Arms

Arms. We've all got em. Some people have long arms. Some people have short arms. Some people have 1 arm and most people have 2, but one kid has 3 . My problem is that I'm not sure what to do with mine. I'm talking about solos here. I'm working on a down stand solo, and I really have to make it interesting, and I think the key to interesting is arms. I've been watching all sorts of taiko videos and people are doing wonderful things with their arms: there's flipping and turning and all kinds of spinning going on. Why am I having such a hard time trying to figure out what to do with mine? I figure, arms are pretty much fixed to the body so there are only a limited amount of movements possible. There is up/down, side-to-side, and a range of circular movements that are just variations of up/down and side-to-side.

The story behind this solo is that I worked on it and had it all set for the concert, and what happens is that the solos happen one after another with a cue that one soloist gives to the rest of the group to signal that her solo is over and it's time for the next person to start. Problem was, was that I heard the cue, but the others didn't, so they were all kind of like, huh? and I was starting my solo and it just totally threw me off. I wound up noodling and trying to remember how my solo went and ended up only playing half of it. Since then I've been traumatized by the whole song and just thinking about it embarrasses me horribly. But I think the one thing that saved me and kept me from running off the stage and curling up into a ball in the dressing room is some advice I read once in a drumming book, which is: when in doubt, roll.

Anyhow. I am determined now to get over my embarrassment and come up with a really good set solo for that song. It's not going to go away, and it really is a good, solid, crowd-pleasing song. There's no reason to be scared, and I'd like to just conquer this. When I first learned the song, it was really exciting to hear how the different parts really locked in together, and I was like, wow! I didn't know taiko could do that!

So, I've still got the problem of what to do with my arms. The person I'm playing with does things with her arms that make you wonder if she has special joints installed. Her solo is really fun to watch, and I know that at this point in my solo-composing career that anything I do will kind of pale to her solo. Which is fine, it just means I have a lot to learn.