Masterclass: Laurent Sureau (1,5h) – Next Level: Composing with chords and time signatures

Learn from world-famous artists in our masterclasses; basic knowledge of the handpan is recommended.

In this intensive workshop, the Handpan legend Laurent Sureau invites you to to deepen your musical understanding and consciously develop your playing. The aim is not only to play the handpan, but also to to make it sound through yourself - with clarity, intention and expression.

The workshop begins with a joint warm-up and a short round of introductions in which the participants' expectations and personal goals are discussed. Building on this, the focus is on a deeper understanding of the instrument: how can you specifically influence the sound, resonance and dynamics to create a fuller, clearer sound?

A particular focus is on the Use of the voice - melodically, harmonically and rhythmically. The voice serves as an inner compass to consciously guide musical impulses, phrasing and intention before they are transferred to the handpan.

As you progress, you explore the harmonic possibilities of the D-Kurd handpan. Various chord combinations are introduced and embedded in a common compositional idea. Building on this, you will work on Chord progressions and develops a musical sequence from it.

A central component of the workshop is the rhythmic composition in harmony with the harmonic context. You experiment with binary and ternary structures and - depending on the level of the group - with different time signatures and rhythmic signatures.

Advanced and technical aspects such as Touch quality, finger guidance, resonance control and playful tricks are incorporated individually into the workshop and adapted to the different approaches and experience levels of the participants.

This workshop is aimed at handpan players with previous experience who want to expand their compositional thinking, refine their musical language and take their playing to a new level.