I started playing taiko in 2004 with Ohio’s premier group, Icho Daiko. A move to Seattle brought me to audition for Seattle Kokon Taiko, whom I learned from and grew with for 3 years. Then, I moved to Wakayama Prefecture to study taiko with Ryo Shimamoto (website), whom I am greatly indebted to. He has, in many ways, shaped how I think about taiko.
About Carrie and ATT
Here is a list of my previous and upcoming classes.
Following my time in Japan, I spent 2 years in Hong Kong where I received my Master’s in Philosophy in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hong Kong. While there I taught the all-women’s group O•Daiko and performed with them regularly. I have since taught and performed taiko in the US, Morocco, Spain, and Germany. I currently reside in Yokohama, Japan.
This blog was started in 2007, when I first re-began learning taiko under Ryo. Back then, everything I did seemed wrong from the start. How I held the bachi. Where I stood in relation to the drum. How I stood at the drum. The angle of my hips. The balance of my shoulders. It felt I was doing nothing right. In an effort to retain as much of what he was teaching me as I possibly could, I began writing drills every Friday that attempted to summarize and review the main lesson I took from him in our 10 hours together each week.
After 2 short years under his attentive guidance, I know that I will always be wrong; the goal is to always practice, always pay attention to my body, always hear and feel the sounds, make changes, challenge myself, and to strive to get better. And, what I think is “better” is a malleable concept, an idea that develops as I develop as a player.
I have changed many of the drills here in order to mold them to fit my current practice needs and my thoughts on many of the topics here have matured over time. However, the foundation is still here. I may not have explained everything clearly in my original posts because, as a beginner, perhaps I did not fully understand or appreciate what I would gain from a particular practice. I will slowly be reading through, editing, and cleaning things up over time but I hope to keep the general content the same so that those who are just starting out playing taiko or those who wish to view their practice afresh may benefit the most. In the meanwhile, if something is unclear, I always, always answer emails.
If you have questions, or just want to chat taiko, please get in touch!
