Odaiko Sonora (taiko drumming group) hosts this event on September 6, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rhythm Industry Performance Center.
“In preparation for All Souls Procession (ASP) on November 9, Odaiko Sonora invites you to join the first ever Viral Chant Group. We’ve commissioned the chant from Toronto artist Aki Takahashi, who you may remember from February’s amazing shamisen concert atYume Japanese Gardens.
We want the chant to spread through the crowd in the last few minutes of the ASP finale. For this, we need some volunteers to “seed” the crowd. Aki, who is one of Odaiko Sonora’s guest artists for the finale, has agreed to come in advance to train people in Japanese vocal technique and learn the chant. The Chant Workshop runs 12:30-2:00pm and is FREE (though we’ll pass a hat).”
Aki will be performing a traditional minyo (Japanese folk) style chant.
The Rhythm Industry Performance Factory is located at 1013 S. Tyndall Ave. (just south of the SE corner of E. 20th and Tyndall Ave., west of Campbell Ave.)
More information about Japanese cultural events in Tucson, go to our website, www.southernazjapan.org (where I am the Editor).
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About 35 people attended this novel workshop at which Aki and friend Kyle Abbot first performed some traditional folk music on the shamisen and taiko drums. Then Aki lead the workshop to teach us participants how to vocalize from our bellies to perform the minyo chant for All Souls. We practiced the sounds (with no meaning per Aki) several times, in rounds. Very interesting, to visualize these chants being used in Old Japan, as part of a work team.