Hey everyone! If you play it….bring it! Time to go get your band or orchestra instruments out of the attic or storage and BRING THEM TO PENNSIC! Yes…Lady Melissa of Orluk Oasis aka the crazy Clarinet Goddess ( I have been promoted from chick) is encouraging even more people to participate in the fun Middle Eastern music scene at Pennsic.

Keep in mind this is the only time many of us see each other, so let’s be welcoming to everyone’s instrument regardless of period correctness. Many of us leave Pennsic and return to areas where there is no Middle Eastern music scene. For the majority of musicians, this is their only chance to jam together.

I have a new website for my sheet music. www.BellydanceSheetmusic.com I still have 11 discontinued Concert C pitch music books that contain 24 songs available for purchase at the bargain basement price of $35 shipping included. This is for the discontinued BOUND BOOK ONLY. (Not the pdf files.) Please visit my website www.BellydanceSheetmusic.com to purchase the discontinued book and my PDFs of new songs printable on your computer!

I am teaching at Sheque’s Touch the Earth Tent in the Marketplace on Aug 1, 2, 3, 5.

Saturday August 1st 1-3PM – New Hafla Songs for Middle Eastern Ensemble! All instrumentalists (non-period included) and all percussionists welcome! The new songs will be Chaje Shukarije, Muhabbet, Ushti Babo, Mavi Mavi, Shish Kebab, and Konyali. I will teach the vocals to Ushti Babo and Chaje Shukarije if I have interested singers. Free lyric sheets will be rippable from www.BellydanceSheetmusic.com soon. Sheet music is purchasable in advance at www.Bellydancesheetmusic.com or will be purchasable at Pennsic.

Sunday August 2nd 1-3PM – Art of Taksim with Basic Makam Theory. All instrumentalists are welcome (non-period included). Many of us have no experience with improvisation! Let’s get some! Remember that I was a band dork for years and years and was not allowed in Jazz Band because I played clarinet. If I can taksim, SO CAN YOU! Taksim isn’t the mystery that it appears to be. There are some easy to follow thought processes that will help musicians become better improvisationalists. I will cover the important notes in a makam, the difference between a taksim in a fast tempo song, a slow tempo song and a taksim that is a solo introduction to a song. I will also give tips for being a band leader in the amateur Middle Eastern music scene versus how the “real guys” do it. If there is time we can cover modulation within a taksim (changing the key). Stylistic feedback will be given. Patient drummers are needed to accompany this class. ***This class is a musician pre-requisite for Art of Taksim for Middle Eastern Dancers and Musicians on Sunday August 2nd at Middle Eastern Tent that I am co-teaching with Zarifa of Watan.****

Monday August 3rd 1-3PM – Aziza and Tough tunes for Middle Eastern Ensemble. All instrumentalists and percussionists welcome. We will cover Aziza, Hicaz Oyun Havasi, Nihavent Saz Semai Variation, and Shehnaz Longa (available for purchase at www.BellydanceSheetmusic.com) Most of these are difficult songs for melody musicians, so sight reading sheet music will be a definite advantage. Get your sheet music in advance online. Percussionists are encouraged to learn along with us! Nihavent Saz Semai Variation is a song that uses the Semai rhythm and changes to a Laz 7/8. Aziza is rhythmically complicated for percussion, but many drummers are already familiar with the piece. Hicaz Oyun Havasi and Shehnaz Longa are classic fun fast Turkish folk songs that use maqsum, malfuf and baladi rhythms. Not necessarily in that order. :-)

Wednesday August 5th 1-3 PM - Galloping Is For Horses, Get the Zill Skillz to be a Musician. Yes there is more to zilling than LRLRLRLRLR. Allow me to give you some helpful hints on what to play on your zills with the song, so it doesn’t sound like a fire alarm going off! I will not teach any dance moves, only zill patterns that work with songs. I will cover Fire Dance, Hadouni, Garoon and Uskudara. However, the skillz you get in this class can be applied to any song you dance to! Melody musicians and percussionists – please help me out by playing music in the class, thanks! I don’t want to use a CD player….

Heloise and Alexandre of Akeru Thunder are co-teaching Middle Eastern Ensemble for all instruments and percussion at Sheque’s Touch the Earth Tent, covering songs that I have taught in the past. This class is for folks who missed some of my sessions in past years and want to work on songs I am not covering in my classes this year. Heloise and Alexandre will be using my sheet music (available at www.BellydanceSheetmusic.com) and will have extra copies available to purchase or to borrow. They are well established SCA musicians, have taken many workshops with me, attended multiple Jalsahs and are “Certified By Ishtar”. I thank Heloise and Alexandre for helping me out this year!
11a-12:30p on August 1st
11a-12:30p on August 5th
1:30a-3p on August 6th


Sunday August 2nd 3-5PM at the Middle Eastern Dance Tent, I am co teaching with Zarifa of Watan The Art of Taksim for Middle Eastern Dancers and Musicians. This is everyone’s chance to work together. What happens when two people are improvising at the SAME TIME? Zarifa and I will talk about what we think about, listen for and watch for when putting a Live Dancer together with a Live Musician! I know few Pennsic participants have an opportunity to put their dance skills together with live music and for live musicians to work with improvising dancers. This is our chance to work together. Stylistic feedback will be offered.

Zarifa will also be teaching a Turkish Dance class at the Middle Eastern Dance Tent on Monday August 3rd from 1-2:30PM.

If you have any questions about ***anything***, please email me at MELISSA@ISHTAR-MUSIC.COM


See you at Pennsic and BRING YOUR INSTRUMENT!

www.ishtar-music.com