Meet the Drums!

	Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum Bowdoin Taiko was lucky enough to receive a grant from the Freeman Foundation, which which we bought two small nagadou-daiko from Asano Taiko. We've named these two drums tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum and have found them to be clear-toned and high, with a small upward shift of pitch when struck.

Joshua Our third nagadou-daiko.  Dan polished this drum's shell in California during the summer of 2003, and Joshua was then skinned and mailed to Bowdoin by Dan's sensei, Earle Fox.  Joshua has a sharper tone than either of the tweedles, but is about the same in pitch.  Joshua is Bowdoin Taiko's only home-made drum. Dan Bensen made this drum with the help of his taiko instructor in California from a wine barrel. He named the drum Joshua because it looks like a Joshua.

	Hira-Daiko 'flat-drums', are similar in construction to the nagadou-daiko, but are compressed vertically, making them much higher in pitch and easier to store and transport.  Hira-daiko are not as loud as nagadou-daiko, but their sharp, high notes make them good instruments to use when playing the backbeat of a taiko song.  Bowdoin Taiko has three hira-daiko, all of which were made by Asano.

Shime-daiko These 'bound drums' are fundamentally different in construction from the nagadou or hira-daiko, their heads being kept in tension by a system of knotted chords, rather than nails pounded through the hide into the shell of the drum.  This construction makes them re-tunable, if more fragile than nailed-head drums.  We bought our two shime from the Clark Taiko Shop based in California , and they are perfect to mark the backbeat.

Animaniacs Yakko, Wakko and Dot are the three newest additions to the group. Bought over the course of 2007-2008 with major convincing of the SAFC, these are Bowdoin Taiko's largest, deepest, and loudest taiko to date. With their arrival comes the possibility to do songs like Miyake, Chichbu, Buchi Awase, and Yodan look much more impressive and legitimate. The drums' power unfortunately has raised noise complaints like never before, and their weight is prompting Bowdoin Taiko to beg SAFC for just enough mroe money to buy a carrying cart.

Gomi-Daiko 'Garbage-drums', or 'gomies' are the aptly-named marriage of packing tape and plastic garbage cans. Depending on how they are made, gomi-daiko can sound fairly nice, so nice in fact, that some of us have formed emotional relationships with these instruments.  Bowdoin taiko's gomies are made by stretching packing tape (horizontally, vertically, and diagonally) across the heads of plastic trashcans.  Other groups have made gomi-daiko by stretching tape across old tires or wide-gauge PVC pipe.  Others have actually stretched cow-hide over PVC pipe, creating something very close to a real taiko.   Our original plan was to use the gomies until we had accumulated real drums, but given the group's displays of affection toward the plastic drums and it's increasing number of members, it seems Bowdoin Taiko will always use gomies.

 

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