 Taiko drummers in Aichi, Japan The word taiko (太鼓) means simply "drum" in Japanese (etymologically "great" or "wide drum"). Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums (和太鼓, 'wa-daiko', "Japanese drum", in Japanese) and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming (sometimes called more specifically, "kumi-daiko" (組太鼓). Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Taiko. ...
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Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ...
Types of taiko
 Display of the manufacturing of a Taiko drum Japanese taiko drums, while having antecedents in Chinese and Korean drums, have been developed into a wide range of percussion instruments that are used in both Japanese folk and classical musical traditions. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 411 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
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Taiko, in general, are stick percussion instruments. With the exception of the kotsuzumi and ootsuzumi, all taiko are struck with drumsticks. They have heads on both sides of the drum body, and a sealed resonating cavity. Taiko are also characterized by a high amount of tension on the drums heads, with a correspondingly high pitch relative to body size. This high tension likely developed in response to Japan's wet and humid summers when most festivals take place. Many taiko are not tunable, and a drum with high head tension would counteract the slacking effects of humidity.
Taiko are categorized into two types of construction. Byou-uchi daiko (鋲撃ち太鼓) taiko have heads nailed to the body. Tsukushime-daiko (付締め太鼓) have heads sewn onto iron rings, which are then laced to each other around the drum body.
 The "N" odaiko, with a length of 240cm, a maximum diameter of 240cm, and a weight of 3 tons. Made out of a single piece of wood from a 1200 year old tree Byou-uchi daiko are typically hollowed out of a single piece of wood. The preferred wood is keyaki (欅) due to its density and beautiful grain, but a number of other woods are used, grouped under the generic term meari (目有). Byou-uchi daiko cannot be tuned, and their sizes are limited by the diameter of the tree they are made from. Download high resolution version (1482x1035, 539 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
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Binomial name Zelkova serrata (Thunb. ...
The typical byou-uchi daiko is the nagado-daiko (長胴太鼓, long-body taiko). It is roughly shaped like a wine barrel, and is available in a variety of sizes, from 1.0 shaku (12" in head diameter), to 3.0 shaku in 1 sun increments. Nagado-daiko over 3.0 shaku are also available, but they are referred to as odaiko (大太鼓 big, fat drum). Smaller byou-uchi daiko such as the sumo-daiko and hayashi-daiko also exist. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Japanese unit. ...
Illustration of cun as width of thumb The cun (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: tsun) is a traditional Chinese unit of measurement. ...
Tsukeshime-daiko (付締め太鼓) are available in a wide variety of styles, and are tunable. This style of taiko is typically tensioned before each performance. The tensioning system is usually rope, but bolt systems and turnbuckles have been used as well. Tsukeshime-daiko can either have stitched heads placed on bodies carved from single piece of wood, such as the shime-daiko and tsuzumi, or stitched heads placed on a stave-construction body such as the okedo-daiko.
The shime-daiko is roughly snare-drum sized, and is generally available in five weights. The lightest is used in classical music such as noh and kabuki. The heavier weights are used by kumi-daiko groups. The shime-daiko is a small Japanese drum. ...
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The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ...
 An ornately painted tsuri-daiko, used in gagaku music The okedo-daiko (桶胴太鼓, barrel-body taiko, often shortened to "okedo" or "oke") has a long, stave construction, cylindrical body. It is available in the same size ranges as the nagado-daiko, and a taiko of okedo style is currently Japan's largest taiko. Depending on size, they can be set on a stand and played like other taiko, but they are also strapped to the body so the drummer can move and play at the same time. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Other Japanese taiko include the uchiwa-daiko (内輪太鼓、fan taiko), hira-daiko (平太鼓, flat taiko), o-daiko (大太鼓, big taiko), and a host of percussion instruments used in Japan's traditional noh, gagaku, and kabuki ensembles. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Gagaku (雅楽, literally elegant enjoyment) is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court for several centuries. ...
The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ...
The Aomori region is famous for the Nebuta festival where huge okedo are played by many people while carted through the streets. The Okedo has its own betta stand which was invented by Hayashi Eitetsu. Aomori Waterfront Aomori (é’森市; Aomori-shi) is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture (é’森県; Aomori-ken), the north end of HonshÅ«. The city faces Mutsu Bay connecting Tsugaru Channel and the Hakkoda Mountains lie in the southern part of Aomori. ...
Again, like the nagado-daiko, the okedo has a rim sound, called "ka." When playing the rim of an okedo, however, it is important to only hit the outermost metal ring and not the actual rim of the drum body. The thin, light wood of the okedo is particularly susceptible to denting and will quickly deteriorate if hit.
Taiko Performance There are four different styles of Taiko performance.
(a) Multi-drum, multi-player (複式複打法) It is also called Kumitaiko (組太鼓). Two or more drummers play more than one type of Taiko. This style of performance is popular nowadays.
(b) Multi-drum, one player (複式単打法) One drummer plays more than one type of Taiko.
(c) One drum, multi-player (単式複打法) Two or more drummers play only one type of Taiko.
(d) One drum, one player (単式単打法) One drummer plays only one type of Taiko.
Uses of the taiko in warfare In feudal Japan, taiko were often used to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. Approaching or entering a battle, the taiko yaku (drummer) was responsible for setting the marching pace, usually with six paces per beat of the drum (beat-2-3-4-5-6, beat-2-3-4-5-6).
According to one of the historical chronicles (the Gunji Yoshu), nine sets of five beats would summon an ally to battle, while nine sets of three beats, sped up three or four times is the call to advance and pursue an enemy.
Related terms - Bachi
- the wooden sticks used to play taiko drums. (See separate entry for additional details.)
- Ji
- also called Jiuchi, is a basic rhythm used to support the main rhythm, or the O-uchi. It can also be described as the meter or feel of a piece (being in a straight duple meter or having a swing feel). Some of the more common rhythms for ji are don doko, don ko, or don go (swing pattern). A Jikata is a performer who plays the ji rhythm.
- Kizami
- straight simple meter.
- Ukare
- "swung" compound meter.
- Ma
- a Japanese term that can mean "interval" or "space" (i.e., 'a' tto iu ma; the space it takes to say 'a'; compare to the English saying "in the blink of an eye"). It is used in music to describe a period of silence. In taiko music, ma is the period between hits on the drum. It is important to appreciate this silence when playing taiko, just as you would appreciate the sound of a hit on the drum. Since ensemble taiko is focused on rhythm, the ma of a piece is critical to adding drama, excitement, and tension. Ma can be a rhythmic rest, or an extended silence, to be broken at the player's discretion. If the player concentrates on hearing the ma between each hit, in addition to the hits themselves, he or she will create a much more effective and satisfying sound. A good example of how ma is used is in oroshi.
- Oroshi
- is characterized by a series of hits on the taiko. The player starts out slowly with lots of ma. Gradually the ma (space) between each hit becomes shorter and shorter, until the drummer is playing a rapid roll of hits.
Bachi (æ¡´, æž¹) (also batchi or buchi) is the name for the wooden sticks used to play Japanese taiko drums, and also (written æ’¥) the plectrum for stringed instruments like the shamisen. ...
Jiuchi, commonly referred to as ji, is the base beat or underlying rhythm in traditional Japanese music. ...
Bibliography See Taiko bibliography. This bibliography of Taiko sources is intended to aid in taiko research, including a complete list of English-language printed sources on taiko as well as a selection of Japanese-language and web-based sources. ...
See also This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Kuchi shÅga (å£å”±æŒ), also known as kuchi showa and kuchi shoka, is a Japanese system for pronouncing the sounds of drums, especially Japanese drums (taiko). ...
Taiko: Drum master (U.S. title) or Taiko no tatsujin (太鼓の達人;　Taiko master) is a drumming game for arcade and PlayStation 2. ...
The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ...
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