Japan trip Part 1 - learning from Suzuki sensei and Wakayama Shachu

Edo Bayashi lessons with Kyosuke Suzuki sensei in Tokyo

My recent Japan trip went very well. Funded by a grant from Regional Arts & Cultural Council and kind sponsorship from Asano Taiko US, my main purpose was to study Edo Matsuri Bayashi (festival music of old Tokyo) with my longtime teacher Kyosuke Suzuki of Wakayama Shachu. I first met Suzuki sensei in 2005 during a Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble concert tour. Since then, I have taken private lessons, assisted and translated his workshops, coordinated his workshop tour in August 2015, and performed with him on numerous occasions. You can see my previous blog post about Suzuki sensei and find more photos and videos on this page.

Traditionally appearing during festivals, the Edo Bayashi ensemble consists of five players performing on two shimedaiko, one odaiko, one atarigane, and one shinobue. Over the years I have performed all five parts, but I continue to study in order to deepen my own understanding and to strengthen my ability to teach this traditional music. Fortunately, anyone who is interested can begin their research and practice by acquiring the sheet music, CDs, and instruments at the Asano Taiko US online store. I'm always happy to assist so please get in touch with me if you are interested in learning more.

lesson on shimedaiko

Wakayama Shachu performing Edo Matsuri Bayashi (Hitoppayashi)

One of the topics I presented in our lessons was the idea of creating an Edo Bayashi ensemble in North America as a way to spread awareness and appreciation for this music. I have written many times about the value of studying a traditional art in order to gain crucial insight into contemporary forms, where understanding their roots provide the context to move forward with purpose. As the well-known saying goes, "you have to learn the rules before you can break them." My goals for this ensemble include: 1. Raise the performance level of festival music outside of Japan, 2. Increase audience awareness of this music, 3. Make this music more accessible for anyone wanting to study it, 4. Create more opportunities for Suzuki sensei and Wakayama Shachu to teach and perform outside of Japan. If you are interested in joining the Edo Bayashi ensemble, please contact me.

Wakayama Shachu performance

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to see Wakayama Shachu perform Sato Kagura on this trip. This Shinto theater is performed on a special stage at the shrine and dates back to the Edo period. Watching this performance helped me understand Wakayama Shachu's history and aesthetic, especially as it applies to their approach to Matsuri Bayashi and Edo Kotobuki Jishi (good-luck lion dance of Edo). Put simply, the troupe brings their profound training and dedication of Noh-influenced Kagura dance and music to their interpretation of the festival music of the common people. The result is a transformation where Edo Matsuri Bayashi becomes a higher art form worthy of presenting on a stage in front of an audience, which is quite different from its traditional role of accompanying the mikoshi (portable shrine) through the streets during festival time.

Wakayama Shachu performing Edo Sato Kagura

Wakayama Shachu performing Edo Sato Kagura

My most important bachi & sticks for taiko

My most important taiko sticks

I am constantly on the search for new bachi and drumsticks at local drum shops, big music stores, Asano Taiko US in Torrance, Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten in Asakusa, or the marketplace vendors at the North American Taiko Conference. Japan is my favorite place to go shopping because it's very common to see a digital scale in the drumstick section for picky people like me to precisely match a pair of sticks by weight. There are many different materials used to make sticks, including bamboo, kashi (oak), hickory, maple, birch, hou (magnolia), and hinoki (cypress). In addition, you can find a wide variety of mallets, brushes, and other alternative sticks made by a number of different companies. Considering the enormous variety of drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments available to us, it might be easy to understand my obsessive search for the best stick for each application.

What are some of the factors involved with stick selection? This can be a deeply personal topic and each musician will have their own hierarchy of criteria. Here are mine:

1. Sound – the most important consideration. Sometimes it's a simple decision and other times it's necessary to compromise and make it work for a number of dissimilar instruments.

2. Feel – the stick needs to feel comfortable and work for my playing style. I check out the length, diameter, weight, finish, and balance to narrow down my choices.

3. Wear and tear – I make sure the sticks will not cause damage to the instruments. I also match the sticks to the instrument so that I don't have to replace broken sticks constantly.

4. Tradition and uniformity – there are times when it makes sense for an ensemble to use the same sticks in striving for uniformity of sound and visuals. I also consider traditional sticks with historical significance.

One of the workshop topics I have taught is called Taiko Sounds and Sticks, where I introduce ways to get many sounds out of one drum as well as discuss and demonstrate the common materials and dimensions of taiko sticks. My goal is to convey the depth of this topic and share my knowledge so that the participants leave with a foundation in stick selection details. It's a fun moment when someone hears the subtle difference between two similar sticks when I play them side-by-side on a drum.

This photo shows the collection of sticks I currently use. It is very close to the stick recommendations in my article called Ten Useful Sticks For Taiko Players. There are additional sticks I use depending on the situation, but these are my most important ones. The sticks labeled VF RH 36cm is a marching snare drum stick (Vic Firth Ralph Hardiman) that I cut off and sanded. This hickory stick works well in a mixed-taiko set up and has good sound and durability on rims and cymbals.

Taiko sticks labeled

Old bachi from my childhood

This other photo shows two pairs of sticks from my childhood. The smaller kashi bachi were given to me by my first taiko teacher Saburo Mochizuki, and I used them to play the Sukeroku Daiko repertoire he taught to our youth group in Saitama. The larger hou bachi are from a Miyake Taiko summer intensive I took on Sado Island at age 11, taught by Kodo members.

Workshops

Ten Useful Sticks for Taiko Players

Asano Taiko US

Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten

Japan Percussion Center

Good earplugs are essential for drummers

Photo from Etymotic.com

As a longtime drummer, hearing protection has been a critically important issue for me. Hearing loss and tinnitus (high-pitched ringing of the ears) are very real consequences of repeated exposure to loud sounds. Even today, the mechanics of how our hearing changes are not fully understood, and there are currently no cures for hearing loss and tinnitus. This means that protecting our ears is the only thing we can do to help prevent future problems. We are lucky to be living in this time of increasing awareness and a variety of options for hearing protection. I highly recommend all musicians look into this.

When I arrived to Central Michigan University in 1995 as a first-year music student, I was told that all percussionists in our studio were required to purchase musician's earplugs. This type is custom molded to the ear and uses interchangeable filters which lower the volume without changing the balance of frequencies. At $100 – $200 per pair, it is not a cheap option, especially for a young college student. Yet having these earplugs turned out to be one of the very best investments of my career. Twenty-one years later, I am still using them (I'm on my second pair) for practicing, rehearsals, performances, and any loud environment.

Photo from Etymotic.com

In workshops, I often bring up the topic of hearing protection, and I've been seeing more and more people using earplugs over the years. My first recommendation is to look into the universal fit high-fidelity earplugs by Etymotic. There are other companies making similar products but Etymotic is the one I am most familiar with. At around $12 per pair, these earplugs have the same type of filter as the musician's earplugs. Unlike the cheaper foam, rubber, or wax earplugs, the hi-fi plugs allow you to hear more accurately with a reduction of around 20 dB. Hearing clear music and conversation keeps everyone using earplugs rather than taking them out in order to hear better (completely defeating the purpose of earplugs).

Musician's earplugs are well worth the effort and price tag to purchase. They are comfortable, nearly invisible, and can be customized with interchangeable filters for various situations. The first thing you need to do is to find an audiologist in your area that offers musician's earplugs. For my current pair, I went to Hawaii Professional Audiology in Honolulu. I chose this place because they were used to serving the Honolulu Symphony musicians. When you go in for your appointment, a foam material is used to take your ear impression, which then gets sent to the company making the earplugs. While I recommend this option to almost everyone, there are two situations I can think of where you might want to wait. The first is if you are going through significant weight change, which would likely affect the fit later on. The second category for waiting is younger people who are still growing, for the same reason.

There might be an element of old curmudgeon-ness involved, but I feel like loud volume situations are increasing everywhere: concerts, movies, earbuds, awful restaurant acoustics, TV commercials, and so on. I always keep my earplugs with me and am constantly grateful for this technology. After thirty-plus years of drumming, I feel fortunate that my hearing is in relatively good condition. Without a doubt, consistent use of hearing protection over the years is the biggest reason.

1990 Modern Drummer Article: An Occupational Hazard

ShastaYama, an annual summer outdoor festival featuring taiko, music, dance

Shasta Taiko at ShastaYama 2009 (photo credit: Gary Ono)

I am very excited to be performing at ShastaYama next month. I've been wanting to attend ever since becoming aware of this festival several years ago. Mt. Shasta is a unique place and an incredible setting for an outdoor music festival, complete with the dramatic backdrop of the mountain. The founders are Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer, both of whom are wonderful people and great artists. I asked 5 questions to my friend and bandmate Masato Baba for a special inside look at this year’s event.

ShastaYama
July 30, 2016 at 6 PM
Shastice Park - Mount Shasta, CA

---

1. Can you describe ShastaYama?
ShastaYama was started in the city of Mt. Shasta in the summer of 2005.  My parents, Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer, wanted to create an outdoor taiko festival to bring people from around the area to enjoy a night of taiko and music.  They were supported by a long time friend and supporter, Mario Rubino, who acts as the co-producer of the show. 

2. What is the musical lineup this year?
This year On Ensemble are the headliners.  On Ensemble is a taiko-fusion group based in Los Angeles and features Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer's son, Masato Baba (me), and former student, Shoji Kameda.  The two of us grew up playing taiko together and after 32 years are still going strong.  Other members include Eien Hunter-Ishikawa, Abe Lagrimas, Jr, and Sumie Kaneko.  Together, they combine taiko with bamboo flutes, vibraphone, koto (Japanese zither), shamisen (Japanese banjo), western drum set, ukulele, and voice to create a unique, fresh sound.

Tadaima (Russel and Jeanne's jazz group featuring Gary Fitzgerald), Unit Souzou (featuring Michelle Fujii and Toru Watanabe), Shasta Taiko (Russel and Jeanne's taiko group), and a special guest group featuring Isaku Kageyama, Bruce Ghent, Joe Small, Yeeman Mui, and Heidi Chan will be featured as part of the program.

3. How can everyone learn more and get tickets?
Check out the website: shastayama.org 

4. What is your favorite part of ShastaYama?
My favorite part is performing and giving back to the area I grew up in.  Mt. Shasta is an amazing, spiritual place where I feel at peace.  The land, air, and water is as pure as it gets nowadays which I definitely took for granted when I was growing up there.  It holds a special place in my heart. 

5. Do you have any upcoming events you would like to mention?
On Ensemble is also taking part of Summer Sounds at the Hollywood Bowl from July 25-29.  The website says:  "Built on the pulsating beats of taiko drumming, the traditional music and instruments of Japan are blended with styles from the West in ways that will let your imagination soar." http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tickets/summersounds-2016

Personally, I have a big event in Los Angeles with my other group, TAIKOPROJECT.  We are performing for the re-opening of the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on July 8.  Collaborating with Grammy Award-winning Quetzal (a Chicano rock band), we are "exploring common musical ground to create a new sound that is quintessentially Los Angeles".
-This quote was taken from the Ford website: http://fordtheatres.org/en/events/details/id/1021

---

Masato Baba at ShastaYama 2012 (photo credit: Karrie Ann Snure)

Masato is considered one of America's most outstanding taiko talents. He began taiko training at the age of 6 when his parents, Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer, founded Shasta Taiko. As a member of Shasta Taiko, he gained the valuable experience performing, teaching, and touring throughout his formative years. Masato polished and refined his taiko skills for over 7 years touring world-wide with renowned American Taiko Master Kenny Endo. He also served as the Youth Director of Endo's Taiko Center of the Pacific based in Honolulu. Baba studied taiko in Japan with Nihon Taiko Dojo and fue (Japanese bamboo flute) with Kyosuke Suzuki of the Wakayama School. Masato Baba has emerged as one of the most respected taiko artists in America. He is a pivotal member of highly acclaimed ON Ensemble. Masato is an original member of TAIKOPROJECT, served as their Musical Director and is now the Artistic Director of the multimedia theater company. Maz also is the lead instructor for several Los Angeles based taiko groups. Baba was also the lead coordinator of the successful "World Taiko Gathering" held in Los Angeles in 2014. Baba was featured in the DVD "Spirit of Taiko," a history of American taiko that focuses on 3 American taiko generations represented by Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka, Kenny Endo, and Masato Baba. Masato has performed at the 2009 Acadamy Awards, on The Voice, and with Alicia Keyes on "The X Factor”. Masato Baba is influencing and inspiring the growth of taiko, performing and conducting workshops across the country and around the world. With his parents, Masato is helping to establish and develop ShastaYama's growing reputation.

Video: Benny Greb on the Art and Science of Groove

Groove is an all-important topic for drummers. I spend a lot of time researching and practicing to strengthen my concept of groove, and to help my students boost their skills. It can be a challenge to precisely define this word because it is a very personal thing. If someone asks you to "make the music groove more," what do you change? Two different drummers might adjust different elements of the beat and still be able to improve the groove. Because this concept can't be notated on sheet music, it's necessary to learn from live concerts, audio recordings, videos, and teachers. The first step starts with acknowledging the utmost importance of good timekeeping, feel, and groove.

I am a fan of Benny Greb because of his musicality as well as his humorous and effective teaching approach in his instructional videos. His newest video is called The Art and Science of Groove, which is available online as a physical copy or digital download. Greb appeared on Drumeo's YouTube channel and summarized his new instructional video, answering questions and demonstrating his approach. Below is a list of the five main topics covered. I would highly recommend that you watch the YouTube lesson and order the actual video. He presents the concept of groove in a very clear method that is easy to understand and provides many useful ideas and exercises.

---

"My basic point is that time and groove is not a super advanced subject; it should actually be the first thing and the most important thing." - Benny Greb

Greb: these myths about groove are untrue - you have to be born with it, it takes forever to develop, and you can't change your feel.

1. TIME – "feel the quarter note pulse in parallel to what you are playing." The example Greb uses is to clap the "football clave" while vocalizing the pulse using a "chid" sound. He also recommends practicing with a "gap click" where the metronome is audible on the first bar and silent on the second bar.

2. FEEL – "everything that is lifelike has a certain pattern of breathing out, breathing in, like this exchange of downbeat, upbeat, in and out." He suggests thinking of a pendulum swinging side to side for regulating your breathing. "When something really grooves, it's an outgrowth of empathy."

3. SOUND – "just by the sounds and sound levels that you use, you can completely create new grooves." Greb demonstrates by playing a swung funk beat and gradually changing the balance of the bass drum and snare drum as well as switching from hi-hat to ride cymbal. This is a good example as the beat clearly shifts from a rock-type feel to something much more jazz oriented without changing the actual rhythm.

4. BODY – "if you have a weird posture or do something with your body, it can be that things you can do, suddenly you can't do them." In his example, Greb taps his foot at a normal 90° angle position, and then pulls his foot in under the throne to show that the foot tapping becomes impossible with the smaller angle. He also points out a common mistake where drummers breathe normally during timekeeping but hold their breath during fills. "Play a groove and pick a breathing tempo that's a fraction slower than you normally would breathe… You get into a very nice relaxed state by doing that."

5. MIND – this is the "most underestimated" part. "Your mind is the architect that makes musical decisions that guides what you actually do." Greb suggests changing your mindset by putting a question mark on any statement. "A fill has to incorporate tom-toms?" He says a player can come up with something fresh and exciting without spending hours practicing it. "A fill has to be something else than a groove?"

Q & A
How do you translate practice sessions to a live performance setting?

Get a free 30-day trial to Drumeo: http://drumeo.com/trial Buy Benny's new lessons: http://bennygreb.com Video Index: 0:13 - Song "Next Question" 6:35 - Jared intros Benny Greb 11:30 - "Time" Drum Lesson 27:19 - "Feel" Drum Lesson 32:44 - "Sound" Drum Lesson 38:36 - Track Benny Wrote 43:10 - "Body" Drum Lesson 50:07 - "Mind" Drum Lesson 55:30 - Open Drum Solo 1:04:03 - Q/A 1:20:16 - Song "Grebfruit" It just keeps getting better and better at Drumeo.

"First of all, make sure you record your practicing to see if it's really there and not an illusion. Make it's measurable. Do you have a recording? Did it sound bad or just feel bad?" If there is a definite difference between the practice room (great) and live performance (bad), "it is probably because you don't have enough headroom practiced." In a live situation, "you have less bandwidth available to execute things that you practiced."