Storytelling Workshop - Stories about the shoes of others

Marina Katsari returns to Fengaros Music Village for the third consecutive year with another experiential and participatory storytelling workshop. This year, the participants will be asked to wear the shoes of their imaginary heroes and borrow their senses so as to experience - as storytellers - their stories with their own body. Participants will examine the frame and the boundaries of the relationship between the storyteller and his story and they will explore empathy as a factor of successful storytelling. This year's workshop is designed so as to equally include experienced participants as well as those who are just beginning their journey.

Odd time signatures: Greek and Balkan rhythms for the drumset

Odd meters are one of the most misunderstood and glamorised topics in drumming and music in general. The instructor will introduce simple ways of familiarisation with odd meters, both in theory and in practice. Starting from the basics, he will present concepts, ways of counting and techniques that can be comprehended, practiced and applied even by beginner drummers. Moreover, the participants will have the chance to get to know and understand rhythms from Greece and the Balkan region (where the odd meters are used to a great extend). The workshop’s ultimate goal is not the actual reproduction of these rhythms / dances in their traditional form, but rather their application on the drumset and the creation of a phraseology and a language that can be applied to the style / idiom that each participant is involved with.

The musician’s mindset

What are the obstacles preventing us from achieving what we dream of with music? Can we envision how far we can reach or is there something stopping us? How do we value ourselves? Lefteris Moumtzis invites professional and amateur musicians of all ages and music idioms for a five-day workshop, the main purpose of which is to analyse and “uncover” the reasons that collectively and individually keep us from materialising our creative desires. As a starting point, we will share our experiences, our concerns and our dreams with the team and we will attempt to discover ways both individually and collectively, which will help us “loosen up”, and be more creative, more enthusiastic and open to challenges and influences. The workshop will include listening to the participants’ work, analysing the material used for the promotion of their work, as well as playing and analysing performance and composition. Additionally, we will look at ways in which we could release or spread our music, and also search for creative ways of using material we already have. The goal is for each participant to leave the workshop a bit more aware and more confident, armed with new and meaningful ideas about what he/she ultimately wants to accomplish. 

Artist residency

Dave De Rose will be attending Fengaros Music Village for the second time as Resident Artist, spending some time in all the workshops, as well as having a key role in running each night’s jam sessions. During the days of the Music Village, he will be selecting a few students from each workshop to create an ensemble, which will present and record its work when the Music Village ends. This group will rehearse outside of workshop hours and the music will be catered to the students’ abilities making use of diverse music material, so as to present a final production that showcases the many aspects of their learning at the village. The ensemble will be collaborating on every aspect of the final performance, including scheduling rehearsals and managing all aspects of their preparation, from stage presentation to sound, as well as musical direction and arrangements. The group will be encouraged to create an original performance which showcases their personalities and creativity.

Creative writing workshop “Place - Lyric - Sound”

What is a song? What is its background? What are its main elements? Which lyrics can be “sung” and which cannot? A “Cypriot” song or a song “with Cyprus as a reference point”? What is the relationship between the songwriter and his/hers audience? The workshop will study songwriting, exploring the process of a song’s creation, the relationship between music and lyrics, and the song’s strengths, using elements from Cypriot traditional music, as well as contemporary songwriting. The concept of “place” will be the starting point, having Cyprus as the main reference. The workshop will enable the participants to develop and strengthen their artistic judgement both as listeners and as composers, with the ultimate goal of improving their own musical creativity.

The workshop is addressed to musicians, performers, composers, songwriters, poets and to anyone who is interested in the art of songwriting in the modern Greek and Cypriot dialect. Musicians are welcome to participate with any kind of instrument. Advanced musical knowledge is not a requirement. The workshop will be conducted in the Greek language.

Jazz Music Workshop

The workshop will provide students with the opportunity to study jazz music and its theory through the eyes of the virtuoso performer, Charis Ioannou. The students will discuss and perform scale-based exercises (major, minor 6 diminished, dominant, etc) and arpeggios (minor, major, diminished, augmented), and at the same time examine the harmonic relation of all of the above within musical compositions. The workshop will include examples of melodic lines, based on the scales and arpeggios practiced, with reference to the importance and use of rhythm.

Music for the moving image

The music which accompanies a film, an advertisement, οr a video game, plays a significant role in getting the emotion through to its viewers. Every scene/image needs to be accompanied by a particular piece of music, sound, or the lack thereof. The workshop will focus on the process of making a soundtrack in its entirety, that is from the moment the script is written until the work’s final release to the mainstream. How does the composer work with a director, how is the idea conceived and composed, how is it then produced, mixed and synchronised, and how is the music combined with the sound effects? The workshop will present and explain different techniques for the composition of a soundtrack through the analysis of chosen films and advertisements. The participants will also have the opportunity to apply all of the above by composing music for a short - film as a group, which will be their final presentation.

The Happy Hour Choir Vol.2 - A workshop for the human voice

Each voice is unique. Our goal is to make good use of the particularities of our voice and experiment with it in a creative manner. The workshop explores the possibilities and limits of the human voice, treating the voice as a musical instrument. Commencing from simple vocal groups, we will create a vocal orchestra, named “Τhe Happy Hour Choir” which will be transformed into a vehicle, ready to embark on a journey in the world of music. An instrumental composition from Manos Hadjidakis, a song from Lilipoupoli, a melody from the Arabic world orchestras, a polyphonic tune from Bulgaria, a rhythmic form from India, a traditional song from Dodekanisa; all these different elements will form a source of inspiration for the next music station of our journey. At the same time, the workshop functions as an experiment, touching upon the means with which we participate in a group and the way we contribute to the end result through our advantages and our weaknesses, discovering the power of our voice within our coexistence with other voices.

xssummer workshop IV

The workshop is based on the design and implementation of an architectural installation in the village of Kato Drys. The main goal of the workshop is to investigate how an architectural intervention can encourage public activity through the accidental meeting in the space, and at the same time, how  an architectural installation based in an existing environment can accommodate periodic uses and activities. During the workshop, participants will go through all the stages of the designing process, eventually constructing the final proposal(s) at 1:1 scale on the proposed site. Workshop Tutors and Curators are: Eleonora Antoniadou, Delis Papadopoulos, Teresa Tourva, Dimitris Thomopoulos, Dimitris Economidis, Eleni Flouri and Andreas Tsiaklis.

Makam and folk scales: communication codes of pre-war Rebetiko 

In the wider musical realm of Greek folk and traditional music, terms like ‘makam’ and ‘dromos’ (folk scales) are used as communication vehicles, with the ultimate goal to develop the performing skill, as well as the skill of improvisation - the ‘taximi’. Ιn this workshop, the students will become acquainted with their general presentation, their relationship and their connection to the musical act of the urban folk song, known as pre-war Rebetiko.

Modern Guitar Vol.3

The workshop’s goal is for the students to gain more ease and technical ability on the instrument by exploring the world of improvisation, and at the same time to expand their knowledge regarding the guitar’s role in an ensemble. During the lessons the students will work on technique, aesthetics, and building a musical vocabulary in all aspects (melody, harmony and rhythm), which will eventually allow them to express themselves with greater freedom. This process will aid the development of ideas that will potentially become original compositions or re-arrangements. Stylistically, the workshop will cover a variety of musical styles.