Practice, practice, practice

This week is all about learning a new song. If you know me, then you know that my life revolves around taiko. And if you really really really knew me, then you would know that for the past 6 months I've been moping around feeling sorry for myself because the taiko ensemble that I was this close to being in, got cancelled. Or rather, postponed. Although I didn't know it was really a postponement. I still can't believe it's happening at all. The ensemble consists of me, two of my other classmates, my sensei Susan, and my all-time #1 super fabulous taiko hero, Janet. If you watch her play, you have to remember not to drool or leave your mouth hanging open. I'm just in constant awe, and I'm completely thrilled that I have this chance to learn from her and play taiko in her shadow.

Susan and Janet made us audition for this, and let me just say that the audition was one of the more grueling taiko experiences I've had. The hardest part was coming up with a solo, since part of the audition included playing something to the base beat of our choice. I spent an entire weekend composing the thing, because every idea I had, I immediatly discarded, leaving me with a whole lot of nothing after hours and hours of struggle. It didn't help that this audition also occurred during the most absolute busiest times of the year for me--the frosh priority application deadline. That's when all the kids send in their applications and we get buried in paperwork. On top of that, boss lady has figured out a way to double the amount of apps we get, which is good for the college, but horrible for taiko solos. But I kept at it, because I knew that if I walked into that audition empty handed and just tried to noodle my way through a solo, that I'd be absolutely ashamed of myself. So when it came time for solos, there were two other people ahead of me. Their solos were long and fabulous, and I was worried about my short solo. Somehow, though, I made it through and when I was done I kind of sighed and hung my head, which is (by the way) the worst way to end a solo. I didn't feel great about it, but boy, was I glad it was over. In my post-audition evaluation, I was told that Janet thought my solo was "groovy," and I could die happy just knowing that.

Which brings us back to the now, because I made the audition, and I'm in, and I have to learn this song. Learning it on Monday was fantastic. It was hard, but it just feels so good to play. There are some songs that you can just wear on your body like a favorite t-shirt you never want to take off. That's the thing about taiko for me; it becomes me. It is me. It lives in me. It's as if I am not who I am unless I'm playing. As we were learning pieces of the song, I would look up every once in a while at one of my classmates, C, and there was a giant grin stretched across her face, and I knew that I was wearing the same grin. As we were learning, I was thinking, "Yeah! That's SO cool!" I'm so happy and lucky to be able to be learning this. And Janet is a great teacher. I like the way she glances up and sees you in the mirror and reacts--she guides the class with so much respect and dignity. She always makes you feel good about your playing, even if it sucks at first. But your playing never really gets better unless you have that little bit of encouragement at first. Her encouragement has just made me soar.

And, well, the thing about blogging is that while it's great to look back on, it doesn't help your playing at all. So I'm going to log off now and practice. Practice, practice, practice.