Just Beat It
It’s 10am on a Tuesday and you hear music. It’s not church bells; this is deeper, rhythmic; primal. What is it? Where is it? You follow the call, your feet slapping the sidewalk in tune with the beat, getting progressively louder and faster. You find yourself at the tip of the Battery in front of Hazel Parker Community Center on East Bay. Welcome to Taiko, the Japanese art of drumming.
The Sensei, Tracy Bush, a petite, blonde pixie, rules the class with an iron will and a twinkle in her eye. She is pure lean muscle and a rock star in Japan, where she studied and performed Taiko for many years and where fans now clamor for her autograph. Her movements are precise, fluid and powerful. She doesn’t just stand still and bang a drum. She lunges deeply to the ground and leaps gracefully into the air using the full power of her body to strike the drumhead. It is the loudest, deepest noise you’ve ever heard, next to a jackhammer. You’re not sure if you want to run, dance, go deaf or march to war. All you do know is – you want to do that. Immediately.
Tracy is Charleston’s ambassador to Taiko and she is a patient, disciplined teacher. “Sometimes the basic things are the most powerful,” she says. “All this energy comes out of your body and the point is to make it look effortless.” And she does. Taiko players are musical athletes who experience a spiritual, as well as physical release. Tracy says the key to picking it up is to open your heart, listen to everyone else’s rhythm and trust you’re going to get on the beat. It’s a different type of learning – learning by ear as she chants the rhythm. 
Taiko is an art form that fosters the spirit of celebration, thanksgiving, community and discipline, as well as honoring the tradition and culture of Japan. The Taiko drums come in various sizes and shapes, all handcrafted with wood the color of good whiskey and topped with a hard, resonate hide. Your link to the Taiko is your drumsticks, or bachi, and the basic form is barefoot, in a left side lunge, with shoulders back and a strong core.
According to beginning student Deborah Glazier, a former exec for Tokyo Disneyland, “I need something that’s gonna feed my soul, to connect with, even if it’s just one day a week. This is the last thing I thought I would connect with – and it’s Charleston’s best kept secret.”
Taiko drumming is pure fun and exhilaration. Just ask advanced student Wendy Tahara, a classical pianist and Celtic harpist. “How many people get to wail away on a really big drum?” she asks. “It’s a total workout. You release all your aggression and you’re in the best mood afterwards. It’s a healthy way to let yourself go!”
The next Taiko performance will be at the Trevor Erickson Benefit on Sunday, December 5 at the Music Farm at 9:20pm. But don’t just watch. Pick up your own drumstick and take a class, offered as a series on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
So, do as MJ told you. Just beat it.
Story by: Claire Gibbons
Photos by: Wendy Mogul and provided
I visited Tracy’s class last Thursday night to watch my daughter (Amy Jo) play the drums. I was in total awe of Tracy’s infectious (constant) smile……and her very positive way of helping the students to do better. Great job Tracy and students.