Berklee at The Gnaoua World Music Festival

Listening with a Planetary Ear. Playing with a Global Concept

Music traditions across the world are shaped by distinct melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic frameworks. Not all cultures perceive downbeats, harmony, or improvisation in the same way. Western European harmonic concepts prioritize vertical chordal structures, while many other traditions emphasize melodic and modal relationships. Rhythmic perception varies across cultures, influencing time-feel, phrasing, and groove.

The Berklee at the Gnaoua and World Music Festival provides a unique 6-day experience to enhance your professional musicianship and proficiency in connecting through a global musical language. Participants engage in performances with musicians from diverse corners of the world, deliberately exposing them to various grooves, rhythmic and harmonic concepts, and improvisational approaches. The program guides participants on how to seamlessly merge with these diverse musical elements, contributing to a rich and immersive learning experience.

World-renowned Berklee instructors will guide students on how to intertwine their own musical language with others, beginning with learning to actively listen and comprehend the musical concepts of their peers.

Students will be challenged to explore various aspects of their instrument to broaden their musical and technical toolkit. This expansion equips them to create, whether through composition, arrangement, or improvisation, across diverse musical styles while enriching their own.

The program takes place in Essaouira, Morocco in partnership with the Gnaoua and World Music Festival. The workshop is for all professional and semi-professional musicians (see eligibility guidelines), from classical to Gnaoua traditional, from pop and rock to jazz, and more. Participants will have the opportunity to absorb the atmosphere of historic Essaouira.

Performance classrooms are equipped with rhythm section instruments; large lectures are supported by audio, visual, and digital presentations; and practice rooms, support staff, and administrators meet students' individual needs. Additionally, all students will receive passes to the main stage at the 2025 Gnaoua and World Music Festival concerts.

Apply here: https://www.berklee.edu/berkleeonther...