# Music by Genre > Jazz/Blues Variants, Bossa, Choro, Klezmer >  Choro Workshop in New York City with Dudu Maia

## Jim Garber

We are pleased to announce the very first New York Choro Workshop to be held Saturday and Sunday, April 30 and May 1, 2011 in Manhattan. Dudu Maia (also on Youtube) will be teaching the workshop. Douglas Lora of the Brasil Guitar Duo will also be on hand to provide excellent accompaniment and support for Dudu.

It will take place on the upper west side of Manhattan and will run for both days from 1pm-5pm. We would prefer that participants come for both days as Dudu will teach progressively throughout the weekend. However we realize that some people may just not be able to make it for both days.

The cost of the workshop will be $100 for each single day and $180 for the full workshop (both days).

The focus will specifically be on bandolim (Brazilian mandolin) but other melody instruments are welcome as long as they understand that it is primarily a mandolin workshop. They will get a lot out of the phrasing concepts we will work on but might have to chill out a little when we work on some mandolin-specific techniques.

This is intended for people who are at minimum intermediate level on their instrument. Reading music is very helpful but not essential if you have a good ear and can pick up the tunes easily. We will send out sheet music to all participants so you will have the opportunity to work on the tunes prior to the workshop. You can also find many of these tunes either in videos on youtube or at download sites like iTunes or eMusic or Amazon.

We do have limited space for this workshop, so if you are interested, please send in your payment sooner rather than later. The ideal workshop size would be 12-20.

Please contact Jim Garber with "Choro Workshop" in the subject line for further information.

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## Jim Garber

Dudu just sent me a pdf with sheet music of possible tunes for the workshop to work on in advance of the workshop. I sent it out the to the current registrants. Contact me if interested.

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## Jim Garber

Just an update... we still have a few spots left for the workshop. Contact info below.

Also, Dudu will be performing the Thursday before the workshop, April 28th at Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

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## Jim Garber

I just found out that Dudu and Douglas are also performing at the Living Room on the Lower East Side (New York City) at 9pm on Sunday 4/24/11.

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## Jim Garber

Just a brief report from our first day... an intense but inspiring workshop with Dudu in New York. He is covering the essence of what makes choro music choro and the tools we need to crack the code: scales, technique, ornamentation, phrasing, dynamics, rhythmic variations... phew!! it was wonderful. And we had a nice group of bandolimists as well. I am looking fwd to another inspiring afternoon tomorrow.

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## Al Bergstein

Great to hear Jim!

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## earnest

Thanks to Jim Garber for organizing and Jim Kendrick for hosting this fabulous workshop. Dudu is very adept at demonstrating and explaining the elements of Choro. He kept us focused on the music for 8 hours, and we never played a single tune!

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## Randi Gormley

I second those thanks for the two Jims. Dudu made theory understandable and interesting; learning the rhythms was great and the basic scale work and chord forms suddenly made sense of the music I'd been hearing. A great experience all around, including meeting so many mandolin players from different genres stepping into the choro pool.

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## Jim Garber

> A great experience all around, including meeting so many mandolin players from different genres stepping into the choro pool.


Hopefully just wading and not drowning.  :Smile:

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## Randi Gormley

Jim -- Remind me to tell you about the dream I had Saturday night about the Sunday's session. Considering I was probably the only person there who doesn't play chords (which will soon change, let me tell you!), I'd say just about everybody who attended was at least on stepping stones!

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## Jim Garber

We are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual New York Choro Workshop to be held Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26, 2012 in Manhattan. Dudu Maia (youtube channel) will be teaching the workshop.

It will take place on the upper west side of Manhattan and will run for both days from 1pm-5pm. We would prefer that participants come for both days as Dudu will teach progressively throughout the weekend. However we realize that some people may just not be able to make it for both days.

The cost of the workshop will be $100 for each single day and $180 for the full workshop (both days).

The focus will specifically be on bandolim (Brazilian mandolin) but other melody instruments are welcome as long as they understand that it is primarily a mandolin workshop. They will get a lot out of the phrasing concepts we will work on but might have to chill out a little when we work on some mandolin-specific techniques.

This is intended for people who are at minimum intermediate level on their instrument. Reading music is very helpful but certainly not essential if you have a good ear and can pick up the tunes easily.

We do have limited space for this workshop, so if you are interested, please send in your payment sooner rather than later. The ideal workshop size would be 12-20.

Please email to Jim Garber for further information.

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## Jim Garber

For those interested in hearing Dudu play. So far he will be performing in two concerts:

Sunday (I think) evening, February 19 @ The Living Room on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan

Thursday evening, February 23 @ Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

I will post more info when I get it.

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## Jim Garber

I just heard from Dudu and he is very excited to be performing and teaching in New York again. This time he will be playing with the same trio of this Santa Morena video with Douglas Lora (Violao) and Alexandre Lora (Pandeiro).

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## Jim Garber

> For those interested in hearing Dudu play. So far he will be performing in two concerts:
> 
> Sunday (I think) evening, February 19 @ The Living Room on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
> 
> Thursday evening, February 23 @ Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
> 
> I will post more info when I get it.


I just heard from Dudu and the trio is playing at Cafee Vivaldi on Tuesday, February 21.

For those interested, there are still spaces available for the workshop the following weekend.

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## Jim Garber

I just found this nice duo performance of Dudu and Douglas playing Diabinho Maluco.

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## Jim Garber

For those on the fence for this workshop, here are some possible topics we will be working on in the workshop. This is what Dudu sent me this morning:

Here some of the topics we can work on during the workshop:

CHORO INTERPRETATIONS - Interpretation styles, how brazilian mandolinists play, and other
soloists, how to use it in your own interpretation. Evaluating mandolinists
interpretations, pratical tips based in Brazilian styles and beauty.

BASIC BRAZILIAN MUSIC REPERTOIRE - intermediate, advanced - We will chose the tunes
according to the mandolinist's levels. We can use the sheets you
have there.

CHORO IMPROVISATION -  Understanding the concept of improvisation in choro music
contrasting with the jazz concept. Rhythmic and interpretative approaches, developing a
musical vocabulary and building motifs on the edge where the improviser meets the basic
melody.


BRAZILIAN RHYTHMS - A basic understanding of the Brazilian percussion section and how
these instruments interlock with each other and how the mandolin might fit in. Exercises
based on patterns for the popular rhythm styles: choro, samba, maxixe and baião.


CHORDS 1 (Shapes - thee note cords) - The presentation of a scheme to understanding how
chords are structured on the mandolin. Studying major, minor and dominant chords and their
following inversions.

CHORDS 2 (Shapes - four note cords) - Adding one more note to the previously studied
chords, reaching extensions - major 7th,
minor 7th, diminished and half-diminished, 9th, and so on...

CHORDS 3 (Voicing) - Voice leading  through common chord progressions. How it can be
applied either when accompanying or playing solo mandolin. How the understanding of
voicing may help when building a single melodic line.

CHORDS 4 (Hearing) - The development of harmony hearing abilities, enabling the student's
perception without the use of the instrument. A scheme to identifying and understanding
how harmony goes in most common progressions and modulations presented in choro music.

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## Jim Garber

It is still possible to attend the workshop next weekend. LMK if you are interested. In the meantime, I will most likely be at the Living Room in NYC tomorrow night to hear the trio.

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## Jim Garber

Brief report from Day One: Whew! Choro sounds whirling thru my head. We spent some intense times working thru Dudu's method of approaching tunes and accompaniment starting simple from three note chords and building on that. Moved thru various possible chord progressions and inversions. Got into choro rhythms and improvisations. I am looking fwd to tomorrow's explorations.

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## Doug Hoople

> Brief report from Day One: Whew! Choro sounds whirling thru my head. We spent some intense times working thru Dudu's method of approaching tunes and accompaniment starting simple from three note chords and building on that. Moved thru various possible chord progressions and inversions. Got into choro rhythms and improvisations. I am looking fwd to tomorrow's explorations.


Sounds like fun, Jim! Wish I was there.  Say hi to Dudu for me.

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