"The decision to be a professional taiko player was deliberate; I considered all the options (computer programming, physics, writing) and decided that a life of playing taiko was hard to beat."
Kris' blog posts by category:
4583.39 hours and counting!
One of the pieces I’m working on for our upcoming Works in Progress concert is called “Engine Room”. It’s a piece for two people and it’s played on special drum pads affixed with contact microphones.
I’ve been building prototypes of the pads and I met with On Ensemble’s good friend and all-around-amazing-gentleman, Charlie Campagna, recently to get his input. We tried applying a number of electronic and acoustic effects. Charlie was really helpful and I’m excited about the sound we’re getting. Check it out!
We have chosen a name for the trailer home Hiro and I are designing with RGON architecture.
“Shoebox House”
We’ve begun the mechanical design phase, one of the more precarious stages of the project. This is where we take the basic room layout from the “schematic design” phase and figure out how it will actually work mechanically. As the first-ever collapsible, 2-story mobile home, we face a number of significant technical challenges. The good news is that I’ve received interest from a number of trailer manufacturers for fabrication of the chassis.
Wish us luck!
Here is a short video RGON made showing a rough concept of the Shoebox House frame!
Here’s how to set up a system with pretty graphs to track your practice time and display it at your Wordpress site! I’m using mine to track the time I spend each day on four different categories of practice, and also show my progress toward the goal of 10,000 hours of total practice. Every day I add my practice times to a log file and the system generates updated graphs nightly. When you visit my blog site, the running tally is given in the header (or anywhere else I want it on the website… like here! (4583.39). And the graphs at my “10,000 hours of taiko” blog post are also automatically updated every night.
A great test of taiko science is now under way!
The book Outliers (review here) proposes the “10,000 hour rule” — mastering anything requires 10,000 hours of practice. As an experiment, I’ve decided to try and track my taiko practice time. I’ve conservatively estimated how many hours completed thus far, and am now carefully recording my daily practice. Watch this site to see when I cross the 10,000 hour mark (probably somewhere between Apr 8, 2017 and Aug 14, 2026) and then we’ll decide if I’ve reached “master” status. :)
Current total:
———————
My dad and I spent about a week in Switzerland. I had a good time playing around with my new camera, a Panasonic GH1. While I hate to contribute to the tragic “vacation video” genre, here is a little something I put together from the trip, using music I saw in Zurich and Lucerne. It was my first time editing video but the fantastic kdenlive program made it fun!
Lessons learned:
Switzerland is incredible
Random dances with your dad are fun
The train depot is a great place to compose at any hour
Downloadable version here. Caution, HUGE file!
My sincere thanks to Kineya Yasoyo and the volunteers that worked to make yesterday’s fundraiser performance happen!
As part of the show, I played “Err”, the solo piece I’ve been working on for the last four years or so. The piece is inspired by CD technology and incorporates puzzles into the rhythms and the musical score. It’s still a work in progress but I’m making small steps here and there. Here’s a clip!
Like taiko? Like games? Play taiko games!
It’s the next big thing! Read on for more information and video clips about these four, surprisingly fun, taiko-themed games!
We will be starting our group practice session of 30 Days to Better Shime this coming Saturday! Download your free workbook and CD here, or order your printed copy today. Add your name to the email list to receive daily encouragement – starting on Saturday!