Here is a great example of why I love
staying in hostels:
I met this lovely woman here (Janet)
who is an artist fresh from an artists residency in Capadoccia
(images.google it – it's spectacular). She said that she knew of a
drum recital going on in Taskim – which is where all the Turkish
people go to party/shop.
Though I'm not really that into drums,
I like music and I haven't been going out that much since I've been
here, so I decided to go.
To find this place, we had to go into
this unremarkable building and up three flights of half-lit stairs. I
was just starting to think this is how human trafficking happens when
we start to hear drums.
Turns out the 'school' is just a studio
space in an apartment building where this woman holds week long
intensive courses on the darbuka, the traditional Turkish drum. The
recital was supposed to be a celebration of the end of the course and
a chance for all the students to play together.
I felt very honored to be there,
because me and Janet were the only ones who were not in the course in
attendance.
It seemed like a
chill session more than a concert and the students had clearly not
counted one anyone showing up to be entertained. The teacher had to
play about an hour before the students would touch a drum but
eventually we were being serenaded (can you serenade someone with a
drum?) with the most intricate drum beats.
The teacher than
took out what she described as a 'spike fiddle' and started playing.
Now, this thing looks like a black widow spider, but sounds like an
orchestra. The music sounded like it was coming from the depths of
someone's soul. It had a large amount of sympathetic strings, like a
citar, but unlike a citar, you play this with a bow, so it resonates
deeply. I can't describe it any better than that. I just hope the
sounds comes through on the video better.
I could have sat
there all night and listened to her play that thing.
One of the girls in
the class was really into Balkan folk music and started singing
along. It was unreal this mix of cultures that worked together so
well.
I ended up having a
lot of fun, met some really nice people, did some yoga, and learned a
lot about Turkish and Balkan folk music.
What more can you
ask out of a school music recital?
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