Taiko: Drums and Flutes of Japan

The Japanese drums and flutes were amazing! We had a veritable feast of rhythm, entertainment and learning led by Anne and Toshi.

Taiko means 'drum', the instrument that Toshi was master of and Anne introduced us to the 'Shakuhachi', flutes of various sizes, as well as other percussion instruments, some of which were quite familiar to us.

Anne told us about her Shakuhachi and demonstrated the art of blowing, even using a Yakult bottle, a gumnut and a shell to produce sounds.

Toshi brought out several pairs of cymbals and invited some kids to play. There was no shortage of volunteers. Toshi and Anne both emphasised that players needed to move and show 'attitude' and  enjoyment of the activity. Jahdal and Morgan certainly did!

While they had the cymbals out they improvised throwing and catching and even ended up having a game of tennis, which Nick really enjoyed.

They certainly showed their passion for their music and this rubbed off on everyone else, although Alex did have a little trouble with his instrument, which was a very strange one indeed.

The teachers even got into the act - there was a race to get out there!

We thoroughly enjoyed the show and sincerely thank Anne and Toshi for their wonderful presentation and Calwell Sensei for organising it for us.