Our Drums
Taiko drums come in two main types-
Tuneable drums where the skins are stitched onto metal rings and these are then laced onto each other around the drum body. Depending on how tight the lacing is done, the note produced will vary. These are the type of drum I currently make. The skins are made from cowhide of various thicknesses.
Untuneable drums where the skins are permanently stapled to the drum body.The drum body was traditionally made from a hollowed out tree trunk; nowadays the drum body may be built up from staves. Traditionally, the majority of drums in an ensemble would be of this type, called nagado.
The drums I make are constructed rather like a barrel, using 16 shaped pieces of wood that, when glued together, make up a cylinder; this is then rounded and sanded, stained and varnished. Every effort is made to source the timber so that there is minimum ecological impact.
The skins arrive as complete hides, coiled up tightly into a roll that cannot be unrolled until it is wet and soaked through. This means I have to throw it into the duckpond and leave it to soak for a few hours, as the roll is far too big to fit into any other container that I have; it is then pulled out and cut up into suitably sized discs. These soaked discs are then stretched over a steel ring and stitched into place. The stitched skins are then roped onto the body.
Tuneable drums where the skins are stitched onto metal rings and these are then laced onto each other around the drum body. Depending on how tight the lacing is done, the note produced will vary. These are the type of drum I currently make. The skins are made from cowhide of various thicknesses.
Untuneable drums where the skins are permanently stapled to the drum body.The drum body was traditionally made from a hollowed out tree trunk; nowadays the drum body may be built up from staves. Traditionally, the majority of drums in an ensemble would be of this type, called nagado.
The drums I make are constructed rather like a barrel, using 16 shaped pieces of wood that, when glued together, make up a cylinder; this is then rounded and sanded, stained and varnished. Every effort is made to source the timber so that there is minimum ecological impact.
The skins arrive as complete hides, coiled up tightly into a roll that cannot be unrolled until it is wet and soaked through. This means I have to throw it into the duckpond and leave it to soak for a few hours, as the roll is far too big to fit into any other container that I have; it is then pulled out and cut up into suitably sized discs. These soaked discs are then stretched over a steel ring and stitched into place. The stitched skins are then roped onto the body.
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OkedoThe majority of drums that I make are called okedo. They are almost two feet in diameter and stand about two feet high. The okedo that I make usually have a heavier ring and thicker hide than is typical, meaning that they can be played with greater force, more in the manner of playing a nagado. They are usually played mounted vertically in a stand, but they can also be played in horizontal stands.
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ShimeSmaller shime drums are used to accompany the deeper sounds of the okedo. Typically there might be only one shime to five or six okedo.
I make both rope- and bolt-tightened shime. The rope-tightened shime can be quite difficult to get really tight unless you are well practised; to ease this, I also make shime with slightly deeper bodies at no extra cost. Of course this difficulty can be overcome by having the bolt-tightened shime; heavier, more expensive, but much easier to tighten. |
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OdaikoThe odaiko is a magnificent drum, hard work but a joy to play. I can make them to any size but the odaiko pictured is of a size to just go through a standard door.
The stand collapses too, so there should not be any access problems. |
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UchiwaThe hand-held uchiwa or fan drum can be made in a range of sizes from 12 to 16 inches diameter and comes with its own bachi.
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