| Kodô and Taiko |
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Updated: July 2, 2006 Drum Ensemble Influences |
| Kodô and Taiko |
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| Perhaps the ultimate drum ensemble in the world is Kodô. But first a little background in taiko, which is the genre from which they developed. A History of Ensemble Taiko Throughout the centuries these drums were used for many purposes, usually alone or in pairs. After World War Two, a jazz musician and arranger conceived of a taiko ensemble. He combined drums together in a stage arrangement, with each drum part taking a separate voice in the compositions. This performance style became very popular, and evolved into the taiko we know today, called kumi-daiko, literally "group taiko " or wadaiko that translates to "Japanese drumming." Taiko has a number of roles for the drums. The tsukeshime-daiko (or shime-daiko), a high-pitched rope-tuned drum, usually plays a steady pulse in one of three standard rhythms. The chu-daiko ("middle-drums") play patterns and leads. O-Daiko ("big, fat drums") have the lowest sound, like thunder. They can be played as a lead instrument or the bass part. Hira-daiko have a diameter larger than their depth, and come in a wide range of sizes. The biggest are often used as the bass beat of taiko pieces. Okedo-daiko are the most versatile of the drums. Not only do they come in many sizes and shapes, they are tunable. The largest are used like o-daiko. The mid-sized okedo are often mounted on stands, and are used in the parts played by chu-daiko. A somewhat smaller, lighter size can be be worn over the shoulder and played will moving about the stage. The drum ensemble is rounded out with other percussion and melodic instruments, including wood blocks, bells, small hand cymbals, and flutes. The music itself is differs from Western music in its use of space or silence as a compositional feature. The music is very fluid and dynamic. It may change speed, or even stop momentarily. The melodic part, usually carried by the flute or fue, can either punctuate or weave in and out of the main rhythm. Another feature that stands out in the world of drum ensembles is the movement of the drummers. Taiko is a visually dynamic art form. Seeing taiko is as impressive as listening to it. In the various forms of Japanese and North American taiko, drummers dance, spin, switch drums, shout, even leap over their instruments. Their hand movements and positions add visual artistry. When a drummer pauses, it is always in a pose. Kodô Takes Taiko in New Directions Kodô pieces are very complex. Most have multiple sections of differing rhythms and tempos. The lead instruments change throughout a given piece. Quiet moments may be ended with thunderous power, or a haunting flute passage may follow a rumbling o-daiko solo. Instruments found in all parts of the world may be included in their pieces, including Caribbean steel drums, Indonesian bamboo xylophones, Brazilian shakers, and Chinese horse-fiddles. Kodos performances are awe-inspiring. They leave you with the impression that they aren't just presenting you with highly-crafted taiko, but celebrating all the world's music. Links . . . and the best taiko history I've seen on the
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| In the state of Bahia, the music has a strong African influence, particularly Yoruba. Afoxé is a style that has elements of West African drum ensembles. Samba reggae is a blend of various Caribbean and Brazilian rhythms, including afoxé, samba, and Jamaican reggae. These ensembles were developed by the blocos afros of the ghettos of Salvador, Brazil. They are characterized by a battery of huge bass drums, called surdos, in different pitches playing a melodic downbeat, and repiques, and caixas playing the upbeats. The sound immitates reggae, with the surdos taking the melodic bass guitar role and the repiques playing the skank of the Jamaican rhythm guitar or keyboard. The music of Bahia also features hand drums developed from the conga-like atabaque, most notably the timbal, or timbau. This is a loud, sharp hand drum inspired by the African jembe. Another instrument borrowed from Africa is the berimbau, consisting of a wire stretched across a bow, and struck with a stone. To Goro-Goro, samba-reggae contributed some of its basic rhythmic structure and arrangements. Its foundation gives a loose focus to our music, even if we also deviate into other very distinct forms, such as taiko. Links |
| Wow! Powerful stuff. The Burundi Drummers, like Kodô, are a visual, as well as musical treat. The ensemble consists of twelve to twenty drummers who are court musicians in their country. The drummers enter the performing area with their large peg pedestal-shaped drums on their heads. They form a semi-circle with the large amashako drums on one side and the similar-looking but smaller ibishikizu drums on the other. In the center is the inkiranya, an amashako, painted in the colors of the Burundi flag. They beat a constant, evolving set of rhythms while dancing and leaping. Each member takes a turn playing the lead part on the central inkiranya, displaying his talents in his rhythms and his dancing, leaping, miming, and caricatures of people and animals. The drums are large, with a heavy sound. They are played with long, thick sticks. For sharp punctuation, players strike the flanks of the wooden drums, as well as the cowhide head. They also shout in unison at changes in the rhythm. Part of the inspriration for our ikigala bass drums came from the drums of Batimbo. We also play some rhythms in a style inspired by their performances. Links |
| Excellent Nigerian drumming from a world-renown master. His first U.S.-produced record, Drums of Passion, is a classic, released in 1959. The drumming is great, with powerful bass and plenty of strong lead riffs. The drumming is sweetened with vocals from women singers and the male drummers. The beat of this music is more driving than Mande. I'm not certain what drums are used in this recording. Most-likely forms of ashikos, West African congas, and a standing drum called an ngoma. Some drums are played with sticks. They are joined by a two-toned iron bell (oghene?) and the ubiquitous shekere. Olatunji recorded more albums later, including Drums of Passion: The Invocation and Drums of Passion: The Beat. The Beat features Carlos Santana on guitar. But the original is the classic. |
| Batucadas and Carnaval Unlike many other drum ensembles, the samba of Brazil is played on instruments developed in the industrial cities, like Rio de Janeiro. Most drums are made of metal or plywood, and today may have plastic heads. Because loudness is so important, sticks are used for almost all drums. These ensembles are the same ones that play during the huge, elaborate parades at Carnaval. The pounding samba is deafening. In spite of the industrial materials, samba drums were all developed from traditional West African, Amer-Indian, and Portuguese instruments. Batucada parts are mostly based on the instruments. Big bass drums, called surdos, play a metronome-like 2/4 pulse that underlies the rhythm. Snare drums, called caixas or tarols, and shakers keep rhythm. Lead parts are handled by high-pitched drums, called repiques or repiniques; pandeiros (like tambourines); or cuicas (the friction drum that sounds like a puppy or monkey), although a lead can be played on almost any instrument. Over the top are various percussion instruments, like bells; shakers; rasps; and a loud, sharp, but tiny, drum called a tamborim. These instruments all play parts that are layered together in a complex, infectious rhythm. Links |
| Candombe is a form of music and dance from the African descendents of Uruguay. Developed from rhythms of African Bantu cultures, this music is played on three sizes of drums, called tambores. The largest, called tambor piano, is a bass drum that resembles a fat conga. The rest of the family is made up of the tambor repique ("ricochet"), the middle-sized lead drum, and the tambor chico that plays the high rhythm part. Often these wooden drums are brightly painted with designs and faces. Together they generate a sometimes frantic rhythm accompanied by dancing. Large groups of drummers and dancers parade in the streets playing candombe rhythms. Links |
| Mande refers to the cultures that speak Mande or Mandinke languages around the Senegal and Niger river systems (Sahel). Much of what Westerners call "African drumming" is the drumming of the Mande cultures. Mande music is inseparable from dancing, and is specific to the rituals and ceremonies of life events like marriages, harvests, coming-of-age recognition, etc. The ensemble consists of the dun-dun, dunun, or jun-jun, a barrel-shaped stick bass drum which lays down a beat characteristic of each rhythm; the jembe, a goblet-shaped hand drum; a bell; and the shekere, a gourd enveloped with beads. Traditionally, jembes are played in a group of three-to-five. There are up to three dun-duns of different sizes, played slung over one shoulder with a stout curved stick. The other hand sometimes plays a bell affixed to the drum. During a celebration, one jembe is usually the lead, and does the calls for starts, stops, and changes, in addition to improvisational rhythms over the top of the polyrhymic structure laid down by the accompaning jembes and dun-duns. The dancers also respond to cues by the lead drum. Traditionally, dun-duns were each played by a different musician. But, later, when Mande drummers performed for European audiences, three jun-juns were frequently strapped together and mounted to be played by a single drummer. Jembes are very good hand drums, perhaps the most popular in the world, after congas and bongos. They are traditionally made buy carving out a tree trunk, and affixing a goatskin or antelope head with rope. The rope is also used to tune the drum. Singing is also a major part of Mande drumming. Much of it is call-and-repsonse. To the east of the Mande region is Nigeria (see Olatunji). Similar drum ensembles developed there, with their own set of drums, including ashiko hand drums, peg drums of various sizes, and a variable pitch drum called a dun-dun (not to be confused with the bass drum above) or tama, also known as a "talking drum". |
| From the Caribbean comes one of the most popular drum ensembles in the world, the metalic melodies of the steel drums. Made from large oil drums, these instruments are fashioned to enable the players to create complete song melodies. |
| Recently, a percussion ensemble style has developed in Korea from traditional percussion-and-dance festival music. Samul nori, which means "to play four instruments", came from the name of a drum group in the '70s and '80s. The name was later broadened to describe the new style of music. The four instruments of samul-nori are the small gong, large gong, hourglass drum, and bass drum. Each drum represents a different natural energy. The small gong, called a kwaengari, voices thunder. The large gong is called a jing and represents wind. The hourglass drum, changgo, symbolizes rain, while the buk bass drum plays the part of rolling clouds. Links |
