Soloing, part 1: Ji

I'd like to start another series of posts, this time on soloing and solo development. I'm submitting a workshop for Taiko Conference next year on solo development and have been thinking about it quite a bit.

I'll be talking about different aspects of soloing ("set" solos, improvisation, etc.) as well as the different instruments that are the most common to play on (shime, odaiko, etc.).

To start, let's tackle the soloist's best friend, the ji. The ji is the pulse, the beat, the base, usually played by the higher-pitched instruments like the shime or hand percussion. The most common patterns for ji are dongo (the swung triplet), straight beat, and horsebeat.

As soloists, most of us hardly consider the ji. It's just there. However, we have a responsibility to adhere to that ji in both tempo and mood. Once we depart from it, whether speeding up or something like playing really loud in a quiet song, we're no longer part of the ensemble.

As the ji, our responsibility is to not listen to the soloist. That's not easy! We're usually watching the soloist, supporting them with energy and/or kiai, but it's up to us to hold the ji steady so that they have a solid base to create on top of. When we waver, we made their job twice as hard.

Next time you solo, especially if it's in a song you've gotten used to soloing in, try to take note of the ji. Do you solo to the song or to the ji? Neither is necessarily "wrong", mind you. Here's also an example to consider. Say you have Happy Song A with a straight beat ji at a certain volume, at a certain tempo. Intense Song B has the exact same ji, and you get to solo for the same length in Song A as in Song B. Do you play the same solo? You probably can, but odds are the feeling of the songs are different. You need to honor the tempo from the ji but the mood of the song itself.

The ji can be your best friend, but if you neglect it, you'll be left alone and exposed. Don't just think of what you're going to play, try to take the time and really understand the ji. You might find yourself with some new options and ideas, and that is never a bad thing!