Taiko Camp Part 1: Overview, and how to make a papier-maché chochin

Once you’re established as a teaching artist, summer camp bookings will probably come your way. Summer camps are a great place to introduce kids to taiko! The camp format allows you to cover everything from taiko basics to taiko history (i.e., the way Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII relates to the development of taiko in the US).

I just finished a one week camp that lasted 3 hours a day for 5 consecutive days. I chose Obon as the central theme, with the campers hosting a mini-Obon on the last day. I covered 3 main activities during the camp: learning Matsuri (including solos), learning Tanko Bushi well enough to be able to teach it, and making a papier-maché chochin. We worked on each activity every day. 

Chochin are paper lanterns; at Obon, they’re often hung as decoration. The strings of chochin swaying above everyone’s heads at odori is one of my favorite sights at San Jose Obon. Here’s my step-by-step guide to making a papier maché chochin; it includes how I broke down the process so my campers did a little bit each day. 

In my next few posts, I’ll share the rest of my camp curriculum so you can take advantage of these opportunities when they arise for you. Happy teaching camping!

A crossover song for beginners: Yagura no Chochin

Crossing over (a multi-drum skill) is fun for players and impressive to audiences. Kristin’s most recent composition, Yagura no Chochin, helps beginning players of all ages learn this exciting skill using a limited number of repeated phrases. The first crossovers are slow, allowing players to practice the motion. Then, the patterns get into full swing, finally incorporating movement to other drums. The song is written out here. The video shows me demonstrating the Body and our recent community class playing through the full arrangement. (Shout out to Robin, Jennifer, and Sarah!)

A few notes: 1) solo length isn’t set; the solo is over when the soloist plays the Tag; 2) the number of times you rotate in the Big Rotation depends on the number of players; rotate until everyone is back at their original drum, then play Line 4 to end the section; 3) the speed in the first section (where I’m demonstrating the Body by myself) is the correct performance tempo; 4) these rhythms are particularly ripe for mnemonics. Our last class was fond of “right ov-er, left ov-er, move ov-er, “stay right here” as a memory aid in the Big Rotation. Use what works!

If you don’t know, the yagura is the elevated platform at the center at most bon odori. People on it lead the dances, and there may be a drummer on it. It’s usually decorated with chochin (paper lanterns) as seen in this photo from the Mountain View Temple Obon. The chochin sway with the movement of the dancers. The crossing over in this song is reminiscent of that swaying, and the rotation of the players alludes to the lead dancers on the yagura.

Let us know if you learn and perform Yagura no Chochin, and happy teaching!

Teaching Beginners to Solo: Wipe Out!

You should always have more than one activity for skills you’re helping students build. A few weeks ago I wrote about teaching adults to solo using the kuchishoka deck.

Wipe Out! is another great activity that 1) reduces the intimidation factor around soloing 2) shows how powerful ma can be and 3) builds a feel for an 8-beat phrase. Don’t let the fact that it’s a game make you think it’s only for kids! Although I originally created it for kids, I’ve done it with kids and adults and it’s always a hit.

Here’s how Wipe Out! works. You’ll need a white board.

1. Write the numbers 1-8 on the board.

2. Have the students choose straight ji or swing ji and start that ji on the shime. (For true beginners, just go with straight ji.)

3. Count the students in and have them play 8 don, one for every number on the board.

4. Erase a number from the board.

5. Count the students in and have them play 7 don and 1 su, placing the su on whatever number you wiped out.

   • For example; if you erased the 5, they’d play: don don don don su don don don.

6. Repeat steps 4-5 as many times as you want.

As people get more comfortable, challenge them by inviting a student to come up and do the wiping out, or by eliminating the pause/count in between the wiping out and playing the revised phrase, or by letting them change a number to ka by underlining instead of wiping out, or to doko by underlining twice (seen in the photo on the left).

It’s a little silly, it’s a lot of fun, it’s challenging but not impossible, and all of that generates an learning environment where students are more willing and able to take risks (like soloing!). Have fun with it, and happy teaching!

Landing your first residency

In-school residencies can be a welcome source of revenue for a group or an individual teaching artist. Like any line of work, it can be hard to break into, but once you do, it becomes easier to get more of it. Here are some tips:

1. Develop a one-pager.

   This doc should explain how your program will benefit the students and the school receiving the residency. Keep it to one page and make sure there’s lots of “air” on the page. Bulleted lists and 2-3 paragraphs with spaces in between them are good; a solid wall of text is not. The Americans for the Arts has a TON of research on the benefits of arts education and is a good starting point. This one-pager should guide the conversation in meetings with teachers and principals, and you should leave a copy with them at the end of the meeting.

2. Leverage your existing network.

   When I was a taiko newbie, my group performed at an elementary school where a member’s granddaughter was a student. Her teacher LOVED the performance. The following year, I approached that teacher about a residency and she was immediately an advocate. She convinced the rest of the teachers at her grade level and the principal, and we did a residency there the following year.

   I landed my first residency after moving to the Bay Area when a taiko friend mentioned that another friend had just passed on a residency. The first friend connected me with the person booking the residency and they booked me right away because I came to them through a recommendation.

   The lesson here: be social. Make friends. Hang out with them. Go to events. Let people in your orbit know you’re looking for residency work.

3. Find your own funding.

   Schools rarely have the money to fully fund an artist-in-residence program. Many states have a statewide arts agency that offers partial grants to help cover the cost, but schools don’t always know about this resource. Do your research beforehand, and bring at least one grant opportunity to the school to help cover your fee. Some states require that the school be the applicant, so it’s very helpful to the school if you can provide grant language they’ll need to put together a proposal.

4. Residencies attract more residencies.

   Just like performances attract more performances, completing even one successful residency is a strong indicator that more will come your way. Kids talk to parents, parents talk to neighbors and co-workers, teachers talk to peers at other schools. This word of mouth is likely to bring you more work.

Don’t give up if it takes months or even a year or two to land your first residency - more will almost certainly follow. Of course, the stronger your program, the easier it will be to find additional work. I can help - contact me for support in creating a great in-school residency. Happy teaching!

Questions a taiko teacher should ask

If you’ll be teaching more than one session in a school, you’ll probably have a planning meeting with the teachers you’ll be working with. The principal may attend too. Below are 11 questions you should definitely ask. These aren’t necessarily in order of importance, so ask them all! The answers will help you successfully launch your classes.

1. How big is the room where I’ll be teaching? What else is this room used for?

You want to make sure they’re not putting you in an unused classroom that’s full of desks. If it’s a room that’s used for other activities, you want to make sure your drums will be safe when you’re not there. Ask if you can see the room after the meeting ends.

2. Are there any adjacent classrooms?

If a school plans to put you in a room with an adjacent classroom, make sure they understand how loud taiko can be.

3. Is there secure storage? Can I see it?

Note, secure doesn’t HAVE to mean locked. In many schools, the stage in the cafeteria is a very low-traffic area and a safe place to store drums.

4. What time does the school day start and end?

Most school parking lots are bedlam during drop-off and pick-up (about 10 minutes before and after beginning and end of the school day). Do yourself a favor by avoiding these times.

5. Are there English Language Learners in the classes?

As taiko teachers, we’re lucky that kids can succeed in our classes without understanding every single word we say. Still, I find it’s helpful to know if there are a lot of ELL students so I can be sure to physically demonstrate a lot and talk as little as possible.

6. Are there special needs students in the classes? If so, what accommodations do they need?

Make sure you can provide these accommodations and be up front if you can’t. It’s a good idea for students with sound sensitivities to wear their headphones to class.

7. How many students are there in each class?

I’ve had 23-32 students in a class, which translates to enormously different equipment and space needs.

8. How much in-school music instruction have the students had before now?

I’ve had answers ranging from “none” to “multiple years,” which greatly affects my lesson planning.

9. Will the classroom teachers be staying in the room with me and their students? If so, will they be participating?

If you’re not certified, the classroom teacher will usually stay in the room with you, but not always. Even if they stay in the room, they may take advantage of the opportunity to catch up with grading or other tasks. It’s important to know the school’s expectation is of their teachers.

10. Are any of the following scheduled during the residency: fire drills, field trips, assemblies, or other special programs that might affect the schedule?

Schools schedule these kinds of things months in advance, but often don’t think to mention them to a teaching artist. It’s up to you to ask!

11. Do you have a method you use in your classroom for student participation or behavior?

Some teachers use popsicle sticks with student names on them to promote participation, or marbles in a jar as a behavior incentive, or other classroom management techniques. It’s useful to know these beforehand so you can fold them into your classroom management. (See this post for more detail.)

If you have questions or need advice on planning a successful taiko education program, drop me a line. I can help. Happy teaching!

A power song for advanced beginners: Tenryu

Looking for a power song to teach your students? Tenryu, a recent composition of ours, might fit the bill. It’s written out in kuchishoka and western notation here, and the video includes a full run and some tips from people who are learning it.

Tenryu is a great example of how much harder it can be to learn a song from transcribed kuchishoka, and I strongly recommend the video as a learning tool. A huge thank you to Taiko SOBA for being in the video! (The terms stage right and stage left are critical to connecting the notation with the video. If you’re not familiar with those terms, they’re explained here.)

Tenryu translates as “Sky Dragon” and the idea behind the song is that the entire group is a single dragon. It’s meant to convey the freedom, connection, and power generated when we channel our ki -- ALL of it-- into a collective effort.

Some notes on the song:

• Tenryu isn’t complex rhythmically. The challenge is in playing it powerfully without tensing up.

• Most sections start with a pick-up.

• The patterns and tempo generate the mood of the song, rather than players hitting as hard as they can.

• In the transcribed kuchishoka, the bold text in section C is there to make the pattern (replacing dokonko with dogodogo) easier to see.

• Section D is challenging on two levels. It’s the only part of the piece where the chu and odaiko play different parts, and the odaiko part can be tricky to lock. There’s also an “extra” dogodogo at the end of this section. It’s unexpected for the listener, but it drives the song into the final sections.

Notes on the video:

• The odaiko part is being played by 4 players in the back.

• Taiko SOBA vibrated the entire room with this rendition (go SOBA!). Nevertheless, this is a great version to learn from.

As usual, we’re releasing this under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike  which means you’re welcome to remix, tweak, and build upon Tenryu, as long as you credit us and license any new creations under identical terms.

If you have questions while learning or teaching Tenryu, drop me a line. If you perform it, please post a video let me know. Happy teaching!

Recorded music you can use in your classes

If you do a lot of pulse (or dance) games in your classes, you’re going to need a variety of recorded music to play for those activities. Steer away from “kiddie music” for this. Kids get enough that in videos and games. Instead, present a range of “actual music” to broaden their horizons. They can handle it.

Below are links to 7 songs I use for activities that require recorded music. Only one of them has lyrics. There’s classical, salsa, klezmer, funk, polynesian and, of course, taiko. All are free to download and use and are appropriate for school settings.

Don’t Lie to Inner Child by Sergey Cheremisinov

Een Laastst Liedje by Tres Tristes Tangos

Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg (also good for tempo changes and to discuss high vs low pitch)

Hot salsa trip by arsonist

Jazzy Funky by TA2MI

The Stroll by Taiko Project (thank you, Taiko Project, for making Our Many Sides so readily available to the community!)

Untitled by Funa O Fangatapu

Happy teaching!

Teaching Adults to Solo

Just like younger students, adults can be intimidated by the idea of soloing, which requires awareness of and ability to play on the beat (pulse), internalized phrasing so you play a solo of the correct length (if length is set), form and strike, and competency with basic beats. Improvising adds a level of complexity that true beginners* generally aren’t ready for, and I don’t recommend having students improvise right out the gate.

Here’s my method for helping adult beginners start soloing. For this approach, choose a song that the students already know that includes soloing as well as unison playing. Sanae Swing would work, as would Matsuri, as would literally hundreds of other songs.

1. Give each student a kuchishoka deck to build a solo. Set the length of the solo at 8 beats (2 measures, 8 cards).

2. Give the students 15-20 minutes to create their solos and practice them on their drums.

3. Add a jiuchi so students can practice their solos with a back beat, but don’t make everyone start and stop at the same time.

4. Move to everyone starting and stopping at the same time (aka chaos soloing).

5. Have students play their solos one at a time.

6. Build their solos into the song arrangement.

For some students, this is still pretty intimidating, and I let those students choose to work in teams.

Out of ideas for your taiko classes? I can help! I’ve been teaching taiko in school and community settings for over a decade. Drop me a line, and happy teaching!

*True beginners = people coming to taiko without previous music or dance experience. I find that taiko attracts a lot of true beginners.  

Two new drills for beginners

Lots of beginning taiko classes focus on teaching beats and songs. Those things are important, but it’s just as important for new students to learn to move their bodies while playing. This prepares them to be more visually interesting players as they develop.

Drills 4 and 5, demonstrated by our current community taiko class in the video, introduce these skills. Drill 4 is relatively straightforward, but Drill 5 can be tricky, especially the second part. Teach the footwork first, then the arm movement, then add the beats. You’ll notice students make some mistakes in the video, which is a normal part of learning (see #9 here). We took the video in the mirror, so if you copy the students exactly, you’ll be doing the correct sticking. (I’m in the blue t-shirt modeling both drills as well.)

If you’re interested, Drills 1-3 teach other basics. Happy teaching!

Practicing Pulse: Copying a puppet

I was introduced to puppet copying in my Orff training and I use it all the time with students ages 4-8. It’s engaging and extremely effective. You play a piece of recorded music, use a puppet to demonstrate the pulse, and have the kids copy the puppet. It’s that easy. The video shows how I introduce the puppet and some of the moves I do.

As students get better at identifying and showing pulse, I work in an assessment; I stop moving the puppet partway through a song and have the students continue showing the pulse on their own. I have a shtick about how Simone (my puppet) is really tired because she stayed up too late the night before playing video games. When I stop moving her, it’s because she’s fallen asleep. Students enjoy the storyline, and I get to see how they’re doing with identifying and following pulse.

With younger students it’s almost impossible to spend too much time on pulse, which is why I have so many activities to practice this skill. It’s a critical music fundamental that shows up regularly in state music ed standards, and it’s also associated with strong reading skills. If you use a puppet in your classes I’d love to see pics or video. Happy teaching!

10 practical tips for taiko teaching artists

Taiko teaching artist is the best job I’ve ever had. It’s also the hardest job I’ve ever had. Here are 10 things I’ve learned over the years that make teaching taiko in schools easier.

1. Make friends with the Office Manager and Custodian.

These folks have difficult and under-appreciated jobs. At the same time, they can be highly influential on your residency’s success. An office manager who feels valued by you will call teachers who haven’t shown up for class, or make an announcement to remind teachers to bring whiteboards. A custodian who feels valued will make sure students don’t mess with your drums when you’re on break. They are critical allies. Learn their names. Smile at them. Thank them. Give them a Starbucks gift card. It will make your life easier. (Depending on your school, the office manager may also be called the secretary or receptionist.)

2. Store your drums at the school.

Teaching by yourself is hard, and if you have to load in and out of the school every day, it’s close to impossible. If a school can’t provide you with secure storage for your equipment, don’t take the residency. It won’t be worth it.

3. Load in BEFORE your first day.

Your first day is hectic enough without also having to load in all of your equipment.

4. Set your class up in curved rows, not a circle.

If you’re in the middle of a circle, some students will always be facing your back. If you join the circle, kids at your 2 o’clock and 11 o’clock will have trouble seeing you. With curved rows, all students will have a good view of your face and will be better able to hear you.

5. Avoid residencies that are folded into after-school programs.

Taiko is fun! Taiko is loud! Taiko is exciting! The structure of the regular school day, along with good classroom management, can help even the most excited kids stay focused. After-school programs (aka after-care) are far less structured and it’s too hard to avoid chaos when teaching taiko in them. Do yourself a favor and don’t accept a residency if it’s incorporated into an after-school program. (But by all means, if you have your own studio and the students come to you, offer taiko classes after school. That’s a different thing all together.)

6. Have students help you clean up.

Students as young as 2nd grade can reliably handle the responsibility of packing drums and putting them back in their storage spot. Ask your last teacher of the day to leave you 5 kids to help pack up. They’ll LOVE doing it, and it will make your life easier.

7. Include classroom teachers.

Just like the Office Manager and Custodian, a classroom teacher who feels valued is a powerful ally. Their enthusiasm about your classes will shape the students’ enthusiasm. Email your lesson plans to classroom teachers in advance, give them the opportunity to participate, let them teach any arts integration you’re incorporating. Also be sure and send them your bio before you start so they understand that you’re a competent professional coming to enrich the education of their students.

8. Informance, not performance.

Schools are likely going to ask for a performance at the end of your residency. I always suggest having the last class be an informance instead and schools almost always go for it. For an informance, I invite the students’ families to come watch the last class. I guide the kids through the activities they’ve learned (which always includes at least one song) and pause regularly  to explain to the “audience” what skills the students just demonstrated.

Families LOVE this: they get to watch their student the whole time, rather than attending an evening performance where multiple classes perform. Teachers LOVE this: they don’t have to come back to school for an evening event after a long day. Kids LOVE this: it’s lower stakes than a performance, they still get to show off, and they’re in the spotlight the whole time. I LOVE this: it doesn’t add an additional event to my scope of work and I can focus the entire residency on skill building rather than creating a performance product.

9. Allow for mistakes (your and theirs).

Most students aren’t going to immediately succeed. Don’t get frustrated. Find different ways to practice skills and keep at it. They’ll learn. (This is why I have umpteen pulse activities.)

The same is true of you as a teacher. You’re not going to succeed all of the time. Some activities will fall flat. You’ll accidentally say “don” when you mean to say “su.” You’ll forget that the school changed your schedule one week and you won’t show up on time. I’ve done all of these things. It’s not awesome, but the more you can dust yourself off and try again the better your mental health will be. Bonus: if you can dust yourself off and try again in front of your students, you’re modeling for them a growth mindset, which is something kids need to see.

10. Get rest.

Teaching is exhausting. It makes you WAY more tired than just playing taiko. Get your rest and eat your Wheaties on teaching days. If you drink alcohol, don’t drink the night before a teaching day. Alcohol messes with your sleep and a restless night = a rough teaching day.

There you have it! The top 10 things I wish I’d known when I started teaching. I hope they’re helpful to you. Happy teaching!

Teaching K-3 students to solo

Creating patterns

Soloing can intimidating. It’s a tough skill that draws on multiple competencies; acute awareness of the pulse, a large “beat vocabulary,” confidence, and more.

Soloing can be taught, but students get overwhelmed if you try to do it all at once. My method of introducing soloing to younger students breaks the skill into bite-sized pieces learned over several weeks. It’s one thing I do in class over those 4 weeks, rather than the only thing we work on. With students this age I let them create and play duets if they want, which is less high stakes and cultivates confidence.

Here’s my method:

Week 1

1. Teach kuchishoka using the Squirrel Village story.

Fill the boxes with one kuchishoka each.

Week 2

1. Remind students of the squirrel rhythm pattern from the story. Have them play it on their laps. Point out that the number of syllables they’re saying corresponds to what they’re playing.

2. Draw a horizontal rectangle on the board. Divide it into 4 equal boxes.

3. Choose 4 kids. Have each say don or doko. Write the words they say on the board, one per box.

4. Lead the class through clapping the pattern their classmates created.

5. Have students move to drums.

6. Lead students in playing the pattern on the drums.

7. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 6 two or three times.

8. Introduce su. (It’s in the squirrel rhythm, but they won’t have realized it.)

9. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 6 several more times, adding su into the mix.

Week 3
(Ask teachers to bring individual whiteboards, markers, and erasers to class.)

1. Do steps 3, 4, and 6 from last week to activate their prior learning.

2. Give 2-3 minutes for students to create a 4-beat rhythm pattern on their own whiteboard, drawing boxes and writing words inside them (the way they’ve been doing it as a class). Allow them to work in pairs with their drum partner or own their own.

3. Have students say and clap their individual patterns all at the same time.

4. Have students play their individual patterns on the drums all at the same time.

5. Have students leave their whiteboards and rotate to a new drum.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 at the new drum.

7. Rotate and repeat for up to 20 minutes.

Week 4
(Ask teachers to bring whiteboards again.)

1. Have students make up their own patterns individually or in pairs.

2. Have students play their patterns all together.

3. Have students play patterns one at a time. You need to conduct this. I count in the whole group, then make friendly eye contact with a student when it’s their turn to play and mark their 4-beats with my hand. The first time around is rocky, but the second time goes fine.

At the end of Week 4, each kid or pair has a short solo ready to plug into a song. Have them play it twice if you need a longer one. Be sure to email your classroom teachers before Weeks 3 and 4 to ask them to bring their individual whiteboards to class (I have yet to run into a class that doesn’t have a set).

If you try this approach, let me know! I’d love to hear how it goes. Happy teaching!

Introducing a jiuchi: 4th and 5th grade

The hardest part about teaching by yourself is holding the jiuchi. If you play it, students will try to copy you; if you don’t play it, then the group as a whole will have trouble staying on the same pulse.

Below is my method for introducing a jiuchi to 4th and 5th graders (here’s the post about doing this with younger students). The alphabet/ostinato activity is from my original Orff training, and I developed the taiko extension.

This activity takes 20-30 minutes, longer if you have to do Step 9. The three parts are written out here for reference.

1. Teach the alphabet body percussion exercise described here.

2. Point out that you have two elements going: a melody and an ostinato.
   NOTE: “melody” isn’t exactly the right word, since clapping isn’t pitched, but it’s close, and it’s a word they’re likely to recognize, so I go with it.

3. Have students do the alphabet body percussion with the ostinato again.

4. There is a 99.9999% chance that they will speed up. Point out that they did. (If they didn’t, congratulate them on that, and say that groups usually do.)

5. Define tempo. Discuss how faster isn’t always better, and that what you’re usually going for in music is a steady tempo and a shared pulse.

6. Explain that in taiko, we use a jiuchi to help keep a steady tempo and shared pulse and that this rhythm pattern usually happens on a shime.

7. Demonstrate the pulse for the body percussion exercise they just did.

8. Have them do the exercise again using body percussion while you play a jiuchi on a shime.

9. If students haven’t yet played drums in your class yet, spend some time describing how to play the drum safely, respectfully, and musically.

10. Have students transfer the body percussion to the drums as outlined in the pdf.

In my experience most 4th and 5th graders do well with this method. A few get confused, but they usually figure it out by watching their classmates. Notice, there’s more talking/explaining with students this age than with younger kids.

Let me know if you try this method and how it works for you. Happy teaching!

Introducing a jiuchi: K-3

A big challenge when teaching by yourself is the jiuchi. If you play it, many students will copy you rather than playing their part; if you don’t play it, then the group as a whole will have trouble staying on the same pulse.

I’ve developed two methods for introducing the jiuchi, teaching students how to pay attention to it without copying it exactly. The method varies from K-3 to 4th/5th; here’s how I do it with the little ones.

1. Introduce a Play 4 Step 4 pattern.

2. Gradually build in more Play 4 Step 4 patterns until they can do 4-5 in a row.

3. Have them to do Play 4 Step 4 the whole way around (i.e., each student plays every drum and winds up back at their original drum).

4. Introduce bachi (covered in a later post).

5. Repeat steps 1-3 with bachi.

6. Gradually introduce jiuchi.

Basically, I play in unison with them for several rounds of a simple pattern they’re comfortable with, and then phase in the jiuchi. When they stop, I ask them if I was playing the same thing as them the whole time. Most of them have noticed that I wasn’t (but stayed with their pattern even when I switched).

This takes place in Week 2, and I return to it in Week 4. With those two introductions, students usually have the understanding they need to listen to and be on beat with the jiuchi without copying it exactly.

Send me an email if you have questions, and happy teaching!

The Critical First Day: Taiko Fundamentals Gr 4-5

With older students, the taiko fundamental I start with is staying together as an ensemble on a shared pulse. Again, it’s easier to scaffold this using voices and bodies before drums. Two music vocabulary words come up in this activity: ostinato (a repeating pattern) and polyrhythm (combining two or more different rhythms simultaneously).

My current 4/5 residency is 8 weeks of 30 minute classes - only 4 hours of instructional time! - so I move through things FAST. Here’s what I did on the first day to get them started on this skill:

1. Have students clap and sing the alphabet with you. Clap on every syllable.

2. Clap without singing.

3. Teach the ostinato.

4. Define ostinato.

5. Split them into two groups and have each group do one of the parts.

6. Define polyrhythm.

The students in the video speed up, which is pretty normal. In the second class, we return to this activity and I add a straight beat jiuchi to help them keep a steady tempo. The week after that, students translate the beats to drums. They play “don” instead of clapping the alphabet and the ostinato becomes “don don ka su.” Students learn kuchishoka in Week 4,  use the kuchishoka deck to create solos or duets (their choice) in Week 5, learn a song structure in Week 6 and voilà- a polyrhythmic taiko song with solos, all from the clapping alphabet! I first got this activity from my Orff training and have adapted it over the years.

Questions? Hit me up. Until next time, happy teaching!

The Critical First Day: Taiko Fundamentals Gr 1-3

The first taiko fundamental I address is an awareness of pulse and the ability to play from that awareness. This skill (also known as a sense of rhythm) CAN be taught! I’ve found it works best when you scaffold it using voices and bodies before using drums, no matter what age you’re working with. The ability to follow a pulse is woven throughout most Music Ed standards, so spending time on it is a great way to teach taiko and helps kids meet state standards.

To build this skill in 1st-3rd grade, I echo teach a simple introduction chant that includes an experiential understanding of pulse. The steps are below and illustrated in the video. The whole thing takes 10-20 minutes, depending on how many kids get a turn in Step 5.

1. Preview the full chant while finger tapping on the pulse.

2. Echo teach the chant. Keep the finger taps.

3. Demonstrate call and answer at the end of the chant.

4. Choose a few kids to do their name as a call and answer at the end of the chant.

5. Have as many kids do this as time allows.

6. Explain how the finger taps show pulse, and how tapping pulse isn’t the same as tapping every note. (NOTE: the audio quality on the video drops here - my mic died - so you might have to turn it up to hear me.)

Since the kids are copying me exactly while I teach the chant, they’re showing the pulse with finger taps the whole time. With this experiential understanding, they’re ready for the term “pulse” when I cover it in Step 6. That, by the way, is an essential element of the Orff method: build experiential understanding before introducing terminology.

This great activity is from my original Orff training and I’ve used it for years. It’s written out here in western notation. Along with experiential understanding of pulse, it also addresses foundational skills for improvisation and call and answer. Lastly, it helps kids practice copying, which is a key skill in my classes for this age.

Students won’t build a perfect understanding of pulse this first day. Include some pulse practice in every session, though, and they’ll really be getting it by the end of your classes.

Questions? Let me know! Until next time, happy teaching!

The Critical First Day: Establishing Expectations, Pt 2.

One size does not fit all! You can't treat 4th and 5th graders the same way you treat K-3 students. This post continues the discussion I started last week on setting your students (and yourself) up for a successful residency.

With 5th graders, I ask them about their classroom or school rules, and then say that those rules apply in the taiko classroom too. The video on the right shows me holding this conversation with a 5th grade class I started working with recently. Bonus, it also includes the system I use for randomly selecting kids to participate. More detail in a future post, but it’s much more effective than asking for volunteers to answer questions! (4th and 5th graders tend to know what number they are in their classroom.)

For consequences in 5th grade, I just calmly name rule breaking if I see it. (“You’re talking to your neighbor while I’m talking. That’s disrespectful.”) I’ve had good luck with students changing behavior when I do that. Mind you, they’re not happy for a few minutes, but they almost always come around and act more appropriately in the future. This doesn’t require any particular introduction on the First Day, just do it when it happens. Take note: you erode student confidence and trust in you if you show frustration at moments like this, so work on your poker face.

With unruly classes, I’ll use a Check/X system to give them a visual reference for how they’re doing. They get a green check on the board when they’re meeting behavioral expectations, and a red X when they don’t. It’s basically the same as the happy face/sad face system I use with K-3, but adapted for older kids.

Fourth grade is a wild card. Less mature classes thrive under the chant/happy/sad face system, and more mature classes will roll their eyes at it. I usually start with the 5th grade strategy in 4th grade. If that doesn’t work, I switch to to the K-3 strategy.

Middle school is an entirely different ball game. Email me if you teach middle school and want some tips. Until then, happy teaching!

The Critical First Day: Establishing Expectations

I started two residencies this week, and it reminded me how “make or break” the First Day is. A good First Day lays the foundation for a successful residency; a bad one truly sets you back. In honor of my newest residencies, I’m starting a series of posts about building a First Day that will set you up for a successful taiko class.

Three critical things happen on the first day. This post talks about #1: the students learn your behavioral expectations. I talk about K-3 strategies here and will talk about higher grades next time.

The winning strategy with all grades is to set clear expectations and be consistent and immediate with consequences AND with reinforcement when kids do well. With K-3 students, I teach a rules chant on the first day. The video shows me introducing these rules as a chant to a new 2nd grade class.  

(Note, these rules work for me, but if they don’t feel like a fit for you, Google “music classroom rules” for literally thousands of examples.)

I introduce the chant on the First Day, and then it becomes our focusing activity for the rest of the residency. At my schools, students walk from their regular classroom to the room where I’m teaching. Never underestimate how completely a walk across the school campus can derail a kid! They absolutely need an activity like this to focus when they get to you. These kids will say the chant every week at the beginning of class, and they’ll have it perfect by Week 4.

Rules aren’t effective unless there’s a consequence for breaking and positive reinforcement for following. For my K-3 classes, I draw a happy face and a sad face on the whiteboard. When the majority of the class follows a rule (i.e., everyone listens the whole time I’m giving directions) I put a check under the happy face. When a rule is broken, I put a check under the sad face. At the end of class, I make a big deal of having the happy face checks cancel out the sad face checks. I introduce this system in the latter part of this video. Kids this age really respond to this approach!

Lots of classroom teachers have some kind of behavior reward system in their classrooms. (For example, they put marbles in jar when the class shows good behavior. When the jar is full, the class gets a pizza party or something). See if the teachers you’re working with have a system like this and if they’re willing to tie behavior in taiko class to their existing system (i.e., they put a marble in the jar if the class has more happy face checks than sad face checks in a day, and take one out if the reverse if true).  

That’s it! Next time I’ll talk about establishing expectations with older students. Although my focus is on in-school taiko programs, this approach can be easily adapted for out-of-school programs. Contact me if you want some suggestions for that. Until then, happy teaching!

Taiko Games: Read My Mind

I first encountered this game in my Orff training and adapted it for taiko. It’s an excellent way to review songs, but can also be adapted to give students low-risk practice in making up 8-beat rhythm patterns. It’s great for students in grades 1-5 (roughly ages 6-11). Adults and playful high schoolers can have fun with it too, but it’s not a good fit for the middle school set (roughly ages 12-14).

The set-up

Choose a piece of a song you’re working on in class, but don’t tell the students what it is. For example, if your students are learning Matsuri, choose a line from that song (i.e., don don don kara ka ka).

Ask the students if any of them can read minds. (A few will raise their hands.) Tell them you’re thinking of a part of a taiko song and you want to see if they can read your mind. For beginning or younger students (1st-3rd grade), tell them which song. For more advanced or older students (4th grade and older), don’t tell them which song. For all ages, DO tell them how many beats long the part is.

How to play

1. Arrange the taiko in a circle so all students can see each other. Include a shime.

2. Teacher begins playing a jiuchi on the shime.The students begin playing phrases, trying to guess what phrase the Teacher is thinking of.

3. When a student plays the phrase the Teacher is thinking of, Teacher says “1 person is reading my mind!”

4. The other students then use deductive reasoning to figure out who’s “reading the Teacher’s mind.”

5. As more and more kids figure out the correct pattern, the Teacher keeps giving updates. “Now 2 people are reading my mind! Now 3!”

The game continues until everyone is “reading the Teacher’s mind.”

Variations

1. Instead of a phrase from a song, think of an original 8-beat rhythm pattern and see if any of the students can figure it out. (Sometimes I start a round with no particular pattern in mind. When a kid plays one I like, I decide that’s the one.)

2. Let a student lead this activity. Advanced/older students can try playing shime while they have their mind read.

3. If your kids need to get some wiggles out, play this as a movement game. You play a song or rhythmically regular pattern on the taiko and think of a SIMPLE movement that could be used to show the pulse of that pattern. (Tapping head, patting knees, jumping jacks, the floss, etc.) The class tries to figure out that movement.

Try this in your class next time you’re working on a new song and the students need a brain break. It gives them a rest AND reinforces the patterns. Happy teaching!

Taiko Games: Taiko Tag

You can never have too many games! They can be a sanity-saving brain break (for students and teacher alike!) in longer classes, and closing class with a game is a great way to reward good behavior.

I found Dance Tag when I was first looking for activities for taiko residencies and adapted it for my classes. I used it for years in Tucson and still use it today. It’s a huge hit with grades 1-4, and students never realize how much they’re reinforcing rhythm and pulse. If you have a mixed age group, older students will enjoy the musician role described under “Adaptations.” Try it in your next class and let me know how it goes!

RULES

1. This is a dancing game, not a running game. If a student runs, they’re out.

2. If a student peeks while the “Its” are being chosen, they’re out.

3. (Optional): If the room you’re playing in is very large, designate a portion of it as out of bounds. If students go out of bounds, they’re out. (For example, if you’re playing on a full-size basketball court, restrict game play to one half of the court or less.)

HOW TO PLAY

1. Have the students stand in a circle. The teacher stands in the middle of the circle.

2. Once students are in a circle, have them turn to face the outside of the circle (so they can’t see the teacher). Then, have them close their eyes and put their hands over their eyes.

3. The teacher chooses two students to be “It” by laying a hand on the chosen student’s shoulders. Only the teacher and these students know who’s been chosen.

4. Once the “It” students have been chosen, the teacher moves outside the circle and tells students to open their eyes and spread out.

5. The teacher begins playing a song on a taiko and students - including those chosen to be “It” - begin dancing to the song. They can move freely around the play space while they dance.

6. Students who are “It” tag classmates while dancing. If a student gets tagged, they’re out, and they go sit down at the edge of the play space.

7. The game continues until 4 students are still dancing - the 2 who were “It” and 2 students who haven’t been tagged. The 2 who weren’t tagged are the winners of that round!

ADAPTATIONS

1. If you have a large group of kids or older students, have some act as musicians, joining the teacher in playing the song.

2. When students get out, have them become musicians, playing taiko, narimono, clicking a pair of bachi, etc.