Make an Ancient Greek Aulos
A hands-on music-making course in Buffalo, New York, 17–20 April 2027
A 4-day workshop led by Barnaby Brown, making and playing doublepipe reeds, singing and dancing ancient Greek rhythms.
One of two consecutive events: this aulos course is preceded by a lyre course, 14–17 April 2027. Buy one, get one half price!
Early Bird! 20% off until 9 November
Join us making aulos reeds, singing Ancient Greek, and dancing in Buffalo, USA. Guided by a leader of the aulos revival, you’ll go home with a working instrument and new musical skills to support your own creativity. Through craft workshops, one-on-one coaching, and collaborative sessions, you’ll gain practical skills and fresh perspectives on how this harmonic and polyphonic instrument led musical culture in Classical Antiquity. Open to all levels – musicians, educators, researchers, students, anyone interested in ancient cultures – the course offers practical training in aulos playing and holistic musicianship development while engaging with ancient Greek materials. If you already have an aulos, you can make reeds for it; if you don’t, you can take home your own reconstruction based on originals from the 6th and 5th centuries BCE.
- Learn to make the reeds that bring the aulos to life.
- Practise new techniques and rhythms through one-on-one lessons and group coaching.
- 22 hours of tutor time with world-leading specialists in aulos-led music making based on ancient evidence.
- Discover ancient music through practical experiment: making, singing, playing, composing, and performing.
- Join an international community bringing archaeological evidence to life, rousing the music and literature of ancient civilizations from their long silence!
Lotos Lab is running two courses consecutively in April at Benten Music Center in Buffalo. Immediately before the aulos course is another focusing on making and playing the ancient Greek lyre. You could go home with two instruments and twice as much music! We offer a buy-1-get-1-half-price deal if you sign up for both courses.
The reeds you make in this workshop can be for an aulos you already possess, or for one you take home based on originals from Magna Grecia; an instrument you can practice daily and transport safely, as pictured in this photo:
The pipes are pre-made by Barnaby Brown and Jonathan Bingham in Chinese bamboo. You will sand the fingerholes, make reed caps and Theophrastian reed-pairs in Sardinian Avena sterilis, and take home a working instrument in a sturdy case in black/red plastic.
Ivory pipe recovered in 1983 from a shipwreck off Giglio Campesi, Italy. Porto Santo Stefano, La Fortezza Spagnola, S.B.A.T. inv. 146699/a. Photo: Mario La Rosa
What participants say:
“I felt completely safe doing things that are normally out of my comfort zone. [Barnaby] was so positive and I think that makes a huge difference because it makes us more confident.”
“It is wonderful to be taught to practise in a way that supports your body and your health, rather than being a painful and unpleasant chore. Focusing on how different bits of your body feel, how to be completely with yourself and your body. And it’s fun: it stops practice being a miserable experience!”
“Barnaby makes learning natural with his joyful spirit. I always felt supported and secure to stretch my musical wings.”
“I’ve been to many instrument making courses and symposia, but this is by far one of the best! The fact that you get an instrument made by yourself at the end of it , on top of all the research, is the cherry on the cake!”
All the practical info
Dates and times
17–20 April 2027 (2 whole days + 2 half days)
Saturday 17 April
12 noon Informal performance by participants of the lyre making course
1pm–3pm Relaxed buffet lunch – an opportunity for participants of the lyre and aulos courses to meet
3pm–6pm Aulos course begins: everyone makes three ‘yokes’ of reeds respecting Theophrastus Hist. Pl. 4.11 (see Journal of Music Archaeology 2). By ‘yoke’, we mean a couple of reeds born from the same internode, with vibrating tips touching and identical; a couple kept together, protected from damage, and educated in behaviour by a pair of reed-caps.
Sunday 18 April
10am–6pm Making the first sounds on your reeds. Educating reeds, drawing out a better acoustic response. How and what to practise daily: exercises to develop a magical sound and train the fingers exploring ancient rhythms and music theory. Circular breathing, avoiding injury, ear-training (pure intervals), and rhythmic fingerwork preparing to lead dancing choruses and crews of oarsmen.
Monday 19 April
10am–6pm Individual lessons and group rehearsals – giving and receiving feedback, preparation for training at home. Workouts practicing the ten foundational rhythmic units used by ancient scholars to understand complex lyric poetry (iamb, trochee, dactyl, etc). Repertoire: Alcman, Partheneion; Pindar, Paean 9 and Pythian 12.
Tuesday 20 April
10am–1pm Final rehearsals and production of reference videos, capturing whatever participants most want a record of. Informal performance at 12 noon, to which friends and family are warmly invited.
1pm Farewell lunch
Location
Workshop sessions are hosted by Nick and Ayame Vest in the Benten Music Center, 292 Summer St, Buffalo, NY 14222. Lunches and accommodation (4 bedrooms) are provided by AirBnB Superhost Chuck Bova in his historic mansion just across the road. To stay in Chuck’s home, contact Nick Vest at bentenmusiccenter@gmail.com or +1 (530) 867-6222.
What’s included
- Everything you need to take home a working “Giglio” aulos, and/or new reeds for your existing aulos
- Lifetime access to resources to consolidate everything covered on the course, including videos, sheet music, and audio files to learn ancient Greek rhythms and pronunciations aurally
- Customized training exercises and pieces co-created with you
- Final collaborative performance and social connection with experts and other learners, joining a global community passionate about the aulos.
Who’s it for?
Musicians, educators, Classicists, and enthusiasts; students and researchers; beginners and experienced musicians alike. No prior instrument-making skills required.
Course fees
Standard: £600 Covers all of your tuition and the materials to take home a working aulos with case and spare reeds.
Supporter: £750 In addition to the above, help us provide access for all, enable us to run more of these events with world-class tutors, and to create more music for you.
Discounted: £450 For participants who cannot afford the standard rate.
The course fee does not include refreshments, meals, or accommodation. It covers the costs of reed-making kits and pipes manufactured in the UK (including import duty), Barnaby’s travel expenses from the UK, and audiovisual learning resources produced in the UK. The 22 hours of contact time are pro bono, facilitating sales of Lotos Lab products and providing opportunities for in-person customer support.
Barnaby Brown
Barnaby Brown is a performer-researcher whose work bridges scholarship, instrument reconstruction, and creative practice. Internationally recognised for reviving ancient polyphonic pipes and early Scottish bagpipes, he combines deep historical knowledge with a passion for performance. His collaborations span universities, conservatoires, Early Music ensembles, intercultural ensembles, and museums where he shares expertise in ancient musical craft, tuning systems, and vocabelizing: how to “sing” the pipes. A co-founder of Lotos Lab, he creates projects that bring ancient soundscapes to life, balancing rigorous research with imaginative artistry.
Got a question? Contact us at:
Lotos Lab: +44 78 1000 1377 • events@lotos-lab.com
Benten Music Center: +1 (530) 867-6222 • bentenmusiccenter@gmail.com
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