Yesterday I finally put the first head on my new taiko. That was quite an adventure! I've never done anything like this before, so I just jumped in with optimistic naivete. Eh, why not, right? Started out by setting up my stretching rack, which is made up of eight 4x6 pieces of lumber, four hydrolic jacks, 4 sheets of heavy plywood and quite a bit of rope:
At this stage, which is called the
second stretch, you take the head you formed during the first stretch, soak the inside of it, and then put it back on the drum, and then wind the rope around the mimi (those stick-things) and back down to the stretching rack. You use the jacks to pull the tension down on the heads.
People often ask me if playing taiko is an outlet for anger or aggression. I say
making taiko is a better outlet. This is when the party really gets started. After climbing up on to the drum (and getting over that fear of heights) you gotta walk around and massage and bounce on the drum until you break up any lumps. It would be better if I lived in one of those nice victorians with 10-foot ceilings. When the hunchback thing got tiring, I used my knees.
After much massaging, and several cranks on the jacks, we reach the final stage: tacking. In theory I was all set to create two perfect rows of tacks. I had all the tools and measurements and understood the hows and whys to get a perfect row of tacks. The only thing I lacked was experience (which I have some of now). The problem was that I had no idea what I was doing when I cut the slits of my mimi, and I should have made them lower. Or I should have taken the first stretch a tad bit further. In any case, my problem was that I didn't have room for two nice rows of tacks in some spots. So 1/3 of the drum is kind of, well, tacky:
The other 2/3 is not bad. Not perfect, but not bad:
The second head will be much nicer. It's soaking in the bathtub as we speak. More adventures in the upcoming week. Hopefully I'll have some pics soon!
At this stage, which is called the second stretch, you take the head you formed during the first stretch, soak the inside of it, and then put it back on the drum, and then wind the rope around the mimi (those stick-things) and back down to the stretching rack. You use the jacks to pull the tension down on the heads.
People often ask me if playing taiko is an outlet for anger or aggression. I say making taiko is a better outlet. This is when the party really gets started. After climbing up on to the drum (and getting over that fear of heights) you gotta walk around and massage and bounce on the drum until you break up any lumps. It would be better if I lived in one of those nice victorians with 10-foot ceilings. When the hunchback thing got tiring, I used my knees.
After much massaging, and several cranks on the jacks, we reach the final stage: tacking. In theory I was all set to create two perfect rows of tacks. I had all the tools and measurements and understood the hows and whys to get a perfect row of tacks. The only thing I lacked was experience (which I have some of now). The problem was that I had no idea what I was doing when I cut the slits of my mimi, and I should have made them lower. Or I should have taken the first stretch a tad bit further. In any case, my problem was that I didn't have room for two nice rows of tacks in some spots. So 1/3 of the drum is kind of, well, tacky:
The other 2/3 is not bad. Not perfect, but not bad:
The second head will be much nicer. It's soaking in the bathtub as we speak. More adventures in the upcoming week. Hopefully I'll have some pics soon!
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