Zaid Hilal UK Tour 2026 MUSICIANS and SINGERS FREE WORKSHOP

Zaid Hilal is a Palestinian folk-pop-rock artist on a UK tour. His concert is this evening at the same venue at 7.30pm. Zaid grew up and lives in Beit Sahour in Occupied Palestine, on the West Bank. He studied classical Arabic music as a young boy at the Edward Said National Music Conservatoire, playing the baglama and specialising in singing. You can read more in tonight’s concert entry.

This workshop is for intermediate and advanced players and singers. You should have reasonable fluency already in your instrument/voice.

He writes

“This workshop is designed for musicians who want to go beyond playing notes and start understanding the language of Arabic music through its core foundation: the maqam system. Arabic maqam is not just a scale—it is a living musical expression built on emotion, direction, and identity. Each maqam carries its own character, mood, and traditional usage, shaping how melodies are created, performed, and felt. In this workshop, we will explore how maqams work in practice, how they are constructed, and how musicians can apply them creatively in performance and composition.

The focus is not only theoretical, but also deeply practical, training the ear, the feeling, and the ability to improvise within the system. Whether you come from a Western classical background, jazz, or contemporary music, this workshop will help you connect your instrument to the Arabic musical language in a clear and usable way. By the end, you will not only recognize maqams you will be able to play, feel, and use them confidently in real musical contexts.”