At that time Shigetsugu was famous as a drum player and made many improvements in the techniques of drum playing including devising the stand (Sakichi dai) to put the drum; before the devising of the stand, the drum was held by hands of his disciples.
重次は当時名手として有名で、それまで弟子に持たせて打っていた太鼓を置くための台（左吉台と呼ばれる）を考案するなど、太鼓技法に多くの改良を加えた。