Oak Forest HS Students Learn the Art of Taiko

Oak Forest High School Junior John Paras learned the art of Taiko drumming when the cast of “One World Taiko” came to Oak Forest High School to demonstrate the Japanese art of Taiko drumming. Holding his arms at readiness, like this photo illustrates, was increasingly difficult, John learned.

Taiko means literally “big drum” or the “art of drumming.” The drum artists performed original compositions on the drums. They also explained the different types of drums that they used in their drumming: the large odaiko drum, the shimedaiko drum (which looks like a snare drum,) and brass instruments, the size of a small bowl.

Taiko drumming is done in Japan as a way to celebrate many things. Some of those things are weddings, the turning of the seasons, or a way for the farmers to call the god of harvest to watch over their crops, or for fishermen to encourage the gods to protect them as they fish.

Oak Forest High School students really had a treat with the performance. Later, several students got to try their hands at the drums. The trick students had to learn with striking the drum surface is that they had to feel the drum give a little when they struck the drumming surface. In other words, students couldn’t be too rigid in their drumming and they had to have a flexible grip on the drumming mallets. Junior Emily Cooper said, “This is really hard!”