There’s two ways to approach the
study of an art. One is to focus solely
on the art as you are taught it, analyzing the details of form and the nuances
of shape. The other is to look at the
art in comparison to other arts, how things are similar and how they are
different.
For me, I’ve been able to focus
heavily on my two chosen arts – taiko and karate – and relate the forms to each
other. I don’t think my taiko would get
better if I didn’t have karate, but I think I would focus more on karate if I
didn’t have taiko. That being said, I
know my karate has benefited from various aspects of my taiko training.
Lately, I’ve been interested in
supplementing my taiko training by studying other arts. I don’t have the opportunity to travel far and
study outside the Bay Area, but I want to take lessons in things that touch on what I already
do, in order to gain a new appreciation and perspective, as well as develop my
skills further.
Last year I had a shekere
lesson from a Latin percussionist that was at our 20th Anniversary Concert. SJT uses shekere a
lot in our repertoire, but I wanted to see if there were things in my technique
or understanding of the instrument I could improve on. As I was more interested in technique rather
than Latin/Cuban music, I didn’t continue down that path.
I’ve made a short list of the next
arts to look into:
1 – Stepping, or
Step-Dancing. This is a form of body
percussion, which I am very much a fan of (doing and watching). I think understanding a form of percussive
movement might open me up to different ideas both in soloing and
composition. I don’t want to necessarily
learn “dance” so this is a good hybrid that interests me.
2 – Improv (comedy). At SJT, 90% of our
songs have some form of improvisational soloing in them. I’ve been soloing for 20 years now and want
to see how other people approach improvising.
While I don’t want to “ham it up” during taiko, it would be interesting
to use words instead of notes, explore a different kind of stage presence, and see how those skills translate back to playing
drums.
3 – Konnakol (South Indian vocalization). Unlike kuchishoga for taiko, where the sounds
correspond to places on the drum, konnakol is only verbal. I figure trying to take up tabla or mridangam
at this point is too much, but if I can get a better concept of Indian rhythms
through something I can do without a drum, that would benefit me a lot...for playing on a drum.
4 – Janggu/Janggo/Changgo (Korean
hourglass drum). This is the drum that
inspired the katsugi-style okedo that Kodo made so popular. I'm comfortable on katsugi, but I would like a different perspective on it as
well. I took a Korean drumming workshop
at a NATC back in the day and although I wasn’t on a changgo, the rhythms were
very different and very interesting. I’d
like to try it again.
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I don’t figure I’ll get to all of
these; I have to find classes/workshops that fit into my schedule and/or
teachers willing to work with me. I
also have to find teachers that I feel comfortable with and hopefully who understand
what I’m hoping to get out of it – but then again, it’s their art form and I’m
just a student!
If I take any classes in these,
I’ll write about it, for sure.
What about you? If you could take workshops outside of the
art you’re doing now, to help you understand that art better, what would they
be?
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