Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

WOW! that's marvelous! Can i ask what they scream during the song?

Taiko teams use kiai's, loud "spirit yells" to energize everyone and to add to the energy. A good yell motivates & focuses everyone in the team, just like a kiai in Karate does. Musically, some of the yells are also used as kakagoe, which alert the group to a rhythm change or some other synchronized event in the song.

Common yells are "so-re", "hup", "hai", "yoi-sa". Most don't have a translatable meaning, but we've been told that "yoi-sa" means "get ready".