Video: Kodo Drumming Training

If you like traditional Japanese drumming, here is a 15:36 minute long documentary that is very good, but no embedding allowed, so do click on the link and go to the Youtube page. Good interviews and subtitles with the Kodo people at Sado Island. I'm hoping you will take the time to watch. I love how the students have to learn how to make their own drum sticks, use their left hand to eat with chopsticks, farm rice... Obviously hard training.

"Life ruled by rythm..."

To become a Kodo drummer, students are put through two years of hell. But these apprentices will endure anything to make the grade.

In the Kodo drumming camp, students practice for around 20 hours a day. Cigarettes, alcohol, and TV are banned, there are no holidays or weekends off and their bodies are pushed to extremes. The day starts with a 15 km run up a mountain and ends when the students are too exhausted to continue. "I'm amazed at how far I can go," states one.

Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Comments

Pandabonium said…
I saw Kodo drummers live on Maui many years ago. Truly amazing. No TV, cigarettes, or alcohol would be OK, but 20 hours a day practice? 15 km run up a mountain? Not this Panda!
3:02 pm, July 11, 2009
Martin J Frid said…
And what would you do without your trombone?

Must have been great to see them on Maui of all places. Did they perform with local drummers or other musicians there? I know they sometimes do that - and also invite drummers from other parts of the world to join them at Sado for the annual festival.
5:16 pm, July 13, 2009
Pandabonium said…
It was just the Kodo drummers on stage. It was before Maui had an arts and cultural center, so it was at a high school auditorium. I've been fortunate to see a lot of world class musicians (and play concerts with some of them) simply because they wanted to come to Maui.
8:23 pm, July 13, 2009
Tom O said…
By the way, remember the 'students' are/were the successful ones - who negotiated the rather 'taihen' interview process. Imagine the ones who not just failed but ONLY JUST failed. The level of dedication and precision required just to be a student - cue 15km runs before asa-gohan (and, yep, January running in the dark and snow too).

There's an excellent book that was produced by the one foreign member of staff they had, one Mark Coutts-Smith from England (well, he could ONLY be english with a name like that). Living with them on the island, in the KODO village + touring with them he got access to all facets of them. Thus, he produced an excellent book of photos. One of which is of someone who has just been told they haven't made to student level...
11:41 pm, July 15, 2009
Tom O said…
Re said book:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3120/is_11_70/ai_n28718016/

Turns out same said guy was in the Taj Mahal hotel during the Mumbai attacks. Fact - yappari, ne - stranger than fiction.
5:30 am, July 23, 2009
Martin J Frid said…
Thanks for the comments, great link. Kodo is coming to Hanno this fall but tickets are 4000 yen. Ouch.
3:19 am, July 24, 2009
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