Samba Workshops

Samba workshops are not only great fun but full of learning opportunities! So ....

What will you get out of it?

What will you be doing?

How long does a workshop last?

What will you get out of it?

Playing samba creates a lot of fun and enjoyment. To spend a few hours learning to play unfamiliar rhythms on instruments you may never even have seen before, and then to produce a creditable performance is enormously rewarding.

People find they can usually produce an acceptable sound on an instrument relatively quickly, without having to put in hours of practice. This makes workshops accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

These are some of the things you may experience:

	playing alongside other beginners helps to dispel nervousness
	confidence and fulfillment from playing together as a group
	a sense of pride in the overall musical sound that is produced
	encouragement and enhancement of teamwork

Samba workshops are a very positive activity for a wide variety of groups, including schools, businesses and community groups of all kinds. They are a way of developing personal skills, away from the pressures of normal everyday activities.

On an individual level, you can:

	improve your co-ordination
	gain a better sense of rhythm
	develop your listening skills - you will find that you can gradually learn to listen to other patterns whilst sustaining your own part

Although this sounds like hard work, samba can be very relaxing, because in concentrating on listening and playing, there is no room left for all other thoughts and stresses which normally fill your head.

Playing samba is about working together as a team, rather than individual performance, readily demonstrating the notion of 'the whole being greater than the sum of its parts

'What will you be doing?

People learn samba by listening, so you do not need to have any previous experience of playing an instrument or the ability to read music. Workshops include:

	an explanation of the basics
	learning patterns for each instrument
	playing both in sections and together as a whole group
	learning visual and whistle cues for starting and stopping
	learning 'breaks' - the introduction of a different pattern, or a section playing on its own
	learning two or three different rhythms

You can view a short DivX video clip from a BBC programme featuring an item about samba which explains its origins and rhythms as well as containing an example of one of our school samba workshops.

You will need to have the DivX plug-in to view the video clips. See Note below

How long does a workshop last?

Workshops can be:

• a few hours

• a weekend

• one or two days

• a course of shorter sessions

The more time there is available, the more you will be able to achieve, by becoming more comfortable and proficient in playing, learning a wider variety of rhythms and acquiring performance skills

Note: If you don't have the DivX Plug-In for your browser you will automatically be asked to install it by Internet Explorer. Otherwise, you can download and install the DivX web plug-in/player first here - Windows 2000/XP only )

Contact us for more information

"Music making for everyone ..."

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