Fun with Gongs Workshop with Mike Tamburo

Join Mike Tamburo for an in person fun, exploratory, and experiential workshop that will deepen one's gong practice and bring the player to a new level both in playing and in understanding the potentials of working with gong music. This workshop is open to all levels and invites the player to deepen their connection to the gong as a musical instrument capable of having broad effects on consciousness and asks the player to move beyond protocols into a music of the moment. Players will be immersed in a series of creative exercises, gong drills, group and solo improvisations and meditative listening experiences. We will define and refine playing techniques, explore rhythm and dynamics, strengthen our listening and improvisational skills, learn loose composition and deepen our personal sonic vocabulary.

Dates and times:

• Day 1: Fri, Mar 15, 9:00am - 6:00pm (lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm) 
• Day 2: Sat, Mar 16, 9:00am - 6:00pm (lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm)  
• Day 3: Sun, Mar 17, 9:00am - 6:00pm (lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm)  
• Day 4: Mon, Mar 18, 9:00am - 6:00pm (lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm)
• Day 5: Tue, Mar 19, 9:00am - 6:00pm (lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm)  |  Group Performance at 7:00pm

Registration and Pricing Options:

• Day 1 only: Includes Gong Strokes and Sound Shaping - $200
• Days 1-3: Includes Day 1 plus Gong Exploration and Sonic Language Building - $500
• Days 1-5: Includes Days 1-3 plus Creative Music, Improvisation, and Composition  - $700

Location:

blosm studio

12549 28th Ave NE

Seattle, WA 98125

The studio is in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle and there are several restaurants within walking distance.  There is free street parking nearby, and the studio has easy access to public transportation.

About the Teacher

Mike Tamburo is a world-renowned musician, composer, artist and educator. He is known and loved for his transformational live concerts performed on his personally curated set of gongs, bells and other metal instruments.  A lifelong multi-instrumentalist, Tamburo has focused his talents on metal percussion instruments, string instruments (hammered dulcimer, guitar, zither, shahi baaja), as well as electronic instruments (synths, looping).

Since 1994, Tamburo has shared more than 2,000 concerts and workshops. He has recorded over 70 albums, both solo and in collaboration with Crown of Eternity, Meisha, Arco Flute Foundation, Psychic Frost, Brother Ong and more, ranging from epic gong music to ecstatic and transcendental string music, as well as folk, drone, space rock, ambient, mantra music and sometimes unclassifiable sounds. This man loves music in all its forms!

He teaches gong music, both in person and online with School of Gong. He is also a part of the far-reaching ethnomusicology trio, Dig Deeper, with Mitch Nur and Thomas Orr Anderson. Their online classes have explored countless musical concepts with a focus on the cultural and personal uses of sound for healing, meditation, trance, ecstatic states, relaxation, self transformation, perception, psycho-acoustics, scientific discovery, time and community.

An early adoptee of meditation, Tamburo’s music offers space for journeying, self-exploration and deep introspection. During many of his early performances, he experienced altered states of consciousness and out of body experiences. To understand these experiences, he explored kundalini yoga, energy work, the therapeutic use of sound and how sound impacts consciousness, human perception and self healing. His love for long sustained drones, overtones and psychoacoustics continues to inspire him to explore music in further directions.

Tamburo is also an interdisciplinary sound artist, instrument builder, video artist, sound therapist, writer and meditation teacher.  Learn more about Mike at www.miketamburomusic.com

What to bring:

Bring your curiosity and a spirit of exploration along with a water bottle and notebook or journal.  Wear comfortable clothing.  The studio has plenty of gongs, so you don't need to bring a gong, however if you wish to bring yours, please coordinate with Roger first.  The studio has mats, blankets, and backjack floor seating for your comfort, as well as hot/cold water, a variety of teas, and snacks for breaks.  

Refund Policy:  If you've registered but are unable to attend, and notify roger@blosmstudio.com via email by March 1, 2024, you will receive a full refund of your payment.  Otherwise, you may lose the payment for the workshop unless you can get someone else to take your place or we can fill it from a waitlist.

If you have any questions about the workshop, payment, or studio, please contact Roger Tjoelker at:  roger@blosmstudio.com or 616-916-4428

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!