The roots of traditional music of the countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean lie in musical modes (makams). These modes colour the melodies and shape the emotions carried by the sounds resonating inside but also across the borders of Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and beyond. They are continuously mutating traditions, adapting to new influences and contexts, voices and instruments as they travel. In this course we will study how we can use modes to create music today, and use guided improvisation and composition to write new musical pieces together.
Bring your creative spirit, along with any instrument and/or come ready to sing (or at least hum quietly). You will get most from the course if you have some basic knowledge of reading and writing musical notation.
