A beautiful day for a very special workshop. As you can see from the uploaded pics, the setting was rather intimate and Noa, Gil and Zohar shared some of their way of making and creating music.
Noa started out by getting a feeling of who was attending the workshop. Only a few people admitted that they were (aspiring) musicians. There were many young kids in the audience as well, who were all amazingly attentive and very interested when Zohar used his magicthousandfingers to explain the various techniques, but more of that later.
Last night (how can it be only last night), Noa did an amazing duet with George Benson after 2 am in the morning. Masquerade... as she explained it felt that after 14 years of making and creating music, this was some sort of a circle closing as she had started out to do a jazz gig with Gil, who was, until he decided to work with Noa, a well-known Jazz musician. Even though Noa didn't know how to sing jazz, she said "yes" to the concert and had to work hard on her interpretation. In the endthe performance was cancelled (a lucky twist of fate). The song she sang today was amazing. I could love jazz when Noa would perform. Gil's groovy playing jazz as well!
So with the song Masquerade which she sang last night with Benson, Gil and she worked on reintepreting it. By doing something with the song that comes before the refrain (the part where everybody remembers enough to sing along). So this is a different approach and what I've heard from Hannah, who was brave enough to sit it trough until 2:30 am last night, George Benson loved singing this song with Noa very much :-) From the first jazz song with Gil, 2 x 7 years later another jazzy song with Benson. Reinterpreted by Noa and Gil.
Noa & Gil then explained how they work together. How she hears the songs in her head, that sometimes it's nice to use an instrument while composing, but that it isn't a necessity, it's more that you've something "at your fingertips" to help you focus.
Many songs are created in the car while driving, or as she said: some people get their inspiration to sing under the shower, I get it in the car. And if the song is still there after a traffic jam, then it's something that can be developed further.
Noa often comes to Gil with the tune and the lyrics and then Gil starts to work from there and weave his magic, stir it, turn it, add somethings, taking something out, changing the key.... as they've done with many songs. At times Noa just hums what's in her head and Gil writes the lyrics.
Noa asked Zohar to explain what he does with "skins". So Zohar first asked the audience for questions... to which Noa interfered and told him, no, don't cop out, the questions come after you've explained what you do :-) So Zohar, who has this goldmine of amazing and interesting information stored inside him on the history of percussion, starts to explain about
"skins".... not nearly as macabre as Hannibal Lecter, but the reason it's called "skin" is trully from the hide of animals. It seems that in ancient times, an animal was slaughtered and the meat put in the earth because that was a cool place. The meat was contained in a wooden ring, to keep it from "running" away. The skin of the animal would be pulled over the meat and the ring, and when the people would fetch the meat out of the natural fridge, as Noa joked, the skin would have stuck to the ring and people soon discovered that it was great for making sounds. As it was always the women in charge of the preparation of food, they would be the first to collect the meat by removing the ring with the skin, and thus they started to play on it. The first percussionists thus were women!
Then Zohar proceeded to explain the various techniques, from Ireland to Iran, Irak, Turkey and India and how different techniques are used on different percussion drums. A really amazing and highly interesting demonstration from a person who has such a wealth of knowledge, but seems to think that we don't really want to hear it. Zohar, it is so very interesting, please don't stop sharing what you know!
After answering questions, Noa & Gil had to run to do a live radio interview and then immediately on to do the chat. After having been travelling very early on Sunday morning from Ulm to Montreux and then first having to do the show, after which time it ws "interviews" again and then staying awake until after 2 am to sing a duet with Benson, must take it's toll. Yet with the chat as well, Noa wanted to answer all your questions. However, not all of you were able to get their questions answered, as it was soon enough time to move on again. The transcript will be uploaded when the French translation has been properly made. Noa
was typing very fast and it was hard for the translators to keep up with the chat. Anyway, a pic showing Noa typing the answers to your questions has also been included in the same photos folder. |
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