1. How to Hold Bachi

We recommend you to ask your teachers or taiko friends first. But if there are no taiko teachers or friends around you, try the following five ways. 

WAY1: THUMB & INDEX FINGER:

Hold with the thumb and the index finger firmly and wrap the remaining fingers around the bachi lightly. 

WAY2: THUMB, MIDDLE FINGER & RING FINGER:

Hold with the thumb, the middle finger and the ring finger firmly and wrap the remaining fingers around the bachi lightly. 

WAY3: PINKIE FINGER & RING FINGER:

Hold with the pinkie finger and the ring finger towards the palm firmly and wrap the remaining fingers around the bachi lightly. 

WAY4: TIPS OF THUMB & INDEX FINGER:

Hold with the tips of the thumb and the index finger and adjust the slight movement of bachi with the remaining fingers. (For thin bachi like shime daiko bachi and bamboo bachi) 

WAY5: ALL FINGERS

Hold with all fingers firmly in order not to drop bachi. (For thick bachi like odaiko bachi)

2. Tips for Better Playing

TIPS1: RELAX

Basically, the player should not hold bachi strongly too much. To hold it too strongly, the player's wrist (and body, too) will be stiff and he / she won't be able to follow the quick tempo or complicated rhythm. Take a relaxed position and the performances will be better. However, the player should hold bachi firmly when you play odaiko. 

(Stand in front of the taiko with relaxed position. )

(Body, wrist, arm, shoulder, and knee are stiff. )

(Lean forwards too much. )

(Straighten player's back with flexible body. )

(Lean backwards too much. )

TIPS2: PLACE TO STRIKE

Where on the taiko should you strike? Basically, the center of the taiko head is the best part to strike. Striking the center of the taiko makes a bigger sound. On the other hand, striking far apart from the center, makes a smaller sound (though it may be a slight difference). Taiko player uses this method. If he / she want to make the sound gradually louder, first they strike far apart from the center, then gradually move nearer the center, and finally striking at the center of the taiko. 

TIP3: WRIST SNAP

To make a good sound, only the end of bachi should hit the taiko. As noted above, body and wrist should be flexible to play the taiko. So, the wrist snap is important. 

(Hit the center of the head. End of bachi hits taiko. )

(Other part except for the end shouldn't hit taiko.)

(Use wrist snap. )

(Stiff wrist is not good for playing taiko. )

Find the best bachi for you. See also this article.  Types and Material of Bachi

Let's see what kind of taiko are there. Types of Taiko

😚Thank you for reading this to the end. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments😉