Question Everything: Giving it 100%

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When we're new to taiko, most of us focus on striking harder, being louder.  We use more muscle, more energy, more effort in making that happen.  But at what point does playing harder stop being useful?  Can you keep building strength and momentum and have that equal a louder, or better sound with no end?

Sometimes there's focus on really strong ki, through kiai.  We try to kiai louder, push our bodies forward harder, show it on our face with more expression, etc.  But at what point can we physically not make more noise?  At what point does it harm the body?  At what point are you using too much effort and actually restricting or dampening the energy output?

I view learning technique through the lens of the kind of gauge pictured above.  It's easy for people to think that the "best" technique is when it's at 100.  But at 100, are you being efficient with your energy, your motions?  Are you being relaxed enough to last through a performance?  And even if you can push 100 and last long enough, could you pull back, be more efficient, and utilize nuance, skill?

Being at 100 is, in my opinion, somewhat brutish.  And where do you go from there?  How can you improve on technique at 100%?  "Wait," you may be thinking, "if I'm at 100 with a technique, isn't that the best I can do?"  No, there never is a best, and that's the point.  Instead of thinking doing MORE of a technique, it's better to think of doing BETTER at it.

Here's a good example:

Most of you probably don't practice punching very often.  That's fine.  Put your dukes up, so to speak, and throw a punch, then pull it back.  Whee!  Ok, that's your baseline.  Now squeeze your fist really hard, really really hard.  Harder!  Now punch and pull back.  Did that feel better?  Stronger?  I bet it didn't.  In fact, it probably felt uncomfortable!

So there's an example of a technique where doing something at 100 is detrimental to the execution.  Can you see how that applies to playing a drill, or a song?  It might be where being at 80 is better for keeping relaxed, or 60 is good for the time being because the focus isn't on you (and shouldn't be for that moment).  Knowing where to dial it up (or down) to as well as when is a valuable, difficult skill.

So the next time you play a given song, should you have the faculties to do so, take mental stock of where you are.  What number is your ki at?  Your intention and effort at?  Your volume at?  Can you adjust it slightly?  How does it feel when you do?

When someone says "give it 110%!"  I think they should try to kiai at 110% and see what happens.  :D

Is being good at something...good?

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I wonder how much our own gifts hold us back sometimes.

Take the man with really fluid footwork.  Something he's known for and prides himself on.  When he solos, it's impossible not to notice how smooth and natural he moves.  But now there's a new song that doesn't use footwork, and focuses on playing fast patterns.  It's not his comfort zone and so he doesn't try as hard, knowing he won't have to solo in it much - or at all - because others will be better at it.

Take the woman who beams joy from her face and body when she plays, without having to think about it.  But now there's a song that's serious and intense.  She has trouble changing her expression because she never has had to before.  And when there's a solo in that song, she reverts to a happy, joyful energy and it never quite fits.

Take the kid who has amazing hands, naturally.  But now they're put in a song that requires more than they can deliver without struggling, without breaking down the fundamentals on their own time, outside of practice.  Their frustration grows, to the point where attitude is affected, they get argumentative or disruptive.

I'm sure most of us are either glad we're really good at something or wish we were.  But that talent, that gift, can also become a crutch, a weakness.

I know there are people who are gifted who will struggle with a new skill set, but take it in stride, will work on it in earnest.  But when we're good at one thing, and then struggle with something else, it can be easy to think, "well I don't have to worry about that difficult thing, because I can rely on the easy thing."  Don't do that!  It's like saying you don't have to go shopping because you have tons of bananas to eat.  Just bananas...  You need more than bananas!

Balance

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Stand on one leg, lift the other, and close your eyes.  (Wait, read this first, then close your eyes...)

If you keep your supporting leg stiff, you'll probably find that it's not only harder to keep your balance, but requires a lot more work to recover it.  If you instead drop your weight, let the knee bend, you should be able to stay balanced easier, and when off-balance, it should be less work to keep from falling over.  Stay stiff for a minute, stay loose for a minute; how do you feel at the end of it?

Now it's not that you're likely to stand on one leg and close your eyes while playing taiko, but I see a lot of people who keep their lower body/legs still and stiff.  If your balance is harder to maintain with stiff legs in the above example, if you find that your legs are more tired after a minute, can you see how that's what you're doing when you're in kata/stance and stiff?

It's not even that you have to move a lot, or be bouncy, or anything on the other extreme.  You can be still, but loose, with practice.  Having good balance can be rewarding on its own, when you're moving, spinning, jumping, even just shifting your weight.  But having good balance also means you're being efficient with your posture, your alignment, your muscles, etc.

Considering it's not something most of us think about, balance is one of those tools that can really accentuate a taiko player's toolkit - or be the one we need really badly as we're falling down...

Question Everything: Sacrilege

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What's sacred in your group?  Not in a religious sense, but what practices were taught to you that were mandatory, what rituals are you expected to perform during the course of practice?

Are the bachi you play with sacred conduits or just pieces of wood or something in between?  Are the doors/entryways a place where you must stop and bow or simply the places in the wall you have to go through to get to other places?  Is the practice area only for practicing or used for meetings, eating, etc.?

It doesn't really matter what your opinion is; I just want you to think about it and understand why you think what you do, why your group thinks what it does.  Let's look at the bachi example:

Your standard pair of bachi, that you use for most songs, are they venerated?  Do you treat them like you treat the drums themselves?  What about when they splinter, crack?  Should they be played with until they threaten damage to the drum?  Is is respectful to tape them up and continue using them?  Are they just tools to create sound?  What about using them to strike the floor/stage?  What about tossing them in the air or to other people?  Is it silly to give a broken bachi thanks or is it a sign of gratitude?  Does adding LED lights make a bachi any less venerated?  What about other decorative markings?  Should you only use one side of the bachi?  Are shime bachi more or less sacred than the ones you use on chudaiko?  How about odaiko bachi?

That's a lot to think about for just bachi, but you can also apply that to the drums, other equipment you use like drum stands and hand percussion (How do you grab them off the shelf or from the bag?  Are they things that make noise or musical instruments?)  You can ask yourself similar questions to things like bowing at entrances or the edge of practice spaces (How long do you bow for?  What if you just need to hop off and grab something for a second?)

My point here is not to say any opinion is bad or wrong, that's never been my style.  I believe you should understand why you believe a thing is sacred - or not - and also know why other people might think the opposite of you.  This is especially true if you're someone teaching these ideas to students, so you're not just repeating what you've been told without thought!

...Hello to 2017!

 

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Well, 2017 has a few interesting things for me to look forward to, taiko-wise.

In the first quarter, there's an event for our donors that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to talk about, so I won't.  It's not a huge deal, but it's something I'm very much looking forward to.  Right up my alley!


There's NATC 2017 in San Diego, which of course I'm looking forward to.  Not teaching workshops this year, but as usual, will be helping behind the scenes - at least with surveys and survey data, if not actually during the conference itself.

It looks like we could have a big touring schedule in the Fall, but nothing's for-sure yet.  But now that I have a regular job again, I won't be able to take off several weeks at a time like I was able to before...still, I'm sure I can go out for some of it, which is always fun, even when it's super busy!

Finally, I'd really like to get another song written this year, but I'm not sure which direction to focus that energy quite yet.  I still have motivation from my song last year and want to keep using that energy while it lasts.

Hopefully I'll get to see some of you either at NATC or while out on tour, or maybe even if you stop on by San Jose and visit a practice!  Here's to a fruitful, rewarding, interesting new year!

Goodbye to 2016...

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It's always hard to remember how much stuff I've done over the last 12 months when I write these recap posts!

We had a great home concert with 11 new works from songs to transitions, and I was happy to see Left to My Own Devices be performed.  I don't know if there's life in it after its debut; I really liked the gimmick of having one hand play a simple beat non-stop plus adding a ton of polyrhythms, but now that it's out of my head, I might be ok leaving it there.  We'll see!

Definitely felt like I grew as an odaiko player because of all the prep I did for the solo in the concert.  It helps to have a drum that I can reach up and play on instead of adjust because of my size.

Only two weeks of touring, and early in the year, but that was it.  One of the busier tours but touring is one of those things that you really enjoy when you're doing it and really miss it when you don't.  Well at least for me!

Lots of taiko throughout the year, but overall it was pretty normal for me.  Which is good!  Don't need a lot of crazy years.  Like next year might be...

Question everything: Strengths

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Some people are really meticulous in their jobs.  They can follow every step exactly and precisely to get the information they need.  But sometimes, those peple have trouble making leaps of faith, skipping steps for the sake of time, and/or using their intuition.

Some people are really good at making others feel comfortable.  They have a knack for getting people to loosen up and enjoy themselves in a situation.  But sometimes, those people have trouble giving necessary critique, and/or avoid making a tough decision that might upset one of the involved parties.

I'm sure you can think of several other examples like this with people that you know outside of taiko.  So how might these lessons apply to you within it?

Maybe there's something you're really good at, like having naturally fast hands or being really fluid in your movements.  At what point might those talents start becoming a detriment?  It could be that being really good at something meant you never had to think about it much, so you're not well-equipped to teach people who struggle at it.  Or that because you might be the best in your group at it, you feel you don't need to work on it (which can be a big shock if you go outside your group and see where you fall in the larger "pond".)

Or, maybe you have the ability to project joy without having to think about it.  It just beams from your face and body naturally.  But what happens when you have to play a song that requires a different energy, and find it difficult to change your energy and expression?

Or, maybe you're really creative and come up with ideas all the time, and are good at articulating the ideas.  But how are you when working in a group where other people's voices are just as important as yours?  Can you hold your thoughts in for the sake of other people getting to exercise their own creative and leadership muscles?

When taken far enough, the things we're good at can be the same things that hold us back.  It might not be obvious for some things, it might not happen with others, but if you're not questioning your abilities, how do you know?

...hell, my penchant for asking questions all the time hasn't always been the best thing for me.  ;)