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| The Drummers' Perspective - Esther Vandecar |
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Interview Post: November, 2004
Occupation: Taiko Instructor / Teacher, Website: www.taikoAZ.com Email: webmaster@TaikoAZ.com
Excerpts from Biography: Esther has a Bachelors of Science in International Business and an MAED in Adult Education. She teaches a Professional Development course in Taiko at ASU in a program inspired by the Kennedy Center in New York. She started Fushicho Daiko Phoenix Drummers, in Phoenix, AZ soon after her return to the U.S. in 1992. She has been teaching Taiko to children and adults here since then. She has been on the Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Roster since 1993, and Fushicho Daiko since 1996. Her mission has been to share the wonderful Japanese art form of Taiko, including some of the cultural details that make each country unique, with as many people as possible. She has recently built a studio (dojo) which will facilitate the introduction of Taiko to even more people. (Esther speaks a little Japanese). Earned two teaching certificates (menjo) from Hiroshima, 1989 and received Certificates of Achievement from Yusui Taiko, Masaki; and the All Japan Taiko Association. Was the subject of a TV. human interest segment of the evening news in Japan, 1991, and public TV. programs in the U.S., 1992 and 95 (both videos, including performance samples, available upon request). |
Questions
The Drummers Lounge (TDL) |
Answers
Esther Vandecar (EV) |
TDL: If you could describe your playing as a food, what would it be? |
EV: Well, I would have to say a porter house steak. It is something you can really sink your teeth into. It doesn't melt in your mouth, it has substance and power, but it is also very delicious. This question really makes you think about your playing. |
TDL: What was the first percussion instrument you learned to play? |
EV: It was the piano, and I was about 4 years old. |
TDL: What musical influences did you have as a child that you feel helped grow and develop your interest in percussion today? |
EV: Wow, that is a very tough question for me. I was brought up in a musical family, my mother and father were great dancers . My mom was a professional (dancer), and my sister had an absolutely gorgeous voice, with perfect pitch, so we were always singing and dancing around our house. But in terms of percussion, I don't remember that being something that was around in my life. We had a lot of motorcycles, so I guess if you listen carefully, you can find a rhythm there. |
TDL: How and when did you decide you wanted to play Taiko drums? |
EV: I remember that moment, absolutely, and with great clarity. I was living in Japan and had probably been there about six months, and my students took me to a Taiko performance, and I had no idea what that was. They just told me it was drums, and of course I said ok. They were always trying to get me interested in Japanese things (which was not difficult to do). I was a cultural sponge. Anyway, we were sitting in the balcony with the lights down, and all of the sudden, my heart is hitting my ribs. I thought I was dying, truly, I was terrified. About the time that I succumbed to death (joking) the lights came on and 10-15 naked men are standing on the stage beating huge drums. Of course I wasn't dying, my body was feeling the beat of those drums. But I remember it was the most stunning thing. I sat through the rest of the performance with my mouth hanging open. I had never seen anything with that magnitude, that kind of power, it was just beyond description. Afterwards, I came running down the stairs into the lobby after the performance was finished and said 'That's it! I want to study Taiko!', and their faces just fell. Their faces fell, because I was a woman and a foreigner. My students were so heartbroken because I had found something that I wanted to do in Japan , but it wasn't possible, from their perspective, because I was a woman and a foreigner and women did not traditionally play Taiko. There were a lot of exceptions, and many, many exceptions now, but generally, woman did not play Taiko, it was played by males only. I was also heartbroken at this discovery, but I did not want to be an 'ugly' American, so I just said ok (acknowledging I should not pursue this). At this time I was also in my forties, and women in their forties usually did not take up Taiko or anything else like that. I saw another group about three months later and at that point there was no turning back, I was not going to give up. I was ruthless about finding somebody who would take me on and teach me. There was another group in Hiroshima that agreed to take me in but they had experiences before with foreigners that just took up all of their time for a few weeks, everybody's life just stops during that time, while they are teaching, and then they (the foreign students) would be gone. Because of this, they made me sign a contract, which meant that I had to be at all the performances, and all the practices, unless I was dying or bleeding profusely. On the other hand, I was kind of a party girl at the time, and would go to the disco 3 or 4 times a week, and was not sure that I wanted to make that kind of commitment, but I was so stunned by these drums that I wanted to do this. I remember thinking to myself 'well, I could always just go home' if this doesn't work out, instead of breaking my contract. It changed my life 180 degrees and I never looked back. I was obsessed with these drums. I was too much of a rebel and I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I didn't have a plan when I got back to the US so I just flowed with it for a few years. I didn't know whether anyone would even care, or if there were even any Taiko groups in the US or not. |
TDL: Was there anyone or anything in your life that drove you or pushed you towards your goals or ambitions of what you wanted to do? |
EV: No, it was all self driven, I had too much opposition, I had to do it on my own. I was one of the founding members of a new group in Matsuyama and after a few years, I had an awful lot of support. In the group in Hiroshima I was pretty much just an interesting mascot, although they were very kind to me. It got to be tiresome after a while. The television programs all wanted to talk to me, and I didn't know anything, I wasn't any good yet. The first couple of years I was pretty hopeless. It got to be pretty embarrassing for me, I just wanted to be part of the group. The group in Matsuyama really wanted to make a name for themselves, they wanted to go places, and it was a wonderful experience to be a part of. |
TDL: Why or what took you to Japan to study Taiko? |
EV: Well, I have a Bachelors degree in International business, and had done business with the Japanese for years, so when I graduated from University, I belonged to an International business club, and they had a 1 year opportunity to do an exchange . So I went to work in Matsuyama which was my University's sister city. It was kind of a paid vacation for me. I knew not a word of Japanese, most of the people I worked with lived here in the US . So I originally went for 1 year, and 7 years later, I came home. |
TDL: How did you become involved with ASU? |
EV: Well, Arizona State University (ASU) did a project called 'A3', which involved a lot of Asian countries. They asked a lot of people in the community to meet together. They wanted this to be a collaborative effort. There were people there from Cambodia , Thailand , China , Japan , Korea , Vietnam , and many more. They did a really good job bringing all of these groups together. They were attempting to put on a show at Gammage, which is their great theatre. They wanted artists from all over to come and stay for a week or two, funding was no object, and they also wanted to best utilize the money for this project. They were going to give the community opportunities to study with the various groups and art forms that were coming here to perform. This project was supposed to take about 6 months or so. They also had children's festivals each year, and they invited me and my group to come and perform. They then asked me to start teaching professional development classes for teachers. The teachers would come and study Taiko for a couple of hours, and get professional development credit. They wanted me to teach it in a way that would be useful to the teachers. They knew it would be a fun thing for teachers to do to earn their credits, but it also needed to be something practical that the teachers could take back with them to their schools. I was asked to find a way to incorporate Taiko into education. Well, that was pretty easy because Taiko drumming is part of language arts, dance, drama, etc. But that was not good enough, they wanted me to incorporate it into math. I said 'well, of course', but that was a little more difficult than I thought it would be because Japanese music does not always fit the pattern. So that became an opportunity for me to stretch myself too. |
TDL: When did the idea hit you to start your own group? |
EV: Well, as soon as I got back here (to the US ) there was a local group that was attached to the Buddhist church. I was so excited to think that was a possibility . My enthusiasm was very high so I went to meet with them. After I met them they told me that I would have to become a member of the Buddhist church. Later on, I decided that it was a little bit of reverse discrimination, because I was not Japanese. I really did not have a choice at that time. I had several offers to perform. One of those performances was an international festival, and I had to perform alone. I thought it was impossible to do such a thing, I mean Taiko is not really a solo performance, besides all of my training was as a group, not as a solo act. Well, I did the performance but for me it was less than satisfactory. I started teaching classes for the city, and that is where I met Tony (member of her group), he was my first student that joined the group. I ended up with about 12 people that year in my group that performed, and my group (in different forms) has been performing ever since. |
TDL: What age group does you group cater to? |
EV: Well, there is no particular age group we cater to, it is for all ages. We are really popular with the World War II groups, which kind of surprises me, and of course the kids love it. Our audiences are really diverse. We focus a lot on assemblies for schools, and have kind of developed into a comedy Taiko group. |
TDL: Many people learn to play an instrument and never teach it to others. What motivates you to teach others to play Taiko? |
EV: It was partly practical for me. There were no Taiko players here, and I was rejected at another group. So I had to train people if I wanted to form a group and perform. I had never taught anything before besides motorcycle education, but I discovered I loved to teach, so I knew I was going to go in that direction. It is really exciting for me to watch people learn and improve. I provide my students the opportunity to perform a couple of times a year. |
TDL: What is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 'Partners in Education' Program? |
EV: The Kennedy Center in New York goes out in the schools, especially the inner city schools, and teach the arts, intensively, and they document the effect they are having on the children's' lives. Some of the kids really had troubled pasts and lots of problems, and it was amazing to see their progress with respect to these programs. That program was one of ASU's affiliate programs. As an example, they went to Harlem , and got kids right off the streets (that were probably headed for bad things), and they joined an acappella choir. They had a code of ethics they had to follow, otherwise they were out of the group. This group still performs today and has around 60 kids that are part of something, making a difference in their own communities. |
TDL: Is Taiko for everyone? |
EV: No, but usually people come to that decision by themselves even if they are fascinated with it. There is a rare number of people that just cannot keep a beat, I would say that I was pretty handicapped myself, I didn't have any natural talent. I still don’t, I have to work very hard to play well. I think anyone that wants to, can learn to play Taiko, but it requires a lot of time and commitment if you're going to do it well. It requires teamwork, it is not a solo act. So I would have to say that personality plays as much or more a part with regard to discipline and commitment,, than talent does. |
TDL: What do Taiko drums represent? |
EV: They represent a sense of personal power and joy to me. My experience of living in Japan was so wonderful, with and without Taiko, but my friends wanted me to find something in Japan that I could call my own that I could do forever. They had me study how to wear a kimono. I mean, who ever thought of going to school to learn how to dress? But nothing grabbed me like Taiko did. |
TDL: For the new drummers of tomorrow, what is the key to mastering a drum that incorporates so much tradition, skill, and history? |
EV: Well for me, the secret is self discipline. If they want to be any good, as part of a team, they have to apply themselves to teamwork. That is a real hard concept for a lot of American kids, they tend to want to do their own thing. They have free spirits, they want to jam, and I really have to fight with that. There are some people ( kids and adults) who have very creative ideas, and they just want to jam. To get them to be part of a team is almost squashing some of their creativity. But, that is essential (teamwork) to establish good musicianship., They need to be good at the basics before they move on. No one is going to 'jam' on my drums, and that is true for adults and children. There has to be discipline, which is so undeniably Japanese. You do what your sensei says, and maybe in 20 or 30 years, after you have mastered what he has taught you, you can go on your own and make your own art form. That is a really hard sell in the United States . |
TDL: If you could motivate the multitudes of musicians today, that will eventually give up on their instrument (of any kind) what would you say? |
EV: This is a tough question. Well, with Taiko, a lot of my students play to get a release from the pressures of life. I think it is important to play just for the joy of it. If something besides joy comes from playing Taiko, that is just extra. If you come here every week to play Taiko because you are happy, that is the most important thing of all. When my students get to perform, I want to push them, I want them to push themselves to do better, to have a perfect performance. I never expect perfection, but I push for excellence. Most of the time though, we are just playing because we like to play together as a group and have fun. |
TDL: Does emotion play into Taiko music? |
EV: Absolutely, emotion plays a key role in Taiko drumming and music. I brought back about 40 tunes from Japan . A lot of the tunes are pretty serious. They are prayers , or about war, or rain, I learned a lot about Japanese culture through this music, and what their history was about. We have found that when we perform, if we add comedy, fierceness, or any other emotions, it really involves the audience. The audience always gets more involved when you are portraying some emotion. Most of the songs have an emotion in it. It tells a story, sings a song, or depicts a character. |
TDL: How is the music written for Taiko? Is it story based, rhythm based? |
EV: Most Taiko music is not notated in western notation. Some of it is thousands of years old and just passed down from one generation to another by teachers. Modern music is being written but usually around a theme, or for one group/community in particular. Some of it is story based but a lot is rhythm based. The tunes that we have written have mostly been pulled from some rhythm that we have played together. We work each song to death, we move drums around, we move people around, we change it all until it is accepted by the group. Sometimes we get bored with certain tunes, so we will rework them until we are satisfied. Most of Taiko music is very old, there is not a lot of modern Taiko music around today. It is very difficult to write. You can't help but to be influenced by modern music, so a lot of Taiko music today has taken on some attributes from other sources, and sometimes that can make you sound non-traditional. I want to remain pure to Taiko drumming. I thought I had done a pretty good job keeping the music traditional Japanese, but then I talk to someone who is Japanese and they say we sound like a North American Taiko group, and that is hard for me to hear. But I am not in Japan , I am here now and do not have the constant influence anymore. I can only give out now, I don't have many chances to get influenced from the outside. |
TDL: What is in your (TaikoAZ) future? |
EV: Well, I am going to perform until I drop, and will probably teach long after that. It takes so long to form a good team or group, that I know I will stay here in Arizona . I don't particularly like big cities, but if you are an artist, and you want to make your living as an artist, you need the big city. We have added, and will continue to add, different music styles to our list, that is how a group grows. I really don't see an end to what we can do because our audience and communities will always want and need these thematic musical experiences. We are going to China as a group next year for a couple of weeks, . Eventually I would like to see our whole group study in Japan , I think that would be great. We have so much fun, I can't see giving it up. You should never quit learning. |
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