TP's First Ever Koto Song!

When Maz and Bryan approached me and asked if I'd be interested in composing a koto piece for TAIKOPROJECT, I'll admit, I was hesitant at first. I had never composed anything on the koto before, despite my many years of classical training. However, with their encouragement, I decided to give it a shot. I began by developing a few simple melodies of my own, and then playing them for Maz so that he could assist me in figuring out how to string them together. From there, Maz helped Jen and Bryan use their hands to generate soft beat patterns on the odaiko, sumo-daiko, and shime-daiko to add a percussive element. Soon after, Jenny came on board to help me on the koto. I had her pluck the "base" melody (which I originally played with my left hand, while simultaneously playing the other melodies with my right hand) to free up my left hand so that I could focus on playing more confidently and accurately with my right hand. I am so grateful to Jenny for all of her help! Without having to worry about playing two parts all by myself, I was also able to explore more with improvisation and sound accentuation. Finally, Maz added several fue melodies to complement the koto melodies, and at that point the song had pretty much come full-circle. 

I had my parents listen to a rough preview of the song that we had recorded at rehearsal, and my father made a humorous remark that it made him feel as if he was "riding a horse through a peaceful forest". One of my close friends said that it reminded him of a slow-motion battle scene from the movie "The Last Samurai". Personally, when I play this song I imagine that I am watching fireworks and shooting stars while standing in a vast, open field.

What's unique about this particular composition process is that I never really had a concrete vision for the song. Instead of me guiding it in such a way to fit a specific image or theme, the song somehow guided itself. Maz ingeniously came up with the title, "Seiza", meaning "constellation" in Japanese. Whether you envision green forests, epic battles, fireworks, or starry night skies, I hope you will all enjoy listening to what TP has nicknamed "The Koto Song".