- I only needed one pair of bachi.
- Japanese taiko was mostly "traditional" kumidaiko.
- Crossovers (on okedo) were the most impressive thing.
- Paradiddles were impossible!
- Getting a better sound meant hitting harder.
- Calluses meant you were skilled
- Taiko would just be a hobby
- Bachi were bachi (length and weight didn't matter much)
- There were just a few reasons why people played taiko.
This is just a partial list, and over the years assumptions came and went. I wonder what I would think 10 years from now about what I think now?
What about you? What do you know (or think you know) now that was different from what you thought in the beginning?
I avoided most of these because I started reading this blog early, and it got me thinking about those things. But "Taiko would be just a hobby"... Ahahahahahahahah!!!! Oh my.... Was I ever wrong :-)
ReplyDelete'It won't take up much of my time....'
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts:
ReplyDelete- All taiko groups play flat and slanted.
- All taiko groups had wine-barrel drums or Asano drums.
- As the number of years you spend playing taiko go up, the more "advanced" you are... meaning a great, well-rounded player with good form and great music knowledge.
- All taiko songs are loud.
- Kiai was just shouting with your voice.
- Every group had songs that were written down in music notation and passed out to members when in the learn-the-song stage...
- Blisters and calluses meant your hands were getting stronger...
- You could join any group you want, as many as you wanted, and taiko groups would be okay with it.
If by hobby you mean obsession then, yeah, it's just a hobby...
ReplyDeleteOne of my early assumptions was that the more I practice the better - read "less bad" - I'd get. So far it seems like the more I practice the worse I was to begin with and the more practice I need just to be mediocre. Damn!
A few of mine:
ReplyDelete- Once I'd memorized the rhythms and patterns of a song, I was pretty much done learning it.
- Faster is better.
- Kiai is awkward and scary.
- Everyone in the group is here for the same reasons.
- The people I look up to and learn from will always be around.