Play Kirtan!

This special workshop will deepen and refine both your musical skills and your spiritual understanding of the practice of chanting mantras, called kirtan or bhajan in Sanskrit.

While this practice is simple and accessible to anyone, with no need for specific knowledge or training, its spiritual depth and spectrum of musical unfolding benefits greatly from the guiding presence of one or more skilled facilitating musicians—and this could be you!

This workshop has two main aims:

• Expanding and refining your musical vocabulary, improving rhythmic firmness and variety, and awareness of musical dramaturgy, tempo, and dynamic variations.
• Deepening your metaphysical understanding of the power of devotion, the use of mantras, and the aspects related to each of the different deities.

Music, and in particular devotional singing, is an important element in spiritual traditions around the world. As an art form that transcends time, it has the innate power to bind the mind to the present moment.

Singing happens by means of the breath. As air is the governing element of the heart chakra, the act of singing helps us open the Heart and relate more intimately to its intrinsic qualities: love, devotion, tenderness, surrender…

In India, Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of Devotion, is one of the main branches of yoga and is practiced widely, mainly in the context of the Hindu religion. Kirtan, the practice of devotional singing, has found its way into the hearts of many Western spiritual seekers and is now practiced by yogis worldwide.

In this workshop, you’ll refine your musical skills and expand your knowledge through an integrated way of learning. There will be an emphasis on musical practice, with theoretical teachings blended in as much as necessary to help you understand concepts and advance in the practice.

Teachings about the metaphysical background of Bhakti Yoga and daily Hridaya Hatha Yoga sessions will help you sustain the awareness and purity needed to transform a musical performance into a spiritual practice.

As the most common instrument in Western kirtan circles is the guitar, it is essential that you have a basic knowledge of playing guitar to fully benefit from the workshop. This means that you know the basic chords (C, D, E, F, G, A, Dm, Em, Am) and can change between them effortlessly while maintaining a rhythm, and you know how to play a basic “campfire guitar” rhythm.

While the main musical focus will be on singing and playing guitar, the basics of playing harmonium and percussion for kirtan will also be covered.