Layth Sidiq

This workshop introduces violinists to the expressive world of Arabic maqām, focusing on microtones, characteristic phrases, and the emotional storytelling central to the tradition. Through demonstration and guided improvisation, participants learn how modal families like Hijaz, Bayat, Nahawand, and Rast shape melodic contour and ornamentation, while exploring techniques that help Western-trained players internalize the sound without relying on notation. By the end, players will be able to create phrases and modulations using basic maqām language.

This session explores how Arabic rhythmic cycles, or īqā‘āt, influence bowing, articulation, and ensemble performance on the violin. Participants are introduced to rhythms such as Maqsūm, Samā‘ī Thaqīl, Jurjina, and Dawr Hindī, using them to shape bow direction, articulation accents, and ornament timing in ways that mirror percussion phrasing. With call-and-response playing and rhythmic layering—either with a live percussionist or looped patterns—violinists experience how groove drives the music, ultimately learning to anchor melody through rhythm rather than meter alone.

Focused on contemporary fusion, this workshop shows how Arabic maqām concepts can be woven into jazz, improvisation, and other global genres. Participants explore how modal language interacts with Western harmony, experiment with modulating maqām over chord progressions, and learn creative phrasing techniques inspired by Iraqi, Levantine, and Andalusian musical traditions. Through collaborative exercises, the group develops a short piece together, discovering ways to incorporate microtonal color, rhythmic nuance, and improvisation into modern composition. The result is an empowering toolkit for musicians seeking to create original music rooted in Arabic tradition yet open to global influence.