User:Tweoss/sandbox/Jeffrey Teo (taiko)

Jeffrey Teo, a Singapore native, is the founder and leader of Gindaiko, one of only two taiko groups in Singapore. He is trained and certified to play taiko by the Nippon Taiko Foundation.

Introduction to Taiko
Teo first encountered taiko as part of Japanese language school in Singapore that he joined in 1991. He selected Japanese drumming – Taiko – as one of the possible cultural activities. In 1996, the drumming group sent Teo to Japan to train with Osuwa Daiko under Daihachi Oguchi as part of a three month attachment. It was there that Teo also learned how to produce taiko drums.

Teo views taiko as a unique form of drumming, feeling that rhythms are less complicated than in other forms and resemble heartbeats. The formations and placements of drums – naname, tilted sideways, beta, parallel to the ground, or hachijo, raised and perpendicular to the ground – are varied kata, or forms, and result in more sophisticated hand choreography. The skin of the drum, formed from cow skin, makes taiko to him like a living instrument.

Gindaiko
In 2004, Jeffrey Teo founded his own taiko group Gindaiko in Singapore – currently the only registered taiko group aside from Hibikiya in Singapore. While other non-registered taiko groups may play taiko, the drumming is as entertainment or as a cultural activity.

Teo and Gindaiko participated in cultural exchanges with taiko groups in Taiwan, though this tradition ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gindaiko also participated in the Japanese Taiko National Seminars hosted by the Nippon Taiko Foundation.

Teo teaches at two community centers in Singapore once a day for a total of four days a week with between 10 and 20 people per class. He welcomes anyone of all ages from any background, whether their reasons for playing taiko are for exercise or fun, or if they are more serious about practicing. While Teo learned pieces strictly through oral tradition with Kuchi shōga while in Japan, he found written scores to be useful. Thus, he learned from the Yamaha Music School how to notate percussion music and now distributes notated music to his students. Additionally, he further allows his students to take videos so that they may practice movements on their own should they forget.

Gindaiko, represented by Teo and selected students, performs at various events. Gindaiko plays more for performance purposes than for Japanese festivals. For example, Gindaiko plays at business events like opening ceremonies or weddings.

Awards and Honors
Jeffrey Teo has obtained level 5 through 1 certificates from the Nippon Taiko Foundation (also known as the Japanese Drum Foundation), taking seven years to complete the exams. Each certificate requires learning from a specified taiko instructor with the Taiko Foundation on one day, then performing the learned excerpt to be judged the next day. Certificates for levels five through three require completing this process once. Meanwhile, certificates for level two require completing this process twice; level one certificates, thrice. The purpose of being taught before being assessed is to enable the student to learn different formations and styles of taiko drumming.

These certificates are recognized outside of Japan due to the Nippon Taiko Foundation's influence. However, in Singapore, the dominant cultures are Western, Chinese, Malay, and Indian, so the Japanese culture is less recognized. Thus, Teo took the exams primarily to test himself and his capabilities, rather than garner outside recognition.