movements or do we retain the Soh Daiko tradition of sharper movements.
2. Don’t ignore the backline (cannon, shime). Listen for the backups during the duet and the crescendo during the “mixed threes.”
3. Solos. Introduce basic movements and have people develop a short solo. You can split the group into two or three Yodan Uchi setups and all soloist switch on the cannon cue.

Miyake. This arrangement is based on Kodo’s arrangement of the traditional Miyake Daiko. The smooth arm movements and easy glide initiated by the feet and legs are replaced with stronger and sharper movements. This piece requires a good deal of endurance, so it should be practiced regularly. The piece was taught to SD by Kodo members during their first tour (as Kodo) to New York. Ask Merle about their sleeping arrangement at the New York Buddhist Church.

Rehearsal techniques:
1. It helps to have two performers on each position. Swap in different performers as you run the piece. Make sure the transitions (before and after each solo) are working.
2. With the drums down the line, have everyone play the Miyake pattern or the duet pattern. Watch for uniformity in the hits, pull back, and ending position. Make sure people aren’t leaning too far forward or back. The pull back should seem exciting—it should look and feel like an archer pulling back the bowstring. The movement should be initiated with the legs and the torso and arms should follow. A game of tug-of-war might help get the right feeling.

Matsuri. The basic elements were taught to Soh Daiko by Sensei Seiichi Tanaka. SD’s arrangement has continually changed throughout the years and involves solos (including shime and odaiko), Teddy’s handstand entrance, twirl, and solo (always a big crowd-pleaser), and the end jumps.

Rehearsal techniques:
1. Place all the drums on slant stands, down a line, and watch for uniformity. This is a tough one to rehearse, as everyone plays it slightly differently. Once a decision has been made about kata, drill the pattern over and over again.
2. Practice the end jumps. But please don’t overdo it and risk injury.
3. Listen for agreement between the odaiko and shime throughout the piece. Make sure the kane, chappa, and shekere are contributing to the base beat.

Shishimai. The group has been performing two different arrangements recently. Both were based on workshops with Kenny Endo, but the newer arrangement sticks closer to the original with three performers in the hayashi (shime, kane, fue).

Rehearsal techniques:
1. Kuchi shoga with the different patterns. The hayashi can spend time in the dressing room working on their parts. It would be best if two different hayashi were developed.
2. Make sure the shime introduction is strong. Nimba should sound light and bouncy. Make sure the shime and kane are ‘swinging’ to the same extent. The Yatai section again should be strong and confident. Finally, Mikoshi Bayashi should not sound strident or angry. Make sure the shime is playing fast and light!

Leading practice 2

As I noted in the previous post, there are countless ways to run an effective rehearsal. What I didn’t mention was the fact that there are countless way to run a terrible rehearsal. Here are some things you might want to avoid:

Too much talking. Every minute you open your mouth means a minute of non-drumming. I know it’s fun to chat about taiko and some people seem inclined to preface a two-minute exercise with five minutes of explanation. But if you are the practice leader and you’re just talking, you’re not doing your job. Any extended period of non-drumming should be considered a failure on your part.

Simply running through a piece is not an effective use of time. Unless you are doing a dress rehearsal for an upcoming performance, running a piece without any direction will embed and concretize bad habits. Ultimately, this will make your job harder.

It is your job to fix things, so don’t ignore sloppy execution or problematic sections. Before the rehearsal, identity two “problem” spots within each piece. Come up with a short exercise to fix it (short demonstration and then exercise, kuchi shoga while air-drumming, pairing up, or something else), quickly tell the group what you’re hoping to fix, and then run the exercise. Once that is done, run a larger section to see if the group retains the fix. If not, you’ll need to come up with a better exercise or turn this exercise into a repeated drill at the beginning of rehearsals.

Don’t get exasperated. Don’t tell everyone they “just need to practice” and don’t say, “We’ll continue to work on this or that.” If you tell the group to practice on their own, you might as well wish for the next set of lottery numbers while you’re at it. Anything that you do not directly address during a rehearsal will remain the same. Problems will still be problems. And in most cases, if you say we’ll continue to work on things, it means, “I’m going to ignore this problem for now.” If you really want something fixed, it has to be done during your rehearsal.

Don’t dwell unnecessarily, especially when it comes to choreography. Some groups have highly choreographed pieces with movement or jumps. Pinpoint what you want to fix and then fix it in a short amount of time. Please do not make your drummers execute the same jump over and over again. You are risking injury.

As you can probably tell, I’m a bit of a taskmaster during my rehearsal months. But whether you are performing in a community group, temple group, semi-professional group, or professional group, one thing remains the same: everyone likes to play well. It is your responsibility, then, to make the group play well together. You don’t have to be dictatorial (which might make people resentful) or use a “teacher” voice (which might make people revert to their inner bad student). In fact, it’s best if you let your personality guide your rehearsal. Don’t take on a different persona when you are leading the group—it will seem funny, artificial, or just annoying to everyone else. Be yourself, and by that I mean, be yourself when you have something important to accomplish.