Learn to sing Afro-Latin American songs with the claves!

Learn to sing Afro-Latin American songs with the claves!

The Clave is both a rhythm and a musical instrument that represent the heartbeat of Afro-Latin American music. It is an easily recognisable rhythm around the world, usually associated with the colour and excitement of music of Latin America and many parts of Africa.

In this workshop participants of all levels will sing with the clave, play the claves and learn in a fun way the cultural and historical background of Afro-Latin American music. Participants will first learn how to feel in their bodies and clap this fundamental rhythm, then use it to sing one / two traditional Afro-Latin songs especially arranged for the workshop. Experienced participants may also have the opportunity to learn rhythmic patterns on the conga drums and shakers, which will be used to accompany the songs and help participants feel the rhythms.

Open to all levels and abilities, ages 16+.

The workshop will be led by Juan Manuel Loaiza (https://www.instagram.com/juanma.musico/).

---

A bit about Juan…

Juan is a musician and music teacher from Colombia living in Newcastle upon Tyne since 2011. Juan’s experience spans more than 25 years in professional music performance, band and choir direction, music composition and workshop facilitation. Juan’s focus is Latin American music, specialising in afro-diasporic drumming traditions from Colombia, Brazil and the Caribbean.

As a community musician and workshop leader Juan’s work seeks to inspire passion for music and help others leverage their participation in musical ensembles to gain social skills and personal wellbeing. Juan offers drumming and singing workshops to the public, refugees and other underrepresented groups.

Juan is a member of Hannabiell and Midnight Blue Collective, an afro-fusion band, performing at TEDx, London Jazz Festival, Isle of Wight festival, Northern Pride and other national events. Director of the Multilingual Choir based at the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University; director of two community latin bands; and member of various drumming groups in the UK. Juan is also a researcher with a PhD from Queen’s Belfast University.

---

Please note we are unable to offer refunds. You can click here (https://cobaltstudios.co.uk/about-us/faqs/) to view our full refunds policy.

Description supplied by the event organiser.