Introduction to Balkan Music

Hi friends! I'm so happy to be back with a solo livestream on tonebase - and with a topic that's so close to my heart! Because here's the thing: I am actually from the Balkans! And although I am a classical guitarist by education, I am dying to share some of the "music of my people" with you.


For an embarrassingly long time in my music journey , I believed there was precious little guitar music inspired by Balkan traditions. But I could not have been more wrong!

 

From Domeiconi's Koyunbaba to Tadic's masterful arrangements of traditional songs and dances, and with a reverent mention of the grandfather of southeastern European ethnomusicology, Bela Bartok - there is an entire world of Balkan-like music for our instrument, and we will be going through it all in this stream!


 

Find the start time in your time zone by clicking the event link below:

https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/live/player/intro-to-balkan-music

 

In this livestream, tonebase instructor Mircea Gogoncea will be diving into musical, technical, historical, and contextual aspects of Balkan music: where the Mediterranean world, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe collide.

 

In the first part of this livestream, we will familiarize ourselves with general aspects of Balkan music, including a short overview of its history, influences, and the unique factors that define it.

 

In the second part, he will provide some practical advice on performing Balkan and Balkan-inspired classical music on the guitar, including tips on performing odd time signatures, ornamentation, conventions, and specific repertoire suggestions


 

If you are only getting started on your Balkan guitar journey, here are some repertoire suggestions at different levels of difficulty:

Dusan Bogdanovic:

  • Six Balkan Miniatures

Miroslav Tadic:

  • Walk Dance
  • Rustemul
  • Macedonian Girl
  • etc.

Atanas Ourkouzounov:

  • 3 Balkanesques
  • Eastern Songs
  • Toccatchenitsa

Carlo Domeniconi:

  • Variations on an Anatolian Folk Songs
  • Koyunbaba

Redi Marku:

  • Albanian Dance
  • In your garden
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