Maâlem Hassan Boussou
Son of the late Maâlem Hamida Boussou. Leads lilas in the medina and has taught visiting players for over twenty years, which is why he is unbothered by a room of beginners.
Guembri · Essaouira · 3 hours
Guembri with a maâlem
Three hours in Hassan’s own house with the three-string bass lute that holds Gnawa together.
Duration
3 hours
Level
Beginner — no experience needed
Group size
Max 6, or private
Where
A family house in the Essaouira medina
Language
Darija, translated to English or French
Instruments
Provided
You will play, not watch.
The guembri is three strings over a camel-skin box, and it carries the bass line of an entire ceremony. Hassan starts with how to hold it — which is not obvious — then the two patterns that sit under most of the Gnawa repertoire. By the end of the session you will have played through a full sequence with him.
The room holds six. Instruments are provided, so you do not need to travel with one. If you play bass or any fretless string instrument you will find your way in quickly; if you play nothing at all, that is also fine — several of our best sessions have been with complete beginners.
How the session runs.
Hour
01
The courtyard
Holding it, and the first pattern
Mint tea, introductions, and then straight to the instrument — how it sits against the body, where the right hand strikes the skin, and why the left hand has nothing to guide it. By the end of the hour everyone in the room is playing the first pattern, badly and together.
Hour
02
The courtyard
The second pattern, and the qraqeb
The second bass figure, which is where most of the repertoire actually lives, and then the iron castanets that sit on top of it. Half the room plays guembri and half plays qraqeb, and then you swap, which is when people hear how the two lock.
Hour
03
The courtyard
A full sequence, start to finish
Hassan leads a complete sequence and you play it with him — not a demonstration, an actual pass through the thing. Afterwards he plays alone for a while, which is the part people remember, and recording is welcome once the teaching has stopped.
Who teaches it.
Rachid Amzil
Plays in Hassan’s troupe and runs the percussion half of the session. Has the patience for the fact that the qraqeb takes most people the full hour.
Nadia Fatouaki
Grew up between the mellah and the gnaoua houses. Translates in both directions and explains what the rhythms are for while you are learning them.
What's included
- Guembri provided — you do not need to travel with one
- Mint tea throughout, and a break halfway
- Recording permitted once the playing stops
- Maximum six players, so everyone gets corrected
- Translation to English or French where needed
- A written summary of both patterns to take home
Not included
- Travel to Essaouira
- Accommodation
- Meals beyond tea during the session
- An instrument to take away (we can introduce you to a maker)
Good to know.
Why this one.
— Taught by a maâlem in his own house, not a room built for visitors.
— Instruments provided, so you do not travel with one.
— Six players maximum, so everyone gets corrected.
— Recording welcome once the playing stops.
Can we adjust it?
Sessions run most weeks and can be lengthened, shortened, or booked privately for your group. If you are already travelling on one of our journeys, we fold the workshop into the itinerary rather than charging it separately.
Tell us what you want to come away able to play — and we will say honestly whether three hours is enough for it.
Come and play.
Sessions run most weeks, and fill fastest around the festival. Tell us when you are in Essaouira and we will find you a place.
From previous sessions.
Before you book
No. About half the people who book have never held the instrument. Teaching is by demonstration and correction, so there is nothing to read and no theory to catch up on.
No — every workshop provides them, and for guembri and bendir you would struggle to bring the right one anyway. If you own an oud or a violin you are welcome to bring it, and the teacher will set it up for the tuning being used.
This one is three hours with a break halfway. Most of ours run two to four hours in a single afternoon, and a few run across several days.
Yes, once the teaching has stopped. Phones are fine. If you are bringing proper recording equipment, tell us in advance so we can ask Hassan directly — and anything you intend to publish needs his agreement first, which we will help you get.
Darija and Arabic, with translation to English or French. Most of the teaching is physical anyway — hands, posture, timing.
Yes, and it is a common request. Private sessions can be longer, pitched harder, and built around whatever you are trying to learn rather than a standard outline. Tell us who is coming and what you play.
Two to three weeks is usually enough, and longer in festival season when Hassan is busiest. Around the Gnaoua week itself, assume it is full unless we tell you otherwise.
Yes — most of our journeys already include one, and this session slots into any trip that passes through Essaouira. It is usually cheaper that way, because the travel is already paid for.