In addition to providing musical presentations, the
musical members of Facing East are also devoted educators,
offering special seminars upon arrangement.
Fundamentals of Indian Music,
Basics of the Raga (melody) / tala (rhythm) System
– with John Wubbenhorst
• Ragas are not merely a scale
or key but fundamentally an abstract "color"
of consciousness in a similar way that "blues"
is ultimately a feeling and not merely a scale.
• Raga development in the
dhrupad form, from slow alap/jor/jhala sections
to melodies involving rhythmic structures.
• Specific ascending and descending
patterns for each raga and key phrases to used.
• Technical details for the
artist to develop the "rasa" or principle
mood of the raga.
• Several ragas are demonstrated
with the audience singing in the traditional Indian
call and response training method.
• Rhythmic patterns are demonstrated
in the traditional vocal percussion forms.
• Different rhythmic cycles
are demonstrated such as 7,9,11 and odd meters like
8 1/2 and 5 1/4. Clapping exercises are used to
demonstrate these points and a brief performance
of melody and rhythm ends the workshop.
Indian Melodies for the Western
Musician – with John Wubbenhorst
• This workshop focuses on
melody and how Indian melodic concepts can be explored
on western instruments.
• Parallels are made with
western modal forms of music (eg. Gregorian chant,
the Impressionists, modal jazz forms etc..)
• John demonstrates how he
has developed pieces of music that take western
melodies from composers such as Bach and integrate
them with raga forms.
• The emphasis is on helping
western musicians integrate Indian music concepts
directly to their own instrument and their own music
styles.
• The workshop utilizes raga
based melodies written out in western notation so
that any western instrumentalist can participate.
Sacred Sound – with
John Wubbenhorst
The workshop will include training
in ragas, done in the traditional form of the teacher
singing and the class repeating. The mystical and
esoteric effects of these ragas will be discussed.
There will also be discussion and participation with
sacred rhythms and chants from India. Also covered:
• The importance of the guru/devotee
relationship in traditional Indian music.
• How the ego-serving tendency
of both the modern West and “modernized”
East tends toward secularization and is transcended
in Sacred Music.
• Testimony from some of the
most distinguished modern Indian musicians, as well
as video excerpts of great spiritual masters and musicians.
• Western examples of Sacred
Music including J.S. Bach, Hildegard von Bingen and
others
Everyone Can Drum –
with Ken Anoff
• An informative and fun workshop
for drummers and would be drummers to learn and
play together under expert guidance.
• Basic technique will be
demonstrated and the concepts of rhythm and phrasing
demystified through simple and clear explanations,
allowing even novice drummers to enter into the
groove and enjoy the magic of group drumming, one
of humanity’s most ancient cultural heritages.
• This workshop can be presented
in a 2 hour or 3 hour format and can be modified
for children as well.
Frame Drum Workshop –
with Ganesh Kumar
• For those who already play
a drum or for those wishing to start
• Various classical Indian
patterns are examined
• Attendees may bring and
use the drum of their choice or use a kanjira provided
for the class.
• The workshop will explore
development of a groove, vocal percussion compositions,
accompaniment skills, solo playing and accompanying
for kirtans and groups songs
• We will play odd time signatures
including 6 ½, 7 ¼, and 9 ¾
• You'll leave the workshop
with a deeper understanding of Indian music and
with practical exercises to practice to improve
your enjoyment of drumming.
The Art of Phrasing –
with Ken Anoff
• An advanced workshop for
experienced musicians exploring beautifully sophisticated
phrasing techniques based on Indian and African
drumming traditions.
• Through explanations, demonstrations
and participation, students will develop an understanding
of rhythmic relativity and the power it affords
the musician to recombine his or her existing techniques
in new and creative ways.
• Some concepts considered
are; rhythmic super-imposition, phrasal sliding,
additive and reductive techniques, tehi and korvei,
beat shifting, odd times, odd subdivisions, polyrhythm
and multi-level phrasing.
• The techniques presented
are extremely useful for all percussion and effective
when applied to melodic composition/improvisation
as well.
• The workshop can be tailored
to suit the level of the participants, from intermediate
to professional.
Bassing East – with
Steve Zerlin
An exploration of bass techniques and conceptual approaches
to a variety of world musics.
• Explorations of East Indian
music applied to the bass.
• Other world musics such
as Brazilain, African, standard jazz, contemporary
jazz are discussed and demonstrated.
• Excersies and approaches
to developing and adapting world music elements
for the jazz bassist.
After “In addition to providing
musical presentations, the musical members of Facing
East are also devoted educators, offering special
seminars upon arrangement.” And before “Here
is a glance at a few of our most popular workshops:
Drumming, The Sweeter Science
(copyright, Steve Bloom, 2003) – with Steve
Bloom
Steve Bloom has crafted a variety
of rhythm seminars and drumming workshops in the belief
that music is one of the most powerful tools for peace
and cross-cultural understanding, and for personal
evolution. Whether you are destined for the concert
stage or the drum circle, or have some talent but
don’t know if drumming is for you, come prepared
to discover the next level of your ability in either
“Touching Time,” or “Drumming, The
Sweeter Science.”
Bloom has patterned the “Sweeter
Science” workshops after the training regimen
of boxing, which some call the “Sweet Science.”
With Bloom in the role of Coach or Trainer, participants
are schooled in fundamental touch concepts and stroke
techniques to gain greater clarity in their sound(s)
and more authority in their musical choices. Involving
the body/mind, the hands, and the heart, this workshop
is for drummers at ALL levels.
Through typical “woodshedding”
tasks such as exercises in hand independence, or polishing
syncopated passages, we call upon and sharpens powers
of concentration and mental discipline. We also foster
capacities for objective assessment of personal performance
in the Moment, and inner calm that manifests as outer
relaxation.The “woodshed” phase is especially
important when the drummer is developing his/ her
relationship with the instrument itself, a personal,
artistic palette of sounds, rhythms and effects. The
drummer is becoming intimate with rhythms as energy
streams, articulated at different tonal ranges, dynamic
intensities, tempos, etc. By focusing on the three
physical feedback loops (tactile, aural, and visual)
inherent in the drumming process, this element of
intimacy can be maximized. In large part, it is this
very intimacy that most eloquently informs the ultimate
performance.
Touching Time (copyright,
Steve Bloom, 2001) – with Steve
Bloom
This series of four to seven two-hour
classes, suitable for accomplished players and recommended
for beginners, is designed to evoke the body’s
own natural musicality. The warm-up phase of each
class takes the group through synchronous mild breathing,
stretching and stepping patterns driven by varying
types of polyrhythmic music, its order progressively
programmed to highlight essential elements of syncopation,
and contrasts between meters, etc. The group then
mimics the recorded voices and instruments vocally
and gesturally, and discovers and shares subtle, specific
movements and shifts of body weight that best express
the music’s guiding rhythms and counter rhythms.
Next, we’ll spotlight things like the play of
timbre, time, meter, tempo, pitch and attack in the
hand drummers' styles. Sessions can end with participation
drum jams, dancing, jumping, and shouting. Dress light,
ready to sweat! Bring percussion instruments if you
have them.
Explore Ancient Indian Drupad
– with Marainne
Svasek
Dhrupad is the most ancient surviving style of North
Indian Classical music. The term Dhrupad, means “the
literal rendering of verse into music”. It is
said to be the most direct development of vedic chanting.
Many great Indian masters if today, reguard their
exposure to Dhrupad as critical in their musical development.
Raga development will be taught in
the dhrupad form, from slow alap/jor/jhala sections
to melodies involving rhythmic structures.
Explore and experience Indian musical scales and subtle
vocal modulations of this ancient Indian music.
“Facing East was a huge hit! I had numerous
students go out of their way afterwards to tell me
how educational and enjoyable they were. The afternoon
workshop was well received and highly informative.
Their presentation was a perfect mix of demonstration
and explanation that did not go over the student’s
heads but definitely taught them something. The evening
concert was sold out and I have never seen so many
students attend an outside concert. The performance
was outstanding and inspiring. John Wubbenhorst and
South Indian Percussion Masters Subash Chandran and
Ganesh Kumar absolutely blew my students away! We
are all anxious to have them back.”
- Dr. Tomm Roland, Coordinator of
Percussion Studies/Multicultural Music,
University of Nebraska, Omaha
"The musicians of Facing East offer students
and faculty an extraordinary look into the foundations
of Indian music and its synthesis into Western contemporary
compositions, arrangements and settings. Not only
do these musicians play at the highest musical levels
possible, but they all have the capacity to clearly
explain in Western musical terminology how and what
they play. Their workshops and concerts will give
any motivated student a launching point for exploring
Indian music and the possibility to incorporate new
improvising ideas into their own playing. An amazing
and inspiring group."
- Dr. Michael Gould, University of
Michigan, School of Music-Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation
