Are you a casual taiko student, a performing or professional player, or how would you describe yourself?
(For example, casual, but you wish you could do more, casual but I do enough, professional, performing in community group, instructor full or part-time, group leader or member, etc.)
| group leader, performer |
| Professional player |
| Usually a leader in Ho Etsu and teacher and performer. Currently an apprentice, for lack of better word, with Tawoo, a group Kaoly Asano leads. I’m here to learn and study her philosophy, while also trying to figure out what I want to do with taiko. I’m fascinated by this project you’re doing and excited to hear your results. |
| A casual player, once a week in group with yorokai. But I wish I could play much more |
| eternal studen + performer of our group |
| performing in a community group, |
| Casual |
| someone called me a taiko junkie…I think that was pretty accurate. |
| starting |
| Casual but I wish I could do more |
| Starter – trailer – I wish I could play more often |
| Casual |
| a professional player, I am a full-time instructor and regular performer |
| Practising and since a year I am an assistant to my teacher. |
| Casual taiko player |
| Community group member |
| Casual but doing prep to go pro |
| Feverish student, but limited by energy and available time. |
| I play with a group for money. I am not a pro, I am a student |
| Very fervent Taiko player and semi-professional performer. Instructor only if necessary. |
| Casual but occasionally performs |
| Student, performer, assistant to instructor, mask/costume maker, sound design |
| Used to be in the performance group but had to stop about a year before Covid due to a back sprain and changing job stress. I never went back after pandemic because of fears around covid and numerous lockdowns. I joined an African Drumming group now – also a performance group – but am actually terrified of performing as Omicron is just starting to take off here. |
| community instructor |
| performing player in a community and teaching assistant for a special needs (intellectual differences) taiko group for adults; formerly a teacher for beginner/intermediate and performing students (adult) for another community group |
| Casual, just playing once a week in the lessons |
| Perform in community group at venues throughout the state, co-owner of Southern Indiana Taiko studio, where we introduce taiko to others in community through beginner lessons, private parties, school presentations, special events, and team-building workshops. |
| Performing player, past intern with professional performing group |
| Performer |
| Casual player, Just had my first perform! |
| Performing in a community group |
| I am a group leader, long term life learner of taiko. |
| Performing community group |
| Performer, long time student of Sensei Tamaribuchi |
| taiko student |
| Social student |
| Casual, bit wish I could play more |
| Taiko teacher and composer |
| Professional – teacher, performer, composer, group leader, |
| Amateur Taiko player and an instructor |
| Performing in a community group |
| Casual student |
| Casual |
| Student but casual right now |
| Interesting question. I’m a professional drummer and percussionist, but taiko makes up just a small part of my current portfolio (I was a very active player in college and while studying in Hawai’i). I do lead a small taiko school and group here in Pennsylvania, and we do some gigs throughout the year (5-10 I’d wager). I also teach residencies in schools as a state teaching artist. |
| Casual – Would love to do so much more! |
| Professional taiko teacher and performer |
| at the moment I’m the member of Taiko Hungary’s performing team but I consider to become a teacher someday |
| casual performer of my alma mater’s student group. I also help out the new members, but I have no formal roll in teaching. |
| Performing member of a community group. |
| Casual but wish I could do more. Performing member and occasional instructor in a community group. |
| Casual, wishing to do more |
| Being retired now, I can call myself a professional wadaiko player. I run my own dojo, Kobuyanagi, in which I almost daily “touch” my drums. Kobuyanagi is an “open,” dojo than cab be shared with other non commercial taiko players and budoka. Professionals pay a fee. |
| Casual |
| Instructor/teacher, touring performer, assistant artistic director |
| I am a professional, before the pandemic more than half of my income was from taiko |
| I’m a casual performing artist |
| On average, how many hours a week did you practice taiko by yourself before the pandemic? | On average, how many hours a week did you typically practice taiko by yourself during the pandemic? | Please explain if this changed now that world has opened up again. | On average, how many hours a week did you play taiko with others before the pandemic (including performing, teaching, practicing, etc.)? | On average, how many hours a week did you play taiko with others during the pandemic in person (including performing, teaching, practicing, etc.)? | On average, how many hours a week did you play taiko with others during the pandemic online (including performing, teaching, practicing, etc.)? | Please explain if this changed now that the world has opened back up. |
| 2 | 2 | no | 3 | 0 | 0 | yes now 2 hrs |
| 8 | 8+ | Yes – less solo practice time and I am busier teaching and working | 3-5 hours | less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | It’s the same |
| 3-5 hours | 1-2 hours | I practice less by myself, but it’s because I’m currently doing about 5 days/week of practices and performances or more because of my location change | 4-8 | 0-4 | We shifted mostly to talking and emlearnong how to make videos | Ho etsu practices primarily in person and will rarely do anything virtually unless it’s meeting based, or to allow me to watch a performance while abroad. In Japan, I have not had a virtual practice. |
| None | None | None | None | None | ||
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | no changes as I kept on working full time the whole pandemic | 6 to 8 hours | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | |
| 2-3 hours | less than 1 hour | I’m attending four different taiko classes in person. | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | I want to learn with others and play together. |
| not, I started during the pandemic | 1-2 hours | no changes | not, I started during the pandemic | 2-3 hours | not | yes now we play up to 6 hours a week |
| Not playing | 1-2 hours | The same | Not playing | 1-2 hours | Not | Not |
| 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | The same | 4-8 hours | 0-1 hours | 3-5 hours | Online for just one last class with Eri – katsugi. |
| 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | No | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Nog | nothing changed |
| I Die not play Taiko before thé pandamic | Non | Non | Non | Non | ||
| None | None | I lerarendag abt Taiko and glad I started | None | None | None | |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | During the pandemic, I was preparing the launch of Yorokai, which required a bunch of computer work and left no time for playing | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | I don’t like online taiko as I can’t connect with the other players. But during the pandemic, that was the only thing available, so I was happy with less. Now that the ‘real stuff’ is possible again, I don’t think I will participate online classes. |
| 2-3 hours | less than 1 hour | Yes, but I am more outgoing towards other styles, teachers etc. So I opened up together with the world after pandemic 😉 | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | I didn’t practice online | No |
| 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | again more time to play after lock downs | depending on the season more than 5hrs | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | stopped the zooms after lock downs |
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | I am able to follow weekly classes again. Practice at home is difficult due to full time job. | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | Online zoomsessions were only available during Lockdown. |
| 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | ||
| Started during the pandemic | 3-5 hours | Increased to 8-9 hours per week | Started during the pandemic | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | Much more playing with others in person |
| No Taiko self-practice, only kuchi-shoga the first few years, learning new songs | 2-3 hours | I have some friends that sometimes rent a studio for practice at a safe distance. | Less than 1 hour | |||
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | Yes, I will practice more with my group | 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | We are meeting in person now |
| 1-2 hours | less than 1 hour | Up to 10h a week | Up to 7h a week | None | Ithe hours will probably increase again. | |
| 2-3 hours | less than 1 hour | Yes. I will resume regular practice again. | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | Yes |
| 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Yes, provided my group is running | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | I hope so |
| 1-2 hours | less than 1 hour | I would like to go back, but group dynamics have changed and I don’t want to go back to one of the groups I was with. The other group practices at the same time as the African Drumming group. | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | I still play along with my music playlist when it comes up on the YouTube mix I stick on. I would consider going back. |
| 6+ | 6+ | approximately equal | 6+ | 6+ | Zero | Move to in person. |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | Group practice significantly decreased with the pandemic and move to a new city/joining another group/no longer teaching as much. At home practice was low before the pandemic and currently. It was low before because over time with my former group, my “taiko energy” outside of group practice/classes was given over to multiple administrative tasks. That’s a bit of a poor excuse for sure, but if I had time to do “taiko stuff” I invariably chose catching up with tasks over practicing for myself. With this new group I vowed not to take on other roles besides just player so I could get back to focusing more on just playing, but have managed to get caught up in marketing and other tasks for the group. I think not practicing at home has just become a bad habit. | 7.5 hours practice & teaching; plus performances (varied # of hours per week but typically 30-35 performances a year) | 3-5 hours | w/current Covid guidance locally, we are practicing indoors so go to virtual only for weather; early in the pandemic it was 3.5-5 hours virtual per week | As we are already back to indoor practices – and have limited time available at our practice location, I think only performance time will increase when the pandemic is over. |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | I have less time now other lessons started again and I have to drive my daughter to her hobbies etc | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | |
| 1-2 hours | 3-5 hours | We have resumed classes with masks and social distancing. I am practicing less by myself as it has been so much fun to play taiko with other people again. We used Zoom for a long time (and were very grateful for it to keep us connected) but it is just not the same. | Approx 10 hours a week | Approx 10 hours a week | 1-2 hours | I have always searched the internet for taiko from other groups, as I love to see what other groups are doing. When the pandemic started, I wanted to connect even more so in addition to my kaDON subscription, I took some online classes with Rome and Kristin at South Bay Beat Institute and KIONline with Ingmar and Mel. The wonderful part of that was my work schedule prevented me from attending most of the live online classes but I could watch the recordings later and feel connected and learn at my own pace, repeating the recordings. I know the online teaching may not be as frequent or available as before but I hope it continues, as I am able to learn from teachers from all over the world, even though I feel “alone” in the Midwest. |
| 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | I expect I will be practicing solo more as things open up simply because I will be returning to practice where I was on a break during the pandemic. | 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | I was not able to consistently participate in digital taiko practices consistently during the pandemic, so my practice time with others will be returning to normal after being greatly reduced during the pandemic. |
| 2-3 hours | less than 1 hour | It’s way more fun to play together | 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | I won’t do much online. |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | No | 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | We prefer in person practice but do line when needed |
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | I will be looking for more practice with drums rather than chairs | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | I am looking forward to as much taiko as possible |
| 1-2 hours | 2-3 hours | practising taiko by myself is a luxury that doesn’t always happen when the busy is happening! | 20 plus hours teaching, practising, performing | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | We are just stepping our toe back into the world of in-person taiko classes with limited classes for now. Hope that we can get back to our usual set of classes adn delivery once pandemic is over. |
| 3-5 hours | less than 1 hour | Nope | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | Nope |
| 2-3 hours | less than 1 hour | I miss practicing with my taiko family | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | I had a personal breakdown that zeroed me out on everything. But now that I am healing and things are getting some what normal, I miss my taiko family. I will return to practice in person |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | If I can go to workshops and weekend Taiko playing, I will play more often | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | the teachers will not longer offer their online courses – that‘s it with online playing |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | No change | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | No |
| 1-2 hours | less than 1 hour | Back to normal time | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | |
| Over 5 | less than 1 hour | I hope so | Over 5 | Zero | Less than 1 hour | Hope so |
| 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | No | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | Online is not “taiko”. Expect to be playing much more, with others, “when this is all over.” |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | 8-12 | 5h per week | |||
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | don’t know | 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | don’t know |
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | 5+ hours per week | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | I hope so! I would like to return to in person practices. | |
| 2-3 hours | 2-3 hours | No | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | Less than 1 hour | Yes. Now playing with limited number of people. |
| 1-2 hours | less than 1 hour | Yes, I Will continue and do more hours | 1-2 hours | None | None | I Will continue with the same hours as before |
| 1-2 hours | No practice | I will resume practising | 1-2 hours | Don’t play | None | I would like to resume my learning |
| 1-2 hours | less than 1 hour | Well, with a gig coming up (April 17) and a course that I need to film, I’ll be playing more actively as soon as next week. | Less than 1 hour | Less than 1 hour | I do hope to grow my online lesson schedule. However, there’s no replacement for group classes. | |
| less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | No change | Less than 1 hour | I have no taiko buddies here where I live. | Participate in online taiko classes thru Portland Taiko. | No change. |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | I’ve never been practising taiko a lot on my own. I am very lazy actually and am mostly motivated by taiko as something social, something to do with others. So almost all of my taiko practice is from practising with a group or teaching. This hasn’t changed with the pandemic. | 10 hours | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | My goal is to develop KIONline further after the pandemic. If enough people will be interested to take part, this will continue to be one part of my business. Because I will get much more busy again with other activities, that weren’t possible during the pandemic, it is likely that my time spent teaching online will slightly decrease. |
| 1-2 hours | 2-3 hours | Pandemic time means a massive lockdown where the dojos are also closed and we’re not allowed to play the drums together so we have to find our individual way to play. But if the world opens up I’d rather spend my time with my team than playing just by myself 🙂 | 3-5 hours | my average used to be 1-2 hours during the “cold seasons” although now I have my own drum to play on (and my favourite drummer to play with :D) and it’s springtime so I suppose it will increase to 3-5 hours per week with the outdoor possibilites 🙂 | 2-3 hours | I suppose the number of my online lessons will drastically decrease in favor of the lessons in person (and my life beyond taiko) |
| less than 1 hour | less than 1 hour | 2-3 hours | zero, no in person practices | zero, I haven’t attended any of the zoom practices | not sure, I now work on the weekends which is when the main practice is | |
| 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | I think it will increase. | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | 2-3 hours | We will be meeting in person again. |
| 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | It will change regardless of the world opening up, because I finally own a taiko and I want to use it as much as I can, so I will be practicing more and more (until the neighbours tell me to stop LOL). | 2-3 hours | Less than 1 hour | 1-2 hours | Our dojo is closed currently. We will be able to meet more in person again when it reopens. |
| 3-5 hours | less than 1 hour | I certainly hope so | 1-2 hours | Zero | Zero currently | I hope so and intend on attending classes again |
| 3-5 hours | 10 to 15 hours | No change, maybe more. | 3-5 hours | 3-5 hours | 1-2 hours | |
| N/A | less than 1 hour | Probably not | N/A | None | 1-2 hours | I’d like to go to live classes again |
| 1-2 hours | I mainly teach taiko all day and evening so individual practice I would say less than an hour. | I think my teaching will lower because of drive time so I will not be able to take as many classes. So will have more time for self practice. | 3-5 hours | Less than 1 hour | about 15 hrs | yes, due to less Zoom classes |
| Very flexible I would say 3-8, with an average of 6 counting the practices i lead and classes I attend. | Before I mainly played with others, and alone just prepared classes or studied specific things like a part of a piece I was not good at. In the pandemic I played a lot by myself, and played freely, any kind of exercise or impro. Sometimes just ten minutes, sometimes average… | 3-5 hours | The main innovation is that I staerted to attend others’ classes. I was teaching 3 classes a week before and monthly long workshop. On line out if 60 students I was able to make just 1 class. The beginning of the pandemic last year I lead many zoom classes for foreigner too, and I had private students too. After summer I got a stable week with one class that take few people from all my classes and one practice in person (when we can due to restrictions) with my performing trio. | |||
| Currently, 2 hours or less. Before the pandemic, 3-4 hours. | Currently, 1 hour on Zoom. Before the pandemic, 2 hours. |