Greek singer Kostis Maraveyas welcomes you to Greece

Do you also love Greek music? Then let us introduce you to one more Greek singer,  Kostis Maraveyas. 

Click here to read this article in Greek

Maraveyas – also known by his stage name Maraveyas illegal – is a Greek singer-songwriter, composer, performer, director and writer.
A true one-man band, he plays the accordion, piano and guitar. His songs are written mainly in Greek with the occasional lyric in English, Spanish or Italian thrown in (as we will see below). Despite the upbeat melodies, his songs often hide dark humour and social critique or tell the story of a troubled relationship.

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A Greek Traditional Dance From Crete – Siganos

A Greek Traditional Dance From Crete! If  you like Greek dances, then let’s learn the “siganos”.
As you may know, every region in Greece has different dances, music and rhythms.
The dances of Crete also belong to a special category.
The main instrument in most of the Cretan music is the “lyra”, and usually, the rhythm of the dances is fast and the steps are rather difficult.

But there is an exception: a slower dance called “siganos”.

Click here to read this article in Greek

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Learn More About Greek Music and Greek Singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki

Do you also like Greek music?  Who is your favorite singer?
We here present you… Eleftheria Arvanitaki! A renowned Greek singer with a career that spans four decades and is a strong favorite among Omilo students. Let’s learn more about her life and work!

Click here to read the article in Greek
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Corona Updates from Greece & A Greek Song About Staying At Home!

What a period it was! Here can read some of our Corona Updates from Greece, written between 202o and 2022 and listen to a Greek Song About… Staying At Home!

In the meantime, 2022 started with some sunny days here in Greece, as well as some snow as well…
Our daily walks in the Athens streets and parks continued, just like in 2020 and 2021. However, since now there is no corona curfew anymore and we are allowed to go further than our municipality, we can also go for daily trips towards the snowy mountains again…something which was not possible last winter.

In the meantime, the world news seems once again taken over by ‘corona’,  or “omikron”. The positive news; we are honored Greek letters are used for a pandemic :-), and the entire world gets the chance to learn the Greek alphabet. We realized many non-Greeks have no clue that the viruses are named after letters of the Greek alphabet, but fortunately, our dear students are very well aware 🙂 .
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Vamvakaris and Greek Rebetika Music

Greek Rembetika music is closely connected to the name of Markos Vamvakaris, whose great significance for this genre is also reflected in his nickname: “the patriarch of the rebetiko.”

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Greek Singer Yannis Charoulis and his music

Greek Singer Yannis Charoulis is a known Greek singer, songwriter, and musician whose music brings together elements from entekhno (orchestral music with elements from folk songs and lyrics often based on the work of famous Greek poets), rock, and traditional Cretan music.
Continue reading to learn more about his career and Greek music, and listen to one of his songs. It is accompanied by a transcript of the lyrics as well the English translation for easier comprehension.

Click here to read the article in Greek

His story 

Yannis Charoulis was born and raised in Crete. His first encounter with music was at the tender age of 6, when his father taught him to play the mandolin. A bit later he got his first laouto (gr. λαούτο), which is a long-neck fretted instrument of the lute family, most commonly encountered in Greece and Cyprus and bearing similarities to the oud. Starting at 15, he was playing professionally at local fests and celebrations and studying traditional Cretan music more closely.

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A Traditional Greek Love Song From Crete

As you all know, in Greece there are so many wonderful songs, singers, songwriters and composers. This time, we chose for you a beautiful, traditional love song from Crete. Listen to this sweet song and the sound of the Cretan lyre!
Under the video, you will find the Greek Lyrics as well as the English translation. Maybe you can sing along… Enjoy!
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Manos Hatzidakis; The Greek Composer And His Music

Manos Hatzikadis is a Greek composer, known by every Greek. As a non-Greek, there are probably many names that pop into your head when you think about Greek music, such as Dalaras, Mouskouri, Theodorakis … but today it is time to learn more about Manos Hadzidakis.
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Greek Vocabulary And Grammar Exercise With A Rebetiko Song.

It cannot always be sunny, also in Greece there are “rainy days”! And of course, there is a Greek song that goes along with a wet day!
Listen to the beautiful rebetiko song, composed by Vassilis Tsitsanis “Raindrops are falling” «Πέφτουν της βροχής οι στάλες».
A rainy day is excellent to study Greek as well, so here we go!
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Thessaloniki – More Than Just A Greek City

Thessaloniki, or often called “Salonika”, is the second largest city in Greece, after Athens.
As we have written already many times about Athens, it is now time to introduce you to some secrets of Thessaloniki!

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