Here is an exhaustive list of terms we use during practice.
Here is an exhaustive list of terms we use during practice.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bachi (ばち) | The wooden sticks used to play taiko, comes in all sorts of sizes depending on the type of drum or song |
| Taiko (太鼓) | Japanese word for "drum", comes in various sizes and forms |
| Kuchi shōga (口唱歌) | Musical notation used in taiko playing through phonetics |
| Kiai (気合) | Intended shout or yell in order to add expression or vocal components to a musical piece |
| Nagado-daiko (長胴太鼓) | Japanese word for "long-bodied drum"; medium-sized drum that produces a low, deep sound |
| Shime-daiko (締め太鼓) | Japanese word for "tightened drum"; small-sized drum that produces a higher-pitch sound |
| Fuchi (ふち) | Edge or rim of a drum |
| Jiuchi (地打ち) | "ji" for short, a repetitive base beat or underlying rhythm played in a musical piece |
| Genki (元気) | Japanese word for "energy" or "spirit" |
| ōdaiko (大太鼓) | Japanese word for "large drum"; large sized drum that produces a low, bass sound deeper than a nagado-daiko. Also the name for a style of play, where the drum is high up on it's side, often with the player facing back to the audience |
| Uchiwa-daiko (うちわ太鼓) | A small handheld drum played with only one bachi |
| Shinobue (篠笛) | "Fue" for short, a style of traditional Japanese bamboo flute that emits a high pitched sound |
| Chappa (チャッパ) | Small Japanese hand cymbals |
| Atarigane (当たり金) | A small hand held brass gong |
| Bita (びた) | The standard style of play where the drum is facing uprite |
| Hachijo (八丈) | A style of playing where the drum is high up on it's side, often with one person playing on either head of the drum. Named after Hachijo-Jima, where the style originated. |
Here is a list of common phonetics we use to learn a musical piece. The phonetics come in pair, where the first word denotes a bachi hit from the right hand, and the second word denotes a bachi hit from the left hand.
| Phonetics (R L) | Translation |
|---|---|
| (San/Don) (Kon/Ron) | Deep-sound hit on the drum; commonly played as quarter notes |
| Do (Ko/Koi/Ro) | Quick or light hit on the drum; commonly played as eighth notes |
| Ka Ra | Hit on the fuchi |
| Ki Ri | Hit bachis together, right over left (Ki) and left over right (Ri) |
| (Tsu/Su) (Ku/Ru) | Rest from hitting |