Kumi-daiko by Scott Brown

This piece was written to provide young students with an opportunity to explore the Japanese art of Taiko drumming. The literal translation for Kumi-daiko is “grouped drums”, referring to the popular Japanese drum ensembles. Although the playing of Taiko drums is an ancient tradition, Kumi-daiko is a fairly recent phenomenon with the first Taiko ensembles appearing in the 1950’s. Some contemporary ensembles have taken the traditional art of Taiko and infused it with hip-hop and jazz to create a unique style. It is in this spirit that Kumi-daiko was written. The piece should be energetic and powerful, enjoyable for the audience and performers alike!

Taiko is literally translated as “big” or “fat” drum, although the term stands for taiko of a variety of shapes and sizes. Although taiko is the word most associated with the art form, the word daiko is used to describe the different drums, ensembles, and styles of playing. For example the drums used with this piece are: Shime-daiko, Hira-daiko, Okedo-daiko, and Nagado-daiko. Listed below are descriptions of these drums along with practical substitutions.

This piece comes with a bound score and a CD ROM that contains the individual parts.

$20.00