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An Introduction to Taiko Drum Music in the Japanese No Drama
Author(s): William P. Malm
Source: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 4, No. 2, (May, 1960), pp. 75-78
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for Ethnomusicology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/924267
Accessed: 15/06/2008 16:32
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8/10/2019 Malm - Introduction to Daiko Drum Music
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AN INTRODUCTIONTO TAIKO
DRUM MUSIC
IN THE JAPANESE NO DRAMA
William
P.
Maim
he
taiko
is
part
of the
No
drama instrumental
ensemble
which
con-
sists
of one
flute
and three drums.
It is a
barrel-shaped
drum
some
twenty-seven
centimeters
in
diameter
and
thirty
centimeters
in
height.
The
skins
(horse
or
cow)
are lashed
tightly
to
the
body by
two sets of
ropes.
The
drum
is held off the
ground
by
a stand which
tips
the
instrument
slightly.
There
is
a
patch
of deer skin in the center of the
top
head
to
which all blows of the two sticks
(bachi)
are directed. These sticks
are
held
loosely
in the
hands but
with stiff wrists so
that
there is
a
very slight
roll
in
slower strokes.
The taiko sounds fall
into three
classes;
small,
medium,
and
large.
Often the tone
is
dampened
by leaving
the
stick on
the head. The
cadence
pattern
kashira
is executed
by placing
the left
stick
over the
right
shoulder
and
lifting
the
right
stick
high.
The left
stick then
suddenly
flashes
forward
followed by the right. The visual effect is as dramatic as the sound.
Taiko notation
clearly
indicates which kind of stroke
is desired
(see
Malm,
1959:
266-68).
It
also includes the idiomatic drum
calls
mentioned
in a
previous
article
in this
journal
(Malm,
1958).
In the
study
mentioned above
it
was shown that
the
rhythmic patterns
of the other two
drums
(the
o and ko
tsuzumi)
are
organized
in such
a
way
that
a
sense of
progression
is
created
analogous
to harmonic
progression
in Western
art music.
The
deliberate
rhythmic
tension between the vocal
line and
the drums
was
also discussed. The
present
article will discuss
the
system
of
rhythmic pattern
progression
found
in
taiko
music, ignoring
for
the
moment
the relation
of
these
patterns
to the vocal line.
In
the
Komparu
school of
drumming
there are
sixty-five
basic
rhythmic
patterns plus
twenty-five special patterns
(Komparu,
1953:
60).
The
com-
mon patterns are separated into seven major classes as follows:
1)
Kashira-These
have
already
been
shown
to
be
cadential
patterns.
They
are
described
as
being
like the
nodes in
bamboo.
We
have seen in
the
previous
article
how
kashira
patterns
for the
other drums
made
similar
regular,
colotomic-like
appearances.
2)
Kizami-This is the
basic
pattern
in taiko
music. It
consists of a
simple
alternation
of
sixteen
right-left
strokes with
drum calls on the
sixth,
tenth,
and twelfth
strokes.
3)
Oroshi-This
pattern
serves the function
of
moving
between
patterns
1
and
2.
It
forms
an
admirable transition
between the
dramatic sound of
1
and
the relative
plainness
of 2. A
slight
crescendo is
recommended
during
this
type
of
pattern.
4)
Nagaji
and
Iroeji-These
are
played
in
place
of
2
during
dance
pieces (the taiko is used most often during dance sections). These are
meant
to make
the
area
between the
cadences
more
brilliant. It is
inter-
esting
to
note that
the instructions
nevertheless
admonish the
student
to re-
tain the
smoothness of the basic
kizami
patterns.
5)
Koi ai-This
pattern
is used to
replace
the basic
pattern
during
freer
rhythmic
sections
(all
No is to
some extent in
a
very
rubato
tempo,
see
Minagawa,
1957:
98).
Specific
situations
and
parts
of
the
play
are
list-
ed as
requiring
such
treatment
(Komparu,
1953:
62).
6)
Uchikiri and
Uchikome-These are
played
just
before a
cadence
(pattern
1). A
slight
decrescendo is
indicated
towards the
end of
this
pat-
tern.
Note this in
relation
to the
comment under
type
3.
The
tendency
in
much
Western music
would be in
just
the
opposite
direction, i.e.,
crescendo
towards
a cadence
and
decrescendo
away
from it.
7)
Connective
patterns-These
are
used
to connect
the
various
patternsalready mentioned. Hane, for example, is such a
pattern.
There
are
two
other
categories
that
are mentioned.
One
is
the uchi-
dashi
group.
These are
separated
because
they
are used
only
in
special
situations which
do
not fit into the
progression
from
kashira to
kashira
as
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shown
with
the other
patterns.
Each
individual
pattern
of the uchidashi
group
has
its own laws
as
to what follows it. As
a
rule
nothing precedes
it
in the
phrase.
The
second
separate
category
is
the dan
no
te
group.
These are
pat-
terns
used
in the various sections
of
dance
pieces.
More
will be said
about
these later.
Each group of patterns having some common word root is called a
tegumi,
for
example,
the kizami
group.
The
individual
patterns
are called
tetsukei,
for
example,
kizami,
hankizami, takakizami,
etc.
These
individual
patterns
are
believed to
have
grown
out
of the basic form.
Thus,
these
variations are considered
as
substitutes
for
the main
pattern
and should
function in a similar but not identical manner
to the
parent pattern,
much as
substitute chords
in
Western music.
Some
sense of
progression
was shown in
the
previous study.
In
this
article we
shall show more
specifically
how
thoroughly
this sense of
pro-
gression
is
actually
organized.
The
example
chosen is a
case in
which
the
music is in a
normal onori
rhythm
scheme. This means that within the
eight-beat
basic
structure there
is
a
tendency
to use one
syllable
of text for
every
beat
(see
Minagawa,
1957:
195-96).
The order of progressions as shown in figure I is an adaptation of a
figure
used
by
Komparu
(1953:
67).
The
choice of
progression
in this case
is
dependent
on the
vocal
part.
Figure
I
D
kashira
c
koi ai
age
4,
or
ageyori
tsunagi
hankizami ----- kizami uchikiri E
kashira
kizami
tsuke
A
kashira
4+
oroshi kashira
o r o s i
+i
tsukegashira
uchikomi
4,
4,
tsukegashira
oroshi
uchikaeshi
t
kashira uchikome
G a
Kashira
F
One starts
at
A
if
the
drum
begins
with
the
chorus and
the words are
re-
peated.
There are several
ways
to
proceed.
One
may
progress
around the
outside
of
the
circle
to
E
or F or
cut
across
from
oroshi
to
age.
The
choice will
depend
upon
the
exact
length
of
the
phrase.
The
beginning
is
slightly
different
in B
though
the
progression
thereafter
follows
the same
path
as
A. B
is
used
when one
of
the
actors
begins
on
the
high
pitch
(for
details
concerning
pitch
see
Minagawa,
1957: 189 or
Malm,
1959:
128).
If
one
of
the
actors
begins
on
the middle
pitch
a
progression
from C to
E or
F is chosen.
The
progression
from
D
to
E or
F is used when
the
chorus
and drum
begin
together
but the
text
is not
repeated.
If in such
a
case the
passage
is long, one starts at G and proceeds to E or F. Generally speak-
ing,
if
a
section remains
in onori
the
drum
part
will return via a
kashira
pattern
to
the
beginning
of
a
progression
and
continue around the circle until
the
requisite
amount
of time
has
elapsed
at
which
point
one
goes
to a
ca-
dence
(E
or
F).
One
of the
many striking
features
of this chart is the
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assignment
of
a
specific progression
not
only
in
relation
to
the
temporal
ar-
rangement
of
the drum and
the
other
parts
but
also,
in
some
cases,
in
re-
lation to
pitch.
To the Western ear a
pitch
may
evoke certain harmonic
implications
but in this music the
evocation
is
rhythmic.
A
fascinating
con-
jecture
then
arises;
through
cultural
conditioning
can the ear be trained to
recognize
the correct
rhythmicazation
of a
melody
in the same
way
that
Western ears
today perceive
harmonizations?
The
consistency
and
detailed
rules of taiko music
theory
indicate that at least the
possibility
for such an
aural
refinement
is
present
in
Japanese
music.
The circle
drawn
above
is
only
one
of
a series
of
geometric
forms
used to describe
systems
of
progressions
proper
for various
kinds
of No
music.
Through
the
use of
patterns
common to different
progressions
one
can
move
from
one
situation
to another
in
a manner
not
unlike common
chord
modulation
in
Western
music.
The
question
arises as to the
proper
order
of
patterns during
dance
pieces
when
singing
does
not occur. Such music
is
organized
into
distinct
sections. After
an
introductory
section
(kakari)
there
are
a series
of
up
to
five
dan or
steps.
The
length
of these various dan
vary
in different
dance
pieces--there
are some
dozen standard dance
pieces,
each
being
used
in
many
different
plays).
Certain
elements,
however,
are so
consistent in the
construction of these sections that the source book of patterns (Komparu,
1953:
254-58)
lists the music
not
only
by
entire
pieces
but
also
by
all the
introductions,
all the first
dan,
all
the second
dan,
etc.
For
example,
the
patterns
for
the
first
two
dan
of
the
dance
piece
Chu
no
mai
are
shown
below.
They
are
derived
from two charts
which contain
the first and
sec-
ond dan
respectively
of all the dance
pieces
set side
by
side.
Figure
II
First Dan
Second Dan
1.
tsukegashira
1.
tsukegashira
2. oroshi
2.
oroshi
3.
takakizami
3.
takakizami
4. hane 4. hane
5.
kizami
5.
kizami 2
or
3
times
6.
kizami
6.
takakizami
7.
nagaji
7. hane
8.
takakizami
kiri
8. kizami
9.
kizami
3 or 4 times
9.
takakizami
kiri
10.
uchikiri
10. nobe
11.
kashira
11.
takakizami
12.
naganagaji
13.
takakizami
kiri
14. kizami 3
to 7
times
15.
uchikiri
16. kashira
A sense
of
progression
emerges
quickly
from
a
study
of
these
two
columns.
Kashira,
as
was
said,
is
the cadential
pattern
and
kizami
is the
simplest
taiko
pattern.
The latter is
analogous
to tsuzuke
patterns
in the
other
drums
(see
Malm,
1958:
93).
The
variation
in
the number
of
kizami
patterns
shown
here is
due
to the
differences
in
the renditions
of
this
piece
by
the various
schools
of
No.
Both
dan
start
in an
identical
manner
(com-
pare
numbers
1-5).
Patterns
8-11
of the first dan
correspond
with
patterns
13-16
at
the end
of
the second
dan.
The
point
of
difference and extension
in
the
second
dan
(6-12)
leaves
by
means of the
basic
pattern
kizami
and
returns
through
the
pattern
naganagaji,
a
nearly
related
pattern
of
the
original
na
aji
(compare
the first dan number
7
with
the
second
dan num-
ber
12)
. This extension
itself consists
primarily
of a
series
of more
in-
volved
patterns
placed
between takakizami
patterns. Kizami,
it
must be
re-
membered, is the simplest pattern and as such is somewhat more neutral
as a
tension
producing
factor in
rhythmic
progressions.
It
was
shown
ear-
lier in the article
how most
of the
remaining
patterns
are substitutes
for
the kizami
and its
plainness.
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If
these
two
columns
are
compared
with the first two dan
of
other
dances
it
is found
that in the first dan
patterns
1, 2, 7, 8, 10,
and
11
are
all
the
same
in
every piece.
Patterns
5
and
9
vary only
in
the
number
of
kizami
played.
In
the second dan the
majority
of
the
pieces
use
the same
first four
patterns
and
the
same last
four.
This
would
seem to indicate
a
strong
sense of
established
beginnings
and cadence
formulas
as
stylistic
uni-
fying factors. The variety of choices between these two sets of four pat-
terns
show an
interest
in
greater
internal
flexibility
such
as
is
found
in
many
art
forms.
A
comparison
of
these two dan with
the chart of
progressions
in
fig-
ure I
reveals
several
interesting
similarities and differences. The
movement
from
tsukegashira
to
oroshi
to a
kizami
is
found in both.
The
cadence
form-
ula of
uchikiri
to kashira is
likewise available in
both
though
the onori
circle
has an
alternate
possibility.
The use of
different
progressions
is, perhaps,
of
the most
interest since
it
would
theoretically
make it
possible
for one
to
distinguish aurally
between
the
various kinds of
taiko music.
This
distinc-
tion
is found
to hold for
the
other
types
of
taiko music
such
as
special
dances and
other vocal
accompaniment
situations
not
shown in
this
article
(see
Komparu,
1953:
259-95).
Even
this
cursory
glance
into taiko
rhythms,
however,
should make
it
quite
evident
that the
particular
order
of
patterns
in a given situation is closely governed by rules of progression. If one has
an
opportunity
to
become more familiar
with this
technique
via
recordings
or
notation these rules
will
come alive
and
reveal
one of the
many
facets of
the
highly
sophisticated
concept
of
rhythm
found in
Japanese
No music.
REFERENCES
Komparu,
Soichi
1953
Komparu-ryu
taiko zensho
(The
complete
collection of
Komparu
school
taiko
music).
Hinoki
shoten,
Tokyo.
Malm,
William
P.
1958 The
Rhythmic
Orientation
of
Two Drums
in the
Japanese
No Drama.
Ethnomu-
sicology II, 3: 89-95.
1959
Japanese
Music
and Musical Instruments.
Tuttle,
Tokyo.
Minagawa,
Tatsuo
1957
Japanese
Noh Music. Journal
of the American
Musicological
Society.
X,
3:
181-200.
78
