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Taiko Drumming

Although not as popular in school and community circles as Brazilian Percussion groups or Samba Schools (primarily due to the overall cost factors), Taiko Drumming is becoming more popular and more affordable. The gain in popularity is due to the increase of awareness and instrument availability. With the addition of this line of products into such “mainstream” companies as Remo and Pearl, Taiko Drumming is being made available to more and more schools and individual community groups than ever before.

The word Taiko literally means “fat drum” in Japanese and has been a part of Japanese culture for many centuries. Its roots lie in the many temples and shrines scattered all over Japan and are based in their religious festivals and ceremonies. In addition to marking the edge of a village (it is said that as far as you could hear the Taiko Drum was the edge of your village) Taiko Drumming was also used in warfare by producing such a loud and thunderous sound that it would scare the enemy away.

A visit to Epcot Center in Disney Florida and you can’t help but notice these magnificent drums and players, which certainly adds more and more recognition this kind of music to millions of people each year. Among the many Taiko Drum groups in this country, San Jose Taiko (www.taiko.org) is one of the leaders in promoting this art form to as many people as they can. San Jose Taiko has been testing a set of drums for Pearl that we now have in our stock for sale as Demo Taiko drums. With more people having the opportunity to hear and understand Taiko playing, and companies like Remo and Pearl making high quality instruments more readily available than ever before, this form of drumming is becoming more and more popular and affordable to a greater number of groups that truly want to enjoy its ancient roots.

{ 2 comments… add one }
  • Bruce September 11, 2008, 3:10 am

    Hello,
    Is there a site where I can go and hear samples of Taiko drum music? I was in Japan and really enjoyed the Taiko drum music. Looking to buy some CD’s, but would like to listen to some first.
    Thank you,
    Bruce

  • Steve Weiss Music September 15, 2008, 7:10 am

    Check out the Taiko video on the Pearl site. It features a few different pieces.

    http://www.pearldrum.com/taiko-video/index.html

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