Hi edubloggers,
This is a brief post for Week 6 of the Student Blogging Challenge. This post will briefly explain the three taiko drums in the Byou-uchi Drum family.
First of all, to get things straight, Taiko drums are Japanese percussion instruments used in many ancient events such as Kabuki Theater shows, Okinawan Drumming, and even in Wars as signals! However outside of Japan like Hawaii where it is also very popular, it is known as the Wadaiko. There are two types of Taiko Drum Categories, Byou-uchi Daiko, (Japanese for Tack Drum) and Tsuke-Shime Daiko, (Rope-tied Drums that usually produce a high-pitched sound.)
The first drum I’m going to talk about goes by many names, Nagado-Daiko, (long-bodied taiko), Chudaiko, (Medium Drums,) or Miya-Daiko, (the name used for festivals, shrines, or temples. They are considered is by far the most popular Taiko used in the modern kumi-daiko style of playing. They are also very common in festivals and in temples and shrines. The drum has a characteristically deep, reverberant sound. These drums are often referred to by their size in units called Shakus which measure 12 inches every Shaku so imagine how many shakus the biggest drums are! Ko-daikos or Child Drums are small drums that are roughly from 1.0 shaku to 1.5 shaku. Chu-daiko or medium drums translate to medium drum, (roughly 1.6 Shaku to 2.8 Shaku); and Odaiko (big fat drum) range from 2.9 Shaku on up to 6 Shaku or more. There are many styles of playing this taiko, with a wonderful selection of different stands that hold the Nagado-Daiko in various positions.
The next drum I’ll be talking about is called an Odaiko or Big fat drum in Japanese. The drum can refer to any drum, but are more relevant to the drums with drum heads over three feet. The drum is normally played on a horizontal stand where two players can play. Usually, one player is a timekeeper and the other is playing a pattern or soloing. These drums reach big proportions weighing three tons at the most, guess how many people it will take to lift one of those drums! It is most likely not purchased by many people due to its weight and price; a drum by itself can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The last and smallest drum is called a Hira Daiko which is a small, shallow drum, but can reach up to sizes like the odaiko called Ohira daiko. They tend to be played more in orchestra events or Hayashi Music. Despite It’s boomy, reverberant sound, the tree bark inside the drum tends to decay due to the shallow body.
Finally, I will tell you how to make a very cheap Taiko Drum. First you need to get a car tire and tape. What you need to do is clean the tire and allow it time to dry completely. Then Stretch tape across the diameter in different directions making a strong skin in the middle. Then, overlap take over the drum and your drum is essentially finished. You can also get a bucket and do the same tape procedure. Enjoy your drum!
So that was just a brief description of the Byou-uchi family of the Taiko drums, for more information, please visit my blog.
See you later,
Hmschad