Workshop with Christos Barbas: An introduction to Modal Music

"Modality is a basic feature of all oral and traditional music around the world, and although it is such a fundamental aspect of music, its importance is not always fully understood, as its essence eludes theoretical description and definition. This is because at the core of the ""modal"" phenomenon lie issues related to oral transmission, organology, as well as the understanding of the social and cultural contexts where every music breaths. Therefore, to become familiar with the phenomenon of modality and understand what it is about, it is truly useful to get to know the music itself and its instruments, and to learn to play or listen to it.

In this brief introduction, we will present the basic elements of modality and what distinguishes and connects it with tonal music, through examples from the repertoire of Ottoman classical music and traditional instrumental pieces and songs from Greece and Turkey. We will work with topics such as makam and melodic pathways, ornamentation, micro-intervals and the phenomenon of attraction, form and structure in compositions, and improvisation. The workshop is open to all musicians who wish to familiarize themselves with these basic notions of modal music."

"Improvising and composing are often seen as two distinct musical processes. Usually, improvisation is associated with orality, freedom, and spontaneity, while composition is associated with writing, structure, systematization and revision.

This workshop will give an introduction to the way various modal music systems work, through the study of a varied and broad repertoire of examples from Greece, Turkey and the Middle East focusing on classical forms, folk and ritual melodies and songs.
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