UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

The Program

The mornings are dedicated to the individual instruments: guitars will work with Dario, violinists with Julien, bassists with Manu.

The focus will be the fundamentals, both specific to the instrument as well as general to music, jazz and gypsy jazz. Right hand and left hand technique, improvisation, phrasing, repertoire building and ear training will all be the priority. Each instructor will tailor the exact activity based on the relative level of the students.

At the end of the morning session, students will be grouped into bands and a small repertoire will be decided with the instructors (2–4 tunes depending on the level of the group). The afternoon will focus on set preparation, arrangements and each student's individual challenges relative to one or more aspects of the tunes.

The evenings will begin with the organized set in which all the bands perform to get accustomed to playing under the relative pressure of a small audience, after which spontaneous jam sessions occur freely.

The following day it all repeats — fundamentals in the morning, rehearsals and performance in the afternoon — but students are shuffled into new formations with new repertoires.