NATC 2025 Phoenix

This workshop covers the steps of concert composition and general technique that can be applied to taiko music. Although this workshop is most beneficial to someone who has been exercising, this is open to any level of player because composition exercise is a great way to cultivate ensemble(kumi daiko) and give extra depth of perception to the performance.

Course outline
Basic information: melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, and structure

Analize: Active listening and analyze variety of music (Taiko music and variety of genre of non-taiko music)

Exercise: Application of above to create your own short music with applied limitation and materials

Prerequisite/What to bring: Group performance experience.

From the very beginning of the history of Japan, people have believed in the existence of deities living with them, in their lives, and they could communicate with those deities through the sound of their drumming, Taiko.
Shinto is widely known as a Japanese indigenous religion, it is the way of life and reflection of Japanese culture. This workshop focuses on the relationship with Japanese people and Kami(Deity), the backbone of performing arts and taiko from Mythology, role of Matsuri(festival), role of Taiko, Shinto and Buddhism relationship and how those reflect to Japanese culture.

Prerequisite/What to bring: None

Taiko and ethnic studies has a long and enduring relationship in the context of North America. It is imperative, given the current climate of political precarity, to understand not only the ways in which racial dynamics operate within taiko spaces, but to understand taiko and race through relational lenses. From 'Racist Love' to techno-Orientalism, taiko remains a critical site of analysis for reckoning with the intimacies of race, gender, and other axes of power. My work situates taiko within foundational ethnic studies concepts such as Orientalism and intersectionality to build an understanding of the political opportunities and limitations that taiko makes possible. The discussion portion following the lecture provides a space for community members to ask questions and to participate in conversations at the forefront of ethnic studies and how it continues to shape the legacies and futures of taiko in the United States.

Prerequisite/What to bring: There is no prerequisite knowledge or personal equipment required for this discussion.