Cincinnati-Dayton Taiko Group

Learn a taiko rhythm

Renshu Taiko

Renshu means 'practice' in Japanese. There are many different renshu pieces for taiko. The piece that we learned was arranged by Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi.

The piece is written in the vocalization style of Japanese taiko. This vocalization is called kuchi-showa in Japanese. Each sound represents a different way of striking the drum. Again, there are different variations of kuchi-showa in taiko.

These are the vocalizations that we use for Renshu:

Don: This is a strong strike to the center of the drum. Usually represents one beat.

Do Ro: This is a strike to the center of the drum. Usually played twice as fast as the Don.

Tsu Ku: Soft strike to the center of the drum.

Ka Ra: Strike to the rim of the drum.

Su: Rest, do not strike the drum.

Ha!: This is the sound you say, do not strike the drum

Renshu Taiko is presented here in graph form. Each row represents one line. The longest blocks represent one beat or quarter notes. The blocks that are half the size of the quarter note blocks are 1/2 of the beat or eighth-note blocks. The blocks that are half the size of the eighth note blocks are 1/4 of the beat or sixteenth-note blocks.

The first two lines are played through then repeated. Lines 3 through 6 are repeated once each.

Renshu Sound File (531K) in vocalization form