I can't remember if I mentioned that in Japan, everyone is part of different communities. Everyone takes part in clubs and community panels. As with Sports Day, it is about the collective and not the individual.
Well, I think maybe Kelli and I have found a club. Taiko drumming. That's right, drumming.
There are a couple of videos here and here to give you an idea of what it sounds like. The club is small--only five people--but they enjoy it. The club leader is a woman in her thirties. The man who plays the flute and is the other main drummer is in his fifties. The youngest is a seventh grade girl.
(Side note--While I'm writing this we just had an earthquake.......Okay, everything is fine. It was just a little one. Wheeeeee!)
The girl has a big smile and the group is friendly. Everyone was welcoming when we walked in. Once the drumming started, it was down to business. No one was smiling. (If you watched the videos (you did watch the videos didn't you!?) you saw that it is very physical. Everyone was sweating after the warm-up. The young girl with the big smile grimaced with concentration and being swept away in the beats. Every nook and cranny of the gym was filled with the rhythm. The flourescent light above my head rattled in its socket.
We warmed up with them and then watched the next routine. I thought we would probably just watch for the rest of the time, but they brought us back in, taught us some form and the basic beat for the next song, and asked us to join in.
Maybe we aren't the most musical people. Maybe we're gaijin. But it felt nice to be part of a group. And if we get good at drumming, we'll be cool. Drummers are always cool.
They asked us to come to practice on Saturday. Oh yeah.
I like it! Google 'drummer jokes" sometime... ha.
ReplyDeleteI have played Taiko! I remember the "down to business" and the "being swept away in the beats." It was while I was in California recently though so likely not near as authentic.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate enough to be nearby when they had a ceremony to, for lack of a better word, "christen" their drums before their first use. It was a ceremony of blessing the drums and the like.
And, yes, you should google 'drummer jokes'. Especially with your comment "maybe we aren't the most musical people."
Emily wants to be in your club!
ReplyDelete