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Introduction
Kolektif Istanbul is a band from Turkey. They play music based on tunes you would hear
at a traditional Turkish wedding. In this project you can learn more about the instruments
and players in the band, their countries, cultures and traditions.
Here are the players in the band with some information about their instruments.
Asli Dogan - Vocals
“I sing as I hear and nothing more. I didn’t have any classes for that! It’s the way all our
grandparents were singing! I just learned to be in tune and that’s because I learn the
trumpet. Therefore I am a traditional singer in a way!”
Richard Laniepce - Alto Saxophone
The alto saxophone is the middle instrument of the
saxophones, being lower in pitch than a soprano sax and
higher than a tenor sax. It is a woodwind instrument and
uses a single reed on a mouthpiece to vibrate and make
sound. They are usually made out of brass and have keys
to change the notes. It’s most associated with jazz music.
Did you know?
The saxophone is the only woodwind instrument
never to have been made from wood.
Richard also plays the bagpipes in Kolektif Istanbul
- see Activity 4 for more information on that.
© Eve Harrison & Love Music Festival
Activity 1. Clarinets
Research
Computer with internet access
15 mins
Groups / whole class
Any age
Talat Karaoglu - Clarinet
The clarinet is from the woodwind family. It uses a vibrating reed to make sound, which
is attached to a mouthpiece that the player blows to provide air pressure. Pressing the
keys alters the air pressure so that the clarinet produces different notes. Clarinets are
usually made out of wood with metal keys but other materials are sometimes used as well.
There are many different sizes of clarinet - can you find out their names?
Talat usually plays the B-flat clarinet which is the standard instrument for most players.
Tamer Karaoglu - Accordion
This instrument is in the free-reed aerophone family, like the harmonica, pitch pipe and
reed organ. It’s sometimes called a squeeze box, for obvious reasons! Air pressure is
generated by the bellows. Pressing the buttons or keys cause valves or pallets to open,
which allow air to flow across the reeds (which are strips of brass or steel). The reeds
vibrate to produce sound.
Usually the performer plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand manual,
and the accompaniment on the left-hand manual. Often the left-hand manual has pretuned chords that are accessed by pressing the buttons.
bellows are stretched and squeezed
to produce air pressure
left-hand manual plays
chords by pressing buttons
right-hand manual
plays melody using
the keyboard
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Gokhan Sahinkaya - Bass Guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument that is plugged into
an amplifier and played with the fingers or thumb.
It has 4, 5 or 6 strings, with the common 4 string bass often
being tuned to E, A, D and G.
Did you know?
Some words used to describe methods of playing the bass are:
plucking, slapping, popping, tapping, or thumping!
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Activity 2. Davul
Discussion, Practical - rhythm
A large drum
20 mins, then at points
throughout the day
Class
Primary
Ediz Hafızoglu - Drums
Ediz uses a drum kit like you’ve probably all seen before
and sometimes a traditional drum called a Davul.
The Davul is an ancient Turkish instrument which has
changed very little as it has been passed down to modern
day musicians. It fulfils a fundamental role in Turkish
traditional music. The Davul was the principle instrument
used by shamans, and was and still is used in Turkey at
weddings. It is also used to wake people so they can eat
something before fasting all day, for traditional sports and
games, horse racing, wrestling matches and festivals.
1. Discuss as a class what the important events in your school day are.
2. Choose about 5 that take place throughout the day.
3. Your class is going to signal these with drum rhythms. Make up a short rhythm for
each event, clap them as a class and make sure you can remember them.
4. One person will play each rhythm on the drum. Practice identifying the event when
you hear each rhythm played by one person.
5. Now get on with the rest of the school day. When it is time for one of your events
choose one person to play each rhythm to signal the start of it.
6. Swap drummer for the next event.
Questions for the class:
What is good about having a drum rhythm to signal events?
Did it make you feel different when you were carrying out the event?
What did it feel like to be the drummer?
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Activity 3. The Drum Kit
Research / testing knowledge, discussion
• Computer with internet access
• Picture of drum kit (below)
5-15 mins
Class / groups
Any age
Unlike the Davul, the Drum Kit has many different instruments all attached to make one,
making it possible to make many different sounds. Label the parts on the picture then
discuss the questions below in groups. You can use books and the internet to help you.
For younger pupils, give them the names of the various parts first.
What role does each part of the drum take?
Are there particular places in music you’d hear them?
Do some instruments get used more than others?
Jazz Drum Kit
Answers for the parts of the drum kit can be found on page 13
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Activity 4. Bagpipes
Research & listening
• Computer, internet access, speakers / headphones
• Print out of a world map – one per group
• Alternatively do this activity on your Smart Board
with whole class mapping their findings together
• A print out of the comparison table
– one per group / class
20 mins
Class / groups
Any age
You’ve no doubt heard the Great Highland Bagpipes. Did you know that there are many
other types of bagpipes? Richard plays the pipes in Kolektif Istanbul. He plays gayda
(the Bulgarian bagpipe) and gaita (the Spanish bagpipe).
Before hearing Kolektif Istanbul’s music, I thought of bagpipes as only traditional
Scottish. It turns out there’s quite a lot of different music that uses bagpipes.
1. How many types of bagpipes can you find on the internet?
2. Mark on the map which countries they come from
3. Listen to some different music which features the bagpipes you’ve found
Activity 5. Bagpipe Music
A further 15 - 20 mins
Try and work out what kind of bagpipes are being used in some of the links below.
There are some unusual uses out there and some really high quality traditional players.
If you can’t access these sites in school, try visiting them at home.
Websites:
http://www.macaroonmusic.com/breakfast_in_balquhidder/
Xufu (Catalan bagpiper), try the track “Cinc”: http://www.vallverdu.cat/pagines/SdN%20CD.htm
Spotify:
Rufus Harley - the first musician to use Great Highland Bagpipes as his main instrument
in a jazz setting - try “Oui Free” or “Nancy with the Laughing Face” - what do you think?!
Finn’s Fury - Highland Cathdral - keep listening past 1 minute mark!
John Farnham - You’re the voice
Sting - Fields of Gold (Ten Summoner Tales album version)
SuidAkrA - Dead Man’s Reel
The White Stripes - Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn (Icky Thump)
Afro Celt Sound System
Blowzabella
Dufay Collective Medieval Dance
Bagpipes of the World
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YouTube links:
Dixebra - try La Danza - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG6ezYLuusA
Gaiteiro - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGb6VD1fGVw (from 2 mins 45 sec, also
on Spotify)
Madonna - Into the Groove from the Re-Invention Tour - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=wPbZFAPMcFk (watch from 5 mins 30 sec as well as the opening)
Neutral Milk Hotel (Untitled) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqKD9qLJ2Es
Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQVg0QQr4c
The Treacherous Orchestra - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZZt6hEGVhw
The Kathryn Tickell Band - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWBXPo1PXQ
Bagpipes in Jazz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53Ajkll_kw (from 1m30s)
Blowzabella - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNWGoc4_GIM
Teribus - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRMDZdy6DE
Techno bagpipes, Martyn Bennett - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40FvYsFh74g
English bagpipes, John Swayne - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwdAm957tI
Lunasa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLjhXXr68E
Kaba Gaida - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOaZN-usQmU
Others to try and find:
Belle and Sebastion, Sleep Around the Clock from The Boy With the Arab Strap
Arthur’s Return, for bagpipes and string orchestra (1983) by John Davison
(Commissioned by the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and premiered in Dover,
Delaware on September 23, 1983, by the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, dir. Marc
Mostovoy; Roderick MacDonald, bagpipe)
Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise (1984) by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
A further 5 - 10 mins
Check out these weird bagpipes!
Disposable bagpipe! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVNhQHq2E1E
Rubber glove Macedonian gaida style - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=3hBqgp9JGOo
Cow bagpipes?! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKdGO8OeaZI
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Activity 6. Bagpipe Music 2
Research & listening
• Computer, internet access, speakers / headphones
• Film: Bagpipes Comparison
1 hour
minimum
Class / groups
Any age
Now you’ve heard them and seen some crazy things people have done with them,
we can find out how bagpipes work and what the differences are between them all.
Choose either the Gayda (Bulgarian) or Gaita (Spanish) pipes that are played in Kolektif
Istanbul’s music and compare them to the Great Highland bagpipes.
Any Age:
My friend Michael plays all of these pipes and he kindly made a film to explain the basics
Watch the film Bagpipe Comparison and write down your comments on the table.
Older Primary / Secondary:
Continue your research for either the Gayda or Gaita and write down your findings on
the table.
Add your own areas of comparison to the table. Listen to recordings as well as reading
about the pipes to find the differences between them.
Area of
Comparison
Pipe Name: Great Highland
Comments
Pipe Name: Gayda / Gaita (circle)
Comments
Drone
Ornament
Chanter
Traditional
Function
Who they
play with
Sound
Volume
Techniques
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Did you know?
This is what the double (top) and single (bottom) reeds used in bagpipes look like.
The inner bag (which fills with air) of the Great Highland Bagpipes is traditionally made
of leather which needs a lot of treating so it doesn’t go mouldy. Michael’s bagpipes use
a goretex bag with a zip instead! He said this is useful when a reed falls inside - he can
just unzip and remove it!
Discuss with the class or a partner what the main differences are between the 3 types of
pipes.
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Traditions and Ceremonies
Kolektif Istanbul usually play their music in concert settings but their music comes from
the wedding repertoire of the Thrace region (Turkey, Bulgaria and Macedonia). Traditional
music is very important in Turkish weddings. In fact two musicians from the band - the
accordion and clarinet players - are traditional wedding musicians, and their fathers were
too. Traditions for weddings vary greatly by region in Turkey and here is a selection:
• Traditionally Turkish weddings lasted 40 days and 40 nights! Now most last 3 days,
starting on either a Tuesday or Friday.
• The costs are met by the bridegroom’s family.
• It is traditional for Rumelian Turks to spread the news of the wedding in their village with
drums.
• The night before the wedding day they have ‘Kina Gecesi’, women’s entertainment
where the bride’s fingers are freshly tinged with henna. In some regions there is a henna
ceremony for the bridegroom too.
• A wedding flag is planted by men coming from noon prayer and friends of the
bridegroom. In some regions an apple, mirror or onion is placed on the flag.
• Drums traditionally play for 2 days and 2 nights.
• The women used to have their celebration separately, accompanied by a blind violin
player, in order to feel free to show their dancing skills without being seen by the men.
The men used to have their ceremony outdoors in the garden accompanied by a twopiece band of a ‘Zurna’ (a wooden instrument a bit like a clarinet) and a ‘Davul’ (a big drum).
• The bride makes her way around the guests accompanied by her female relatives and
guests kiss the bride and pin a gold coin on her sash, slip a bracelet on her wrist or deposit
money in her red lined basket. Jewelers in Turkey sell special coins for the occasion.
• Red is for good luck and fortune. The bride wears a red sash around her waist and red
bows in her hair.
• Rasit Demirbas, a performer at Turkish weddings in London, says that the tunes also
differ by region in Turkey. For example, “If the wedding in is Ankara, the regional music
style of ‘misket’ (with a very high rhythm and plenty of percussion) has to be played. If
you are at a wedding in Aydin, they play a sort that is called ‘Zeybek’. This is a slow and
masculine type of Turkish music and tends to get faster as is goes along.”
• Often the bride will change from her white dress into a red or purple traditional gown,
which is richly embroidered in gold, and she wears a red veil over her head.
• The female guests are invited to circle the bride, and their hands are painted with henna
for good luck.
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Activity 7. Turkish cooking
Cooking
Ingredients and utensils as below
30 - 60 mins
Whole class
Any age
Wedding Soup, Dugun Corbasi, is often served at Turkish weddings.
It is often made with lamb but here is a vegetarian recipe for you to try:
Turkish Wedding Soup
Ingredients:
1 Pound Red Lentils
4 Tablespoons Butter
2 Large Onion - chopped
4 Cloves Garlic - finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Coriander
2 Cups Tomatoes - chopped
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
Salt - to taste
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Dried Mint
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Directions:
Saute onion and garlic with cayenne and
coriander in butter until onions are soft.
Add lentils and 8 cups of water.
Cook until lentils are soft according
to package directions.
Halfway through cooking process
add tomatoes and tomato paste.
Shortly before serving add lemon juice
and bring to boil.
6. Add mint.
7. Cook for 10 more minutes.
Did you enjoy that? Here’s a Turkish dish with a story!
“The legend is that when Noah and his animals were about to run out of food on the
ark, he mixed whatever ingredients were left and cooked them all together to feed his
voyagers and the resulting dish was the pudding described in this recipe.”
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/tatlilar1.htm
For more Turkish recipes go to:
http://english.turkishcookbook.com/
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Activity 8. Music for Ceremonies (1)
Research, listening & discussion
• Computer, internet access,
speakers / headphones
20 mins
Class
Any age
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.
A ritual is a set of actions performed mainly for their symbolic value.
A tradition is a set of customs or practices, often passed down through generations.
1. How many different types of ceremonies or traditions can you think of? Do some
research and find out some more. What music, if any, is associated with them?
2. Listen to music by Kolektif Istanbul on the Love Music Festival Jukebox. All of these
pieces could be used for weddings or ceremonies. What do the tracks you listened to
have in common? What’s different about them?
3. What ceremonies or traditions do you take part in at school or at home? Is there any
music associated with them?
4. Choose an event at school that you’d like to make into a ceremony. What do you
need to make it feel special? For example, could you make doing the register, eating
your lunch or giving out daily positive comments or prizes into a ceremony? What
role do you think music should take? What should it be like? Which instruments from
Kolektif Istanbul would you like to play it?
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Activity 9. Music for Ceremonies (2)
Practical, Rhythms and Composing
• Audio: Kolektif Istanbul Rhythm Samples
• Instruments (your own or percussion)
30 - 45
mins
Class (Primary) or
Groups of 5 (Secondary)
Primary:
Make up some music to go with a ceremony you have chosen, following the instructions
below and carry it out for a week. How does this musical ceremony change the event?
1. Listen to the samples of rhythms from Kolektif Istanbul’s music and their original songs.
2. Learn as many samples as you can, first by clapping then by playing on an instrument.
3. Make a movement or dance to go with each sample.
4. Play the rhythms in a ‘call and response’ style: the teacher / leader plays the rhythm first,
then the class respond. Try it with your dances too!
Secondary:
Compose your own Ceremonial Music in small groups, following the instructions below.
1. Listen to the samples of rhythms from Kolektif Istanbul’s music and their original songs.
2. In groups of 5, each person chooses and learns to clap one sample rhythm.
3. Each person puts their rhythm onto their chosen instrument. If they play a melody
instrument, choose 3 - 4 notes to work with so the group can play their rhythms together.
4. Everybody starts playing a steady slow beat.
5. Everybody takes turns to play their rhythm 3 times, while the rest of the group keeps the
steady beat going.
6. Decide the order of your musical ceremony by arranging your rhythms. Do any sound
good played at the same time? Which order do they go in? How many times will each be
played? What dynamic are they? Where are the contrasts going to happen? What tempo
sounds good and is practical for everyone?
7. Perform the Ceremonial Music to the class. Decide what kind of ceremony it’s suitable
for and why.
Record and upload your ceremonial music to our Glow pages and listen to what students
in other schools around Scotland have done too.
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Answers
Activity 3 - Drum Kit:
crash cymbal
ride cymbal
floor tom
high tom tom
hi-hat cymbals
snare drum
bass drum
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