Transcriber: Maki Sugimoto Reviewer: Hiroko Kawano
When I was seven years old, my father gave me a drum set.
It is one of the best memories I have as a kid.
I remember giving him a really hard time about practicing,
but I thank him
because it was his influence that got me so involved in music.
I was exposed to music at a very early age -
very different genres of music at a very early age.
By the time I was in middle school and high school,
I was involved in everything from drum lines to orchestras.
I thought that I had a pretty good understanding
of the percussion instruments
and a good grip on performing.
But that thought changed
when I came across a Japanese wadaiko group
performing at a local museum.
I didn't know what "wadaiko" meant.
But if you split the word,
"wa" is the old term for Japan
and "daiko" or "taiko" means drum.
So they were a group performing Japanese-style drumming.
I was very impressed with their uniforms, their character, their technique
and, of course, the drums.
But the one thing that impressed me the most
was that most of them were not Japanese.
So then I thought to myself,
"Well, how can I join them?
How can I be a part of that?"
So they were passing out flyers at the end of their performance.
And when I got one,
it said that there was an academy that taught this.
And I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.
So I went to my first class.
And when I got there, everything was really different.
There was no sheet music, which is something I'm very used to.
And I was told to just follow along and keep up with what I could.
So, two sore arms and blistered hands later,
I knew that this was something that I wanted to be a part of.
Everything that they do and say has a meaning -
from the words that are used to how they make the drums.
In Japan, these drums take a really long time to make.
The wood comes from a specific tree.
The cow that the leather comes from is not just a farm animal.
It is a family member.
And when that cow passes away, its skin passes on to the drum.
The tacks, or bolts - they're called "byo" -
they come from ancient samurai swords
that are melted into these bolts to hold the drum together.
Another aspect of wadaiko is the hierarchy.
There's a group, Ronin Taiko.
They are professional Japanese drummers
that perform and perfect this art.
They've been doing this for over 15 years.
They actually travel to Japan, learn from their teachers
and bring the knowledge back to the academy.
The founder of Ronin Taiko, and the founder of the academy,
is my sensei, Roy Anderson.
And he, along with members of Ronin,
preserve this art to pass it on to the members of the academy.
It is an honor and privilege to perform with Ronin on stage.
Some of the members of the academy have been playing for years,
while others, like myself, have only been playing for four months.
Tonight, I have earned the honor of performing for the first time.
The piece you're about to hear is called "Do Kon Jo."
It features the three members of Ronin Taiko:
Sensei Roy Anderson, Malia san and Yoshichika.
It is inspired by a warrior's strength and tenacity in battle.
You will hear some key rhythms of a war piece.
You'll hear the cavalry,
which is the horse rhythm in the background,
the infantry in the background
and the daiko, the big drum, which represents a samurai's heartbeat.
I hope that with this performance,
you get inspired to not just listen to music
but really know where it comes from,
and you'll be surprised at what you find.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ronin Taiko
with the Wadaiko Academy.
(Applause) (Cheers)
(Drums begin)
(Trumpet shells added)
(Drums end)
(Applause) (Cheers)