The past year has been exciting for us in Aber Taiko. A year ago it seemed that Covid had overtaken important things in our lives, we were only just getting back to somewhat regular practice but the future for us as a Taiko group was not clear at all. We had no gigs in sight, we had not played regularly together and our repertoire was nestled in our brains and bodies, dormant.
We had then made the decision to invite new people to try out practicing with us with the idea that while for some the pandemic made Taiko harder to commit to, maybe for others this would be just the time to try something new.
We love playing the big drums and we want to share this exciting form of group drumming with more people, increase our energy levels, and widen our community. That’s why we are opening up the first hour of our Taiko practice sessions on a weekly basis – come and have a go!
Leave your worries at the door and join the fun! Connect to your body, get fit, be musical, be loud, and meet new people. We will teach the basics starting with how to stand, how to hold the drumsticks and how to hit the drum. Then there will be rhythms and movement and all the fun things.
If you are 16 or older, you are welcome!!
Sessions are Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00pm, more details when booking.
To join the practices you will need to:
Book your place in advance, (£7 per session, £5 concessions), as you go (email aber.taiko@gmail.com for details).
Bring your own ear plugs: the drums are big and LOUD.
Be able to be active for the hour, albeit listening to your body and taking care of your well-being while we practice. Taiko drumming is a physical activity which can be intense at times.
Agree to wear a mask while playing, adhere to physical distancing and the regulations in the hall and not attend with any COVID19/influenza symptoms (please let us know in advance of any exemptions; if unable to arrive due to COVID19 you will be refunded). We keep 3 doors open to allow fresh air and take regular breaks to go outside and remove our masks.
We will supply drums and sticks (bachi). Those who would like to commit to weekly practice, learning, studying at home and stretching their abilities will be encouraged to purchase their own equipment, starting with the bachi.
People who play taiko know this: the more you play, the more you want to play! so now we have added an extra monthly practice night. This one is devoted to practicing Miyake and starting on a journey with our new Odaiko which is actually a big okedo.
Miyake is quite strenuous as the drums are low and the players need to squat while playing. We kept playing for a few runs of 15 minutes. Uchikomimas!
Then it was Odaiko time. First ever practice of Odaiko for us. This time it wasn’t so much about technique, but improvisation – we all wanted to just go for it! so we had a person on the one side playing straight Ji uchi (back beat) while the other side improvised. Then change sides and so on until time was up. Never enough time…
