kaDON Live: Find Your Taiko Breathing with Earth Gravity – Shogo Yoshii
Workshop Description
RESCHEDULED TO JANUARY 2021 – See new dates below
All classes will be recorded and distributed to registrants within 1-2 days of each session. Recordings will be available for access for one month after the last session.
Join Shogo in this fun and engaging live series! The goal of this workshop series is to make more connection between the physical act of playing taiko to the concept of Kuchishoga.
When thinking about ways to play taiko, Kuchishoga is very important. More than just the notes, Kuchishoga helps us understand the music’s groove or “nori.” The groove is essentially the music’s intonation as well as the “ma (space).”
In this workshop series, Shogo will introduce four strike methods: “Uchi,” “Tataki,” “Uchi Hataki,” and “Uchikomi” by introducing different nuanced Kuchishoga for each ‘Don’.
Participants will also learn the three body axes centered around “tanden” or energy center in your belly area below the navel. Shogo will guide participants in the effective and intuitive use of these axes: transverse axis (horizontal), longitudinal axis (vertical) and dorsoventral axis (depth).
Shogo’s wish is that taiko will evolve as a culture that teaches us to feel the connection with people around us, and the connection to nature by focusing the senses that we are all born with.
Watch Shogo talk about “Taiko as a Performing Art” on World Taiko Conference’s Premium Talks series to learn more about his approach. He touches on this kaDON LIVE workshop topic during the second half: https://youtu.be/4yFIQcGUibI
Experience required: NONE – open to all!
Shogo Yoshii Profile
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Shogo Yoshii began his taiko and shinobue training at the age of 14, and kokyu (Japanese string instrument) at the age of 19. Before joining Kodo in 2003, he traveled the Japanese countryside to study folk music and tribal music of Japan. On stage in Kodo, Shogo was featured on taiko, metallic percussion, shinobue, kokyu and in dance pieces. In 2010, he joined the musical ensemble of “Babel (words)” choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, followed by a music director and performer role in Arte y Solera’s flamenco piece, “Dojoji.” Prior to his departure from KODO, Shogo produced the Earth Celebration 2012.
Since debuting as a solo artist in 2013, Shogo has produced musical components and performed at various dance productions in Japan and worldwide. He has also been involved with Barcelona’s “Matsuri Japan” in recent years as an artistic director, composer and choreographer. He continues to tour with a dance production “FractusV” by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
Most recent project, where Shogo serves as the artistic director and performer, is Waraku Soden – an interactive live entertainment featuring traditional Japanese music (gagaku and nohgaku) and nature- and ancestor-rich folk music showcased on a modern platform. These rich traditions form the Japanese culture as we know it today and this project hopes that parts of the tradition is rooted in people’s lives as a reminder and as a seed to flourish into something new.Shogo is also one of the kaDON instructors and has released courses on “Introduction to Yoko Uchi” (Hachijo Taiko style) and “Shogo’s Approach to Fue.” He was the lead workshop leader at the 2018 kaDON Fall Retreat in which he shared his composition “kaDON Ondo” featuring taiko, fue, dance, singing and atarigane. Stay tuned for the “kaDON Ondo” course to be released in the near future!
Find out more and follow Shogo at:
Shogo Yoshii: Facebook | Instagram
Waraku Soden: Facebook | Instagram
Watch Matsuri Japan in Barcelona 2020 (virtual): https://youtu.be/H8V8_A-hjoc
kaDON TimbreTaiko Sessions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-cbbu3wRug
A Personal Message from Shogo Yoshii
「Taiko-En-lights! ~ taiko, nature, light ~」
What I’d like to share with you through this workshop series is “GENKI (energy)” and the JOY that our connection brings. Let’s move our body to the music and play some taiko together! It is simple yet challenging at times.
In the midst of experiencing this joy and fulfillment, I’m hoping that you will start to see the true essence of taiko.
So, what is the true essence of taiko?
It’s not only the connection we make with people around us, but also the connection that we make with the power of nature. The power of nature that we experience night and day, is “gravity.”
In collaborating with countless percussive instruments of the world, I’ve always pondered “what makes taiko unique and very Japanese?”
A single strike or “ichi-da” tells us much about our sound and our connection to the taiko. I believe that single “ichi-da” requires an unshakable foundation.
I would like to share with you my method of nuanced Kuchishoga intonation and how to use your body. By experiencing it and playing taiko using this method, I hope it will change the way you strike your “ichi-da” that is truly connected to the power of nature!!
Schedule
- Class 1: Thursday January 7th – Feel the Gravity: Uchi and Tataki Basics
- Class 2: Thursday January 14th – Feel the Gravity: Uchi and Tataki Variation
- Class 3: Thursday January 21st – Let Your Sound Bounce: The Uchi-Hataki Method
- Class 4: Thursday January 28th – Get Your Kiai On: The Uchikomi Method
All classes are one hour in duration starting at:
5:00 PM PT (Los Angeles)
6:00 PM MT (Denver)
7:00 PM CT (Chicago)
8:00 PM ET (Toronto/New York)
1:00 AM (London + 1 day)
2:00 AM (Madrid + 1 day)
10:00 AM (Tokyo + 1 day)
12:00 PM (Sydney + 1 day)
What do I need?
- Comfortable clothes for you to move in
- Hitting surface (drum pad, kaDON TimbreTaiko, pillow, etc) setup at a height suitable for Beta-style playing
- Bachi (use light/thinner bachi for kaDON TimbreTaiko)
- Water
- Pen and paper for note taking (optional)
Important Notes
- You will receive a Zoom link via e-mail 1 day before each class. Please make sure to check your spam folder if you do not see it in your inbox.
- Each live class is followed by an optional 30-minute community hangout and Q&A time.
- Can’t attend at the scheduled times? All classes will be recorded (instructor view only) and distributed to all registrants within 1-2 days of each session. Recordings will be available for access for one month after the last session.