Workshops

More information about the workshop

The Patamusic workshops offer a wealth of inspiring and creative information to explore and deepen the diverse possibilities of improvisation and musical creation in free music.

The workshops, with different focuses, convey effective ways and insights for further developing individual musical and instrumental skills.

The workshops are open to anyone who is interested in expanding their skills in improvising with the possibilities of free music.

Conception and management of the workshops: Norbert Stein

Topics and dates

Exploring the Melodic-Harmonic Space 

 
The workshop offers a systematic introduction to methods and possibilities for exploring the melodic-harmonic space beyond functional harmony.
In a simple and clear manner, inspiring exercises for developing contemporary lines within free-tonal improvisation are presented.
These exercises open up a wealth of possibilities for further developing musical and instrumental skills.
 
Topics:
  • Paths through open tonal space.
  • The formation of lines through motivic design along the paths of tonal space. 
  • The transformation of the melodic expression of tone rows through changes in metrical weighting and accentuation.

Workbooks:
QUINTOLOGY Vol. 1-3
Three-volume exercise book for exploring the melodic-harmonic space beyond functional harmony.
SHIFTING
Exercise book for studying the transformation of the melodic expression of tone rows through changes in meter and accentuation.

When? Saturday, September 05, 2026, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where? Patastudio, Cologne, Lindenstr. 32 (city center, near Rudolfplatz)
What? 4 hours; 80,- €; 3 – 5 participants
 
For further information and registration please contact me:
Contact: Norbert Stein, Tel.: 0221 205 303 91 mail@patamusic.de

Form, Timing, Flow

The workshop offers a practical introduction to methods and possibilities for the creative shaping of flowing lines in free improvisation.
A variety of exercises opens up a wealth of inspiring possibilities for enhancing musical proficiency and individual instrumental skills—specifically, a clear sense of form and confident timing, as well as creative agility in the shaping of metric music.
 
Topics:
  • The simple grammar of melodic arcs.
  • The interpretation of time and the ultimate backbeat.
  • Gaits in improvisation.
  • Flowing across bar lines.
  • Shaping through internal structures.
  • Form creation through mirroring.
Workbooks:
Exercises on the art of melodic form formation in the flow of time.
Workbook for improvisational handling of metrically pulsating time.
 
When? Saturday, October 03, 2026, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where? Patastudio, Cologne, Lindenstr. 32 (city center, near Rudolfplatz)
What? 4 hours; 80,- €; 3 – 5 participants
 
For further information and registration please contact me:
Contact: Norbert Stein, Tel.: 0221 205 303 91 mail@patamusic.de

Graphic notation

The workshop is based on the two Pata compositions PATA SIGNS – a seven-part leporello of graphic modules – and PATA MAGMA, a system for exploring collective constellation possibilities.

The workshop will cover:

  • Playful and creative implementation of a graphic score.
  • Demonstrating simple and effective methods of graphic notation for creating free music.
  • Practical insights into realizing musical ideas beyond the traditional five-line notation system.
  • Possibilities for the dramaturgical design of an improvising collective.

The workshop is open to all instruments and voices.

When? Saturday, November 07, 2026, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where? Patastudio, Cologne, Lindenstr. 32 (city center, near Rudolfplatz)
What? 4 hours; 80,- €; 3 – 8 participants
 
For further information and registration please do not hesitate to contact me.
Contact: Norbert Stein, Tel.: 0221 205 303 91 mail@patamusic.de

Improvised Worlds

This two-day workshop offers an inspiring key to understanding and creatively shaping freely improvised music.
Through playful practice, the workshop unlocks the rich panorama of creative music and imparts a solid compositional awareness of the creative possibilities within collective improvisation.

The topics of the workshop are:

  • Development, change, and simultaneity of event fields.
  • Decision-making options in the design of free collective improvisation.
  • Playful functions and the dramaturgy of musical composition.

The workshop is open to all instruments and voices.

When? Saturday/Sunday, December 12/13, 2026, 3:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m
Where? Patastudio, Cologne, Lindenstr. 32 (city center, near Rudolfplatz)
What? 2 x 4 hours; 150,- €; 3 – 8 participants
 
For further information and registration please do not hesitate to contact me.
Contact: Norbert Stein, Tel.: 0221 205 303 91 mail@patamusic.de

All workshop topics and content are also available as individual lessons.
Appointments by arrangement.
Price per lesson: €80 (60 min.)

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