Sunday 31st May
Walter Strauss Guitar Workshop
£18/£20
12.30-2pm
Music of the World: West African Stringed Music on Guitar
Come explore some of the entrancing stringed music of West Africa and its application to the guitar. While western music has evolved its great depth in realms like harmony and counterpoint, the music of West Africa has an entirely different sophistication woven into the polyrhythmic and multi-layered music of its stringed instruments.
American guitarist Walter Strauss has collaborated with traditional players of the kora – the 21-stringed gourd harp of the West African “djeli” or griot, and the kamal’ngoni – a popular and more recent outgrowth of the traditional hunters harp or donso ngoni. Typically, a practitioner of these instruments plays several layers simultaneously – interweaving syncopated bass patterns, a melodic accompaniment, and improvisations on top of these. Walter explores this music on guitar, employing creative techniques to produce the layered fabric and timbres of these many-stringed and distinctly African instruments.
In this one and a half hour workshop, Walter will share his approach to playing West African music – covering creative cross-picking techniques, ways to interweave multiple distinct rhythmic motifs, achieve diverse timbres, and apply these skills to other genres of music.
Come discover some of what makes this music exotic and irresistible to the western ear, and take home some creative skills to apply to your craft!
“I am very impressed with the way Walter plays the kora’s sound with his guitar. It’s inspirational.” – famed Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté
Bookings are not currently available for this event.