Hi there, and thanks for visiting.
We’ve been working on a set of patterns for taiko set the last few weeks. Be sure to start from the beginning if you’re just joining us. Here’s the final part today and then we’ll put it all together.
Focus: Balance, Form
Watch For:
1. Double check to make sure that the volume of your “do ko do ko” is even from hand to hand. Checking your height and form is a good place to start if you have an imbalance.
Let’s get started!
This week’s pattern has two parts. First, take the pattern:
don tsu ku do ko do ko don tsu ku do ko do ko
don tsu ku don tsu ku don tsu ku do ko do ko
Red means right and black means Left. Bold is emphasized.
Remember, you can use any two drums to practice this pattern, or even play it on a single drum!
Play all of the “dons” on the right drum, which is higher pitched. On the left drum, the lower pitch, we’ll play “tsu ku” and “tsu ku do ko”. Any “do ko” that is not preceded by a “tsu ku” is played on the right drum.
Confused? Let’s take a look at the video demo. You’ll see Pattern 1, Pattern 2, and then Pattern 3 right in a row. At the end, I play the pattern on the right drum one time before repeating.
In the video, I pause to note the increase in tempo each time, but you can loop this drill for practice without stopping.
Extension:
Review the dynamics from last week and add a small crescendo to Part 3:
Pattern 1 has the normal don tsu ku dynamics, “do ko do ko” is even in volume, not particularly emphasized.
Pattern 2 has the normal don tsu ku dynamics,”do ko do ko” is even in volume, and emphasized.
Pattern 3 has the normal don tsu ku dynamics,”do ko do ko” is played with a crescendo.