The presentation today went by really fast and I felt like I rushed through a lot of my points. Thinking about it now, I felt like I had some sort of anxiety about presenting. Maybe it's because I didn't have a taiko in front me. In the discussion portion of the presentation, a lot of interesting things were brought up that I had never really thought of as well as questions were asked that I didn't know the answer to, but that's exciting because then that means there's a lot more for me to explore!
I find that the subject of the commercialization of taiko that Ryan brought up was really interesting and would have been awesome to do a field study on. In response to this, I do know that composer Christopher Tin makes use of taiko as one of the main percussion instruments in his music - currently Stanford Taiko of Stanford University is collaborating with Christopher Tin and the Stanford Chamber Chorale on his newest album and song "The Storm-Driven Sea" where they will be touring in Thailand this summer. Other forms of commercialization have occurred with TAIKOPROJECT in some more recognizable productions like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM3cZfC0lk0
I have learned much more about taiko after this course. However, perhaps my specific focus on the subject did not work out too well for this course - The [Japanese] American form of taiko and how it is ever evolving and adapting to the values and ideas of the many individuals that are involved. Being a Japanese-American myself and coming from a background far removed from any influences of my heritage, I view taiko more as a connection to its history and not necessarily its traditions. But, that is because I have never learned these traditions and am not quite sure on what traditions we really have in taiko and also who started them, etc. I think it's because I focused specifically on kumidaiko and not just taiko in general. Kumidaiko is all I know though, and having not grown up with taiko in my life, I have a very limited perspective. I would really love to study all forms of taiko and obtain a greater appreciation of the art form and all of its traditions, many of which I do not know.
What I have gathered though is that anyone and everyone can love taiko, and groups are accepting of who plays it. There's no racial or ethnic boundaries that impose limitations on those who can or cannot play, and it really is a melting pot (overused term in this project) of all cultures. What everyone's own musical experiences have enrich taiko in so many ways that it is hard for me to call this "traditional Japanese drumming" as many collegiate taiko groups would say, but more as using these traditional instruments to explore and create music through the lens of taiko. Perhaps one of the best examples I can think of to support this is the group On Ensemble, a group that pushes the limits of taiko and explores many different genres and forms that can include taiko.
http://onensemble.bandcamp.com/music
This is their most recent album titled Bizarre Heroes, and there are some really great tracks on here that are really worth listening to!
All in all, my exploration of taiko will not stop here, but I think I need to focus my research in a bit and find an area of study that I can use to help make research a bit easier. From there I can begin to broaden my horizons in terms of study later on.
Here's a list of links to all the videos I used (or was planning on using) in my presentation today:
Jodaiko - Seijaku Dotou: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApYC2J5NcTo
KODO - Miyake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntCvduEumGI
TAIKOPROJECT - Omiyage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUj0uI0-ec0
Oedo Sukeroku Taiko with Kenny Endo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_9Zu6Een_I
^ This song has very strong influences from Jazz and other genres (that I can't name). It's very catchy!
San Diego Groups:
San Diego Taiko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUe58sy1tdI
Naruwan Taiko (San Diego community group): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-3JyjVp2EM
UCSD Asayake Taiko (my group): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wpwHh7Vf4U
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Reflection of the Past - Part II
A long overdue second post to the Reflections of the Past.
This penultimate post has taken a very long time to compile and edit. There was originally supposed to be another post after this, but I might consolidate it into this one.
This past Memorial Day Weekend was the 19th Annual Intercollegiate Invitational, a two-day long conference (despite the title of Invitational hinting at some sort of competition. It's not. Though from my knowledge, it was at one point on the verge of competition in its very early years) comprised this year of 16 collegiate taiko groups from around the nation gathering in one location to share their knowledge and joy of taiko, strengthening bonds within the taiko community, and also to take workshops from Workshop Leaders and various taiko masters from around the world. This year, the invitational was hosted by Asayake Taiko here at UCSD. I had the privilege of being one of the coordinators for the event, and it was, for lack of better verbiage, a joyful nightmare. It was hellish at times because a lot of small problems were always occurring like phones breaking down in the heat of the event, and other random occurrences but overall the event was amazing and I am extremely grateful I was able to be a coordinator in this for I learned a great deal about myself, the dynamic of collegiate taiko (Perfect for this project!), got to meet and talk to the workshop leaders and masters on a more personal level (even better!) and I found out that two of them have degrees in ethnomusicology (Best part of the event in terms of this project! And I got to talk with them about it!).
Compilation video of this year's invitational, taken by one of the workshop leaders, Ringtaro Tateishi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evtMHZfPnYU
The significance of the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational and it's bigger brother the North American Taiko Conference::NATC:: (And now the East Coast Taiko Conference) in relation to the taiko community as a whole is one of the most important events in the whole community. The function of the event is to promote friendship, community, communication, the transmission of the art, the new techniques that are possible on the instrument, and keep the history of taiko alive. With 16 groups from around the country totaling to about 250 participants, there's a lot of intermingling going on between one another and it's impossible to not make a new friend at the event when all you see is fellow taiko players, most of whom are from other groups; and, with the college life cycle of about 4 years, there are always more people to meet and to help spread the joy of taiko. One of the best things about the invitational is the Hachimaki Exchange, created by past coordinator and now one of the most well known Workshop Leaders and taiko players around the nation, Yuta Kato. The hachimaki exchange consists of every participant creating their own hachimaki that they trade with another participant during the invitational to spread the friendship and help memorialize it through a handmade hachimaki that is a representation of the individuals who traded. To finish the event, there are two concerts held at the evenings featuring all of the collegiate taiko groups:
some examples of this year can be found here:
UCI Jodaiko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwSqsS_fhcM
UCLA Kyodo Taiko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CCjC9fnaSg
My own personal experiences will begin here:
On the first day of the event, Friday May 24th, my job consisted of working with the groups arriving on campus as well as shuttling workshop leaders from the airport to the hotel that they were staying at, the Hyatt. It was during these short trips that I had the most free time out of the whole event, and where I was able to talk with some of the workshop leaders about really interesting things. I talked to Michelle Fujii, artistic director of Portland Taiko on the subject of Ethnomusicology in general and taiko in relation to the Japanese American community and its constantly evolving nature. As I was focused mostly on the event, I did not think of recording, nor did I have the capabilities to do so in my car, but I took down some notes once I had access to a notebook. Here are a few excerpts (not verbatim might I add) from the conversation:
- In relation to Japanese American Taiko
Taiko is unique in that it is no longer strictly an Asian musical tradition. Though its roots may have originated in Japan, taiko can be enjoyed by everyone and appreciated by all who love art and music. There are no boundaries for playing taiko and the compositions reflect this. Not all of them have Japanese names, nor do they all sound "Japanese" or rather "asian."
- On the subject of Ethnomusicology
It's a really interesting discipline and I'm glad I was able to study this while in college. I went to every music performance I could go to because I found everything so interesting. I really like experimental music because of the new techniques introduced and it's something out of the ordinary. That doesn't mean I like all experimental music, but I certainly have found things I really enjoy.
Michelle's talk in relation to my project was a sentiment that I shared, but to have this reconfirmed from someone who has had so much experience in taiko and has been exposed to so many things, it is reassuring and nice to know that there are others who are interested in ethnographies on taiko. A really interesting and helpful blog post in relation to "what is taiko" and how it's defined in America from the perception of the East Coast can be found here: http://taikogisp.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/taiko-diaspora-steph/
Taiko master Kenny Endo has an M.A. in Ethnomusicology but I didn't have enough time to talk to him over the course of the weekend... but that would definitely have been awesome if I could!
This penultimate post has taken a very long time to compile and edit. There was originally supposed to be another post after this, but I might consolidate it into this one.
This past Memorial Day Weekend was the 19th Annual Intercollegiate Invitational, a two-day long conference (despite the title of Invitational hinting at some sort of competition. It's not. Though from my knowledge, it was at one point on the verge of competition in its very early years) comprised this year of 16 collegiate taiko groups from around the nation gathering in one location to share their knowledge and joy of taiko, strengthening bonds within the taiko community, and also to take workshops from Workshop Leaders and various taiko masters from around the world. This year, the invitational was hosted by Asayake Taiko here at UCSD. I had the privilege of being one of the coordinators for the event, and it was, for lack of better verbiage, a joyful nightmare. It was hellish at times because a lot of small problems were always occurring like phones breaking down in the heat of the event, and other random occurrences but overall the event was amazing and I am extremely grateful I was able to be a coordinator in this for I learned a great deal about myself, the dynamic of collegiate taiko (Perfect for this project!), got to meet and talk to the workshop leaders and masters on a more personal level (even better!) and I found out that two of them have degrees in ethnomusicology (Best part of the event in terms of this project! And I got to talk with them about it!).
Compilation video of this year's invitational, taken by one of the workshop leaders, Ringtaro Tateishi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evtMHZfPnYU
The significance of the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational and it's bigger brother the North American Taiko Conference::NATC:: (And now the East Coast Taiko Conference) in relation to the taiko community as a whole is one of the most important events in the whole community. The function of the event is to promote friendship, community, communication, the transmission of the art, the new techniques that are possible on the instrument, and keep the history of taiko alive. With 16 groups from around the country totaling to about 250 participants, there's a lot of intermingling going on between one another and it's impossible to not make a new friend at the event when all you see is fellow taiko players, most of whom are from other groups; and, with the college life cycle of about 4 years, there are always more people to meet and to help spread the joy of taiko. One of the best things about the invitational is the Hachimaki Exchange, created by past coordinator and now one of the most well known Workshop Leaders and taiko players around the nation, Yuta Kato. The hachimaki exchange consists of every participant creating their own hachimaki that they trade with another participant during the invitational to spread the friendship and help memorialize it through a handmade hachimaki that is a representation of the individuals who traded. To finish the event, there are two concerts held at the evenings featuring all of the collegiate taiko groups:
some examples of this year can be found here:
UCI Jodaiko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwSqsS_fhcM
UCLA Kyodo Taiko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CCjC9fnaSg
My own personal experiences will begin here:
On the first day of the event, Friday May 24th, my job consisted of working with the groups arriving on campus as well as shuttling workshop leaders from the airport to the hotel that they were staying at, the Hyatt. It was during these short trips that I had the most free time out of the whole event, and where I was able to talk with some of the workshop leaders about really interesting things. I talked to Michelle Fujii, artistic director of Portland Taiko on the subject of Ethnomusicology in general and taiko in relation to the Japanese American community and its constantly evolving nature. As I was focused mostly on the event, I did not think of recording, nor did I have the capabilities to do so in my car, but I took down some notes once I had access to a notebook. Here are a few excerpts (not verbatim might I add) from the conversation:
- In relation to Japanese American Taiko
Taiko is unique in that it is no longer strictly an Asian musical tradition. Though its roots may have originated in Japan, taiko can be enjoyed by everyone and appreciated by all who love art and music. There are no boundaries for playing taiko and the compositions reflect this. Not all of them have Japanese names, nor do they all sound "Japanese" or rather "asian."
- On the subject of Ethnomusicology
It's a really interesting discipline and I'm glad I was able to study this while in college. I went to every music performance I could go to because I found everything so interesting. I really like experimental music because of the new techniques introduced and it's something out of the ordinary. That doesn't mean I like all experimental music, but I certainly have found things I really enjoy.
Michelle's talk in relation to my project was a sentiment that I shared, but to have this reconfirmed from someone who has had so much experience in taiko and has been exposed to so many things, it is reassuring and nice to know that there are others who are interested in ethnographies on taiko. A really interesting and helpful blog post in relation to "what is taiko" and how it's defined in America from the perception of the East Coast can be found here: http://taikogisp.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/taiko-diaspora-steph/
Taiko master Kenny Endo has an M.A. in Ethnomusicology but I didn't have enough time to talk to him over the course of the weekend... but that would definitely have been awesome if I could!
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