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Class two of taiko for beginners was tonight. Arrived to watch the last few minutes of the advanced class as they ran through a piece. As is typical of me, my skill level is .5, my ambition level 10. They get to do some cool stuff. I'm learning to crawl and not happy about it.
Tonight I decided to TRY not to worry about form overly much and concentrate on actually producing the correct sounds in the correct order with the correct hands. I had noticed a tendency to get a double-bounce on strokes with the left hand. The problem with trying not to worry about form is that I have to watch an instructor with good form and The Voices start saying, "Why can't YOU do that?" Which beats, "Why haven't you saved France yet?" but not by a whole lot.
We got through the drill piece we learned last week in decent shape, including the nervous lady who missed lesson one - poor thing got totally freaked when Sean told the back row to switch drums with the front row. (Class is set up with PVC pipe taiko in one row and wine barrel taiko in another. We rotate back and forth a couple of times so we all get comfortable playing both kinds.) I grinned at her as we switched places and said, "Don't worry, we're all too busy watching HIM, OK?"
The second drill piece he introduced has a very cool syncopated section. I blame my mom's fondness for Peggy Lee on my immediately thinking, "Right, it's 'The Best Is Yet To Come.' Don DON don DON don DON don DON don DON.
So my brain knew right off what it was supposed to SOUND like. The tricky bit was that we had to come off a very right-left phrase and start this phrase with the left hand first.
I did get it. Mostly. But the fact that there's a knot in my left shoulder and ONLY my left shoulder speaks volumes about tension, trying too hard, overthinking. All the usual sins.
For any of my Dear Readers who might be scratching their heads and thinking, "Peggy WHO?," I offer the following. Ms. Lee passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 81.
Tonight I decided to TRY not to worry about form overly much and concentrate on actually producing the correct sounds in the correct order with the correct hands. I had noticed a tendency to get a double-bounce on strokes with the left hand. The problem with trying not to worry about form is that I have to watch an instructor with good form and The Voices start saying, "Why can't YOU do that?" Which beats, "Why haven't you saved France yet?" but not by a whole lot.
We got through the drill piece we learned last week in decent shape, including the nervous lady who missed lesson one - poor thing got totally freaked when Sean told the back row to switch drums with the front row. (Class is set up with PVC pipe taiko in one row and wine barrel taiko in another. We rotate back and forth a couple of times so we all get comfortable playing both kinds.) I grinned at her as we switched places and said, "Don't worry, we're all too busy watching HIM, OK?"
The second drill piece he introduced has a very cool syncopated section. I blame my mom's fondness for Peggy Lee on my immediately thinking, "Right, it's 'The Best Is Yet To Come.' Don DON don DON don DON don DON don DON.
So my brain knew right off what it was supposed to SOUND like. The tricky bit was that we had to come off a very right-left phrase and start this phrase with the left hand first.
I did get it. Mostly. But the fact that there's a knot in my left shoulder and ONLY my left shoulder speaks volumes about tension, trying too hard, overthinking. All the usual sins.
For any of my Dear Readers who might be scratching their heads and thinking, "Peggy WHO?," I offer the following. Ms. Lee passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 81.
