workshops

Sansula Workshop - Nine tones and a cosmos full of sounds

It is small and sounds huge. And it fascinates with its sound, its simplicity, its reduction to the essentials. The Sansula. An instrument somewhere between a sound toy and an acoustic Gameboy, addictive effect guaranteed.

The Sansula is a kalimba with nine tones. Its special feature is its resonance system, which gives the instrument a very pure and meditative sound that can be modulated by opening and closing the resonance opening. It is an enrichment for any acoustic ensemble, but also a beautiful sounding pastime with which you can create your own sound oasis on the living room couch.

Conny Sommer has been working intensively with kalimbas for many years and published the first German textbook for the sansula in November 2016. In this context, he is expanding his intensive workshop activities to include this instrument.

The Sansula Workshop Level 1 teaches the basics of playing Sansula:

  • introduction
  • Basic plucking techniques
  • Exploring the tonal space in the original tuning
  • Playing with scales, chords and chord progressions
  • Pattern-oriented play based on easy game patterns
  • The play of melody and accompaniment in two groups based on a small arrangement
  • Retuning the Kalimba
  • Insights into other tuning systems

The Sansula Workshop Level 2 also teaches:

  • Advanced plucking techniques
  • Pattern-oriented game with more complex game patterns
  • solo game
  • Melody and accompaniment on an instrument based on a solo piece

Sansulas, tuning tools and tuning devices are made by HOKEMA placed.

Additional information for participants

Dear participant!

The Sansula workshop will take place in a short time. I would like to share some information here to ensure the best possible learning atmosphere for the workshop:

  • The Sansula is played with the fingernails. It is therefore important that the thumbnails are a little longer at the time of the workshop. The white border on the front edge of the thumbnail should be at least 2, preferably 3 mm wide. For the Level 2 workshop, the nail of the right index finger should also be the same length as the thumbnails.
  • Experience has shown that many workshop participants want to document the content of the workshop. The quickest and most effective way to do this is with a video recording device. It doesn't have to be a professional camera. A smartphone, a pocket camera with video function or a simple video camera are completely sufficient. Important: charge the batteries, free up memory for 10-15 minutes of video.
  • We will retune all Sansulas during the workshop. The best tuner to use is a tuner app on your smartphone (or pad) in conjunction with a wired headset. Tuner apps (chromatic and calibrated to 440 Hz!) are available as freeware for all operating systems.

If you have any further questions, you can reach me at 0177 260 34 64.

Otherwise, I am looking forward to the workshop and wish you a good time until then,

Conny Sommer