Lesson 11 – Second Tune on the Kaval

During the last lesson you learned your first tune on the kaval. I’m sure that was pretty fun and exciting. In this course, I’ve prepared one more tune for you. This one is also in 2/4 and it’s called “Oy Choban”, so let’s dive right in. Download the PDF notation of the tune, using the link below. We can print it out if it’s going to be easier for you to follow along.

Repeatedly listen to the melody

I already told you how important listening is. I always start by listening to the new tune without too much focus on the details. I would just put it on in the background while cooking, for example. This way I get the initial grasp of the tune. I might even start humming along. At some point I would switch to listening to it more carefully and I might even start singing along. At this stage my goal is to memorise the melody and be able to reproduce it with my voice. Sometimes this doesn’t really work if the melody is too complicated but I always do my best to remember as much as I can.

Focus on the rhythm

Just like we did with “Sednalo e Dzhore”, we would focus only on the rhythm for now and try to reproduce it verbally, by using a syllable such as “tah”. Let’s do that with the new tune “Oy Choban”. Just like we did last time, let’s put on a metronome and start slowly and gradually speed up, as soon as we feel comfortable with the current tempo.

Be patient because this step might take some time but it’s going to be worth it.

Read the music and play the melody on the kaval

Just like we did with “Sednalo e Dzhore”, we’re now going to try to transfer all the accumulated information and knowledge to the kaval. I would advise you to keep using the metronome when practicing on the kaval. It will help you build a solid foundation of the understanding about rhythm. In bulgarian folk music, rhythm is one of the most important aspects and the specific sound relies a lot on the proper rhythmic feel. So you better start developing the proper habits now.