Students at DeGrazia Elementary School are chanting about ice cream and broccoli, but it's not because they're hungry.
All of the third- through eighth-grade classes at the school, 5051 W. Overton Road, are mouthing phrases that include references to ice cream and broccoli to stay on beat as they learn to play a taiko drum, which is a Japanese instrument.
Taiko drummers from Odaiko Sonora are dedicating their Mondays and Tuesdays to the students as part of a five-week artist-in-resident program at the school that will culminate with a school and community performance Dec. 6.
"We are going to have a narrative thread that weaves all of the classes together," said Rome Hamner, a drummer with Odaiko Sonora.
The program was funded in part by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Marana Unified School District. Officials at DeGrazia applied for the grant.
People are also reading…
Last week, Hamner and Karen Falkenstrom guided students in Bob Dennis' and Sherrie Gordon's fourth-grade classes through the beats of a Japanese song that thanks the rain for a bountiful harvest.
"It's really cool to learn taiko because you can learn music you've never known before," fourth-grader Teceanna Duran said. "Sometimes it might be hard, especially when you have a broken finger."
Teceanna, 9, broke her left ring finger two Sundays ago while playing basketball, but made do during the lesson.
While the students pound their loaned taiko drums with sticks, they also learn about Japanese culture and how to utter phrases and words.
The students refer to their two wooden sticks as bachi, which is a Japanese word.
"It is fun when you learn new phrases in Japanese," said fourth-grader Sadie Tineo, who is 9. "It is really fun when you do the music because you've never done it before."
At the start of their 50-minute session, students greet their instructors by saying "ohayo gozaimasu" or "good morning." They end by saying "arigato gozaimashita" or "thank you."
"This is a really good opportunity for the kids to learn a little bit about Japanese culture and taiko drumming in particular," Dennis said.
The taiko sessions are aligned with the district's curriculum requirements for fine arts, dance and physical education.
For example, fine arts curriculum states that students must know and apply the arts disciplines, techniques and processes to communicate an original or interpretive work.
The weekly visits also meet the state standards for art, as the eight classes participating learn and perform traditional taiko songs, and learn about the development of taiko in the U.S.
The state standards require students in grades K-12 to understand music in relation to history and culture.
But most importantly, students are receiving a well-rounded education when they are exposed to different forms of music, Hamner said. "I think all art education is critical to a full education," she said.
And students are eager to learn all about taiko drumming.
"I think it's cool because of the art teachers," fourth-grader Aidan Powers, 10, said. "And I get to play taiko. I've never experienced this kind of music before."
Added fourth-grader Vincent Trujillo, who turns 10 today: "It's really fun to learn new things. I really like this."
