Taiko - Types of Taiko

Types of Taiko

Japanese taiko drums have been developed into a wide range of percussion instruments that are used in both Japanese folk and classical musical traditions.

Taiko, in general, are 3 sticks percussion instruments. With the exception of the "ko-tsuzumi" and "ō-tsuzumi", all taiko are struck with bachi. They have heads on both sides of the drum body, and a sealed resonating cavity. Taiko are also characterized by a high amount of tension on the drums heads, with a correspondingly high pitch relative to body size. This high tension likely developed in response to Japan's wet and humid summers when most festivals take place. Many taiko are not tunable, and a drum with high head tension would counteract the slacking effects of humidity.

Taiko are categorized into two types of construction. "Byō-uchi-daiko" (鋲撃ち太鼓, tacked-struck drum) taiko have heads nailed to the body. "Shime-daiko" (締め太鼓, tightened drum), have heads sewn onto iron rings, which are then laced to each other around the drum body.

Byō-uchi-daiko are typically hollowed out of a single piece of wood. The preferred wood is "keyaki" (欅) due to its density and beautiful grain, but a number of other woods are used, grouped under the generic term "meari" (目有). Byō-uchi-daiko cannot be tuned, and their sizes are limited by the diameter of the tree they are made from.

The typical byō-uchi-daiko is the "nagadō-daiko" (長胴太鼓, long-body taiko). The nagadō-daiko is an elongated drum, roughly shaped like a wine barrel, that can be shifted in many different ways that affect the sound of the instrument. The drum can also be played by more than one performer at the same time. This style of drum also signifies the family of drums that are made from a single piece of wood. Nagadō-daiko are available in a variety of sizes, from 1.0 "shaku" (12" in head diameter), to 3.0 shaku in 1 sun increments. The chū-daiko is a medium sized nagadō-daiko. Nagadō-daiko over 3.0 shaku are also available, but they are referred to as ō-daiko (大太鼓　great drum). Smaller byō-uchi-daiko such as the "sumō-daiko" and "hayashi-daiko" also exist.

One of the most memorable drums of many taiko ensembles is the ō-daiko (大太鼓). For many, the ō-daiko solo is the embodiment of power due to the size of the drum, the volume, and the endurance it takes to perform. The ō-daiko is the largest drum of all taiko, if not the entire world. The largest ō-daiko are too big to move and permanently reside inside a temple or shrine. Ō-daiko means "big fat drum", but within any group, it describes the largest drum in an ensemble, which could mean 12 inches (300 mm) in diameter or 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter. Made from a single piece of wood, some ō-daiko come from trees that are hundreds of years old.

Shime-daiko are available in a wide variety of styles, and are tunable. This style of taiko is typically tensioned before each performance. The tensioning system is usually rope, but bolt systems and turnbuckles have been used as well. Shime-daiko can either have stitched heads placed on bodies carved from single piece of wood, such as the "tsukeshime-daiko", "tsuzumi", or stitched heads placed on a stave-construction body such as the okedo-daiko.

The tsukeshime-daiko is roughly snare-drum sized, and is generally available in five sizes, numbered 1 to 5 with names: "namizuke" / "itchō-gakke", "nichō-gakke", "sanchō-gakke", "yonchō-gakke", and "gochō-gakke". Namizuke has the thinnest skins, often with a patch of deer skin reinforcement in the center, and is used in classical theater such as noh and kabuki. As the numbers increase, so does skin thickness and tension on the skins. The diameters of all tsukeshime-daiko sizes are approximately the same, but the height of the wooden bodies increases in order to provide greater rope leverage in tightening thicker skins.

Other Japanese taiko include the "uchiwa-daiko" (団扇太鼓、fan taiko), "hira-daiko" (平太鼓, flat taiko), "minariisa-daiko" (fun time drum), "konisawa-daiko" (tight/hard/tense drum) and a host of percussion instruments used in Japan's traditional noh, gagaku, and kabuki ensembles.

The "okedō" has its own upright stand which was invented by Asano Taiko Drum Company. Again, like the nagadō-daiko, the okedō has a rim sound, called "ka". When playing the rim of an okedō, however, it is important to hit only the outermost metal ring and not the actual rim of the drum body. The thin, light wood of the okedō is particularly susceptible to denting and will quickly deteriorate if hit. The Aomori region is famous for the Nebuta festival where huge okedo are played by many people while carted through the streets.