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Lowest common denominator?
Apr. 15th, 2008 10:07 pmI survived my first session of Taiko for Beginners up at the old O Club on Alameda Point. I did not hit myself in the head. I did not let go of my bachi and hit anyone else.
Two instructors, a father and son. Father immediately caught me thinking too hard. Well, yeah. I do that. I can't help watching and trying to decipher the physical dynamics of form - and then try it myself even though I can't see my own form. Yeah, I know this is supposed to be all Zen, but you can't go all "no mind" with sticks in your hands without developing some muscle memory. Son appears to have better form than father (but what do I know?) and ran most of the drills.
Class members are all adults. All appear able to keep a beat in 4 - and listen to a leader. We got through the entire practice piece in our one hour period pretty quickly. Though this HAS to be the only music class I've ever taken where they'll run through a piece backwards. Last four bars. Then last eight bars. Then last twelve bars, etc., until you take the whole thing from the top.
I'm probably being overcautious about how much force I can drop on a drumhead after years of playing instruments one has to be careful with. On the other hand, I at least know what a crescendo is and can actually produce a soft drumbeat on demand. I admit to being proud of forcing myself to vocalize loudly enough where required on the piece even though I felt really self conscious about it.
I was definitely feeling it in the knees by the end of the hour. On the other hand, I don't have the much-warned-about-blisters and I didn't break a sweat, if only because it's been chilly the last couple of days and you could've hung meat in the room we were practicing in.
Definitely fun. We'll see how things progress.
Two instructors, a father and son. Father immediately caught me thinking too hard. Well, yeah. I do that. I can't help watching and trying to decipher the physical dynamics of form - and then try it myself even though I can't see my own form. Yeah, I know this is supposed to be all Zen, but you can't go all "no mind" with sticks in your hands without developing some muscle memory. Son appears to have better form than father (but what do I know?) and ran most of the drills.
Class members are all adults. All appear able to keep a beat in 4 - and listen to a leader. We got through the entire practice piece in our one hour period pretty quickly. Though this HAS to be the only music class I've ever taken where they'll run through a piece backwards. Last four bars. Then last eight bars. Then last twelve bars, etc., until you take the whole thing from the top.
I'm probably being overcautious about how much force I can drop on a drumhead after years of playing instruments one has to be careful with. On the other hand, I at least know what a crescendo is and can actually produce a soft drumbeat on demand. I admit to being proud of forcing myself to vocalize loudly enough where required on the piece even though I felt really self conscious about it.
I was definitely feeling it in the knees by the end of the hour. On the other hand, I don't have the much-warned-about-blisters and I didn't break a sweat, if only because it's been chilly the last couple of days and you could've hung meat in the room we were practicing in.
Definitely fun. We'll see how things progress.
