Who are the performers of taiko?

Taiko Artists

• 鼓童 47,920 listeners. 鼓童 (Kodō) is one of the elite taiko drumming groups today.
• Yamato. 5,298 listeners.
• 鼓童 47,920 listeners.
• GOCOO. 3,998 listeners.
• Soh Daiko. 731 listeners.
• Taikoza. 1,810 listeners.
• Kodo & Isao Tomita. 3,474 listeners.
• Ondekoza. 2,097 listeners.

What are the 4 principles of taiko?

The 4 principles are Ki—energy, Kata—movements, Attitude, and Musical Technique. They represent a structure for approaching the taiko art form broken down into key elements.

How many taiko groups are there?

Estimates of the number of taiko groups in Japan vary to up to 5,000 active groups in Japan, but more conservative assessments place the number closer to 800 based on membership in the Nippon Taiko Foundation, the largest national organization of taiko groups.

How many performers are there in the taiko drum group?

There are 31 staff members, and if we include Kodo’s apprentices and casual staff, the Kodo Group in its entirety contains around 100 members. There are 4 staff members from Sado Island. The other members come from as far away as Hokkaido and Okinawa, and from everywhere in between.

What is the rhythm of the music of taiko?

The form and style of Gagaku are part of contemporary taiko. Gagaku music has a fixed form, steady rhythm, and an elastic, “breath rhythm” that mimics inhaling and exhaling rather than a steady tempo (Malm 1977).

What is the rhythm of taiko drum?

The texture of Taiko music often begins with a solo drummer who cues the other drums in and slowly builds until everyone is playing together. It should be clarified that this refers to rhythmic texture and not harmonic texture.

What is the purpose of taiko drumming?

The main usage of taiko in those days was to play in temples or in festivals as Miya-daiko (temple drum or sacred drum). The Japanese immigrants preserved their culture in the New World, probably, to maintain their identity and cooperative spirit as Japanese.

What do taiko drummers yell?

The slow patter of the small Japanese drums sounds like light rain falling.

What is the SHO instrument?

The sho, the Japanese mouth organ descended from the Chinese sheng, is used in gagaku (court music). Air blown through the projecting mouthpiece circulates through the lacquer air chamber activating tiny rectangular metal reeds mounted in the sides of some of the tubes.

Is taiko a martial art?

Taiko is the Japanese word for drum and refers to the modern style of playing these drums. Wadaiko (in Japan) and kumi daiko (in North America) is movement infused, heart-pounding, dynamic group drumming. Think of it as a high energy performance art that combines music, dance, martial arts, athletics, and culture.

Why the taiko drum is unique?

When hit hard with bachi, taiko can produce sounds topping 130 decibels, a sound level that is on a par with the noise produced by jet airplanes. Outside, such sounds can be heard over a distance of several kilometers. In fact, in ancient Japan, such taiko drumming was even used to signal soldiers on the battlefield.

Why do taiko players stand in that position?

Taiko Technique Taiko drumming is similar to martial arts like karate. Drummers use certain stances, foot and leg positions and movements throughout their performance- this is called Kata. An important part of the performance is to keep stable and keep your shoulders and hips relaxed.

What does shō sound like?

The instrument’s sound is said to imitate the call of a phoenix, and it is for this reason that the two silent pipes of the shō are kept—as an aesthetic element, making two symmetrical “wings”.