A fun workshop for 100 music lovers will take place at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, in the Expo Park in Suita City, Osaka, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on July 11.
Those attending needn't worry about bringing their own musical instruments, they don't even need to know how to play an instrument.
In fact the whole point of the workshop is to teach would-be musicians how to make and play a simple instrument.
The workshop and other similar events slated for later in the summer have been organized in preparation for "Stirring Bamboo Sounds by 1,000 Players" to be held at Expo Park's open space on Oct. 23, when the Senri Foundation, which organized the event, hopes to gather 1,000 people to play the tune "Udlot-Udlot," written by Filipino composer Jose Maceda (1917-2004). The piece of music was composed to be performed by anywhere from 30 to thousands of people with only three simple instruments and voice.
The July 11 workshop's Japanese title roughly translates as "The Day on Which 100 People Practice Playing Music Together." Another similar event for 150 people will be held Aug. 22,and another for 300 people on Sept. 11. The "Almost 1,000 People" event, effectively a dress rehearsal, will be on Oct. 11.
There is no cost to participate. The workshop will be held in the basement of the museum's Special Exhibition Hall. The museum is a short walk through the Shizen Bunkaen of Expo Park (¥250 to enter). For more information, visit www.1000ongaku.com
