In this seminar, we will deal with the way we hear, the way we perceive music. As any amateur or professional musician can attest, music is a challenge which may demand one hundred percent of our attention and presence so that we may cope with a demanding circumstance, be it a lesson, a concert or a simple musical intercourse.

Basic knowledge of makams by Yorgos Mavromanolakis

Many of the workshops at the Musical Workshop Labyrinth focus on musical traditions which make use of the modal system of makams. The makam system has many branches and sometimes quite significant differences occur from one tradition to another but the basic concept is usually similar enough to enable musicians of different traditions to communicate their ideas to one another. The most commonly used makam system in the seminars at Labyrinth is that found in the contemporary Turkish tradition.  Many students have expressed a desire that we include in our program a course in basic knowledge of makams which would run parallel to the other seminars in which they participate. 

Ross Daly explaining what this seminar is about:

"Zohar Fresco, apart from being one of the world's foremost percussionists is also an excellent and highly innovative educator. This combination is very rare so we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have him as not only one our regular teachers but also as one of the major contributors to the planning of Labyrinth's courses of study. Zohar has proposed many excellent and highly original ideas that we intend to implement in the coming years. The first amongst these ideas is for a percussion (frame-drum/bendir) seminar for musicians who are not percussionists. In other words, a seminar of techniques and rhythmology for violinists, lyra-players, oud-players, guitarists, ney-players etc. which is not only theoretical but which obliges them to actually play and function as percussionists for the duration of the seminar. In my opinion this is a very important experience for any musician of any genre. Through this experience one learns to understand rhythm (and music itself) in a completely new way which is of enormous significance to any aspiring or even accomplished musician and especially for those interested in composition. All that's needed are a frame drum (upper position bendir) and an open mind."

Ross Daly

As every year, more than 20 master musicians of various musical traditions of the world will come to Labyrinth Musical Workshop this summer, in Houdetsi village, on the island of Crete to teach.