San Jose Taiko by Kendra

After I read the guide about San Jose Taiko, I was really excited because I think that it is so neat to see other culture’s way of expression through music. I did expect a there to be some dancing, and there really wasn’t but the drumming and music was so great that I was not disappointed to not see any dancing. My impressions from the beginning to the end of San Jose Taiko were pretty much the same; I loved it! The performers were really good at what they did and it was just neat to see them express their talent.

I didn’t really have part that I liked least in the performance, only that I was hard to sit still, because I kept on wanting to get up and dance or clap my hands to the beat of the drums. My favorite part was in one of the songs when they had all the performers out on the stage and they where all playing the drums, or another instrument. It was also amazing how much energy they had all throughout the performance. I would describe the show to my friends or family that it was so amazing how these people know when to stay in sync with each other and how many different ways they could beat a drum and make it sound amazing. I would totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys music and learning about other cultures.

I did learn that the way they learn the rhythm is all oral, they don’t have sheet music so I thought that was really amazing that they could do that. Also after the show while the performers where talking to me and all the other Onstage members, they said that it takes about 2 years of practice and learning to get it down where they are good enough to perform. I really didn’t learn anything about myself from this particular experience.