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proje501
interview
dilek türkan
Dilek Türkan
You came to İstanbul from Balıkesir alone at the age of 16 to receive conservatory education. My interest in music started in the middle of the first grade. My brother joined the Balikesir public education center choir, and I would chase him. I was eleven years old; everyone was over forty-fifty years old, only I would go out of school in a black apron. I loved this music in a very short time, after a while my mind was set that I should study music. I finished high school when I was sixteen and took the conservatory exam, I got in and my music adventure in Istanbul started. My family was not able to come to Istanbul because they lived there, I came to Istanbul alone, and my father had passed away a year before. In fact, my family was shattered in a very short time. My determination to succeed was due to this, I was alone; I would either do it or not. I
chose to do, to succeed. Until the conservatory, you have not played any instruments except block flute. Unfortunately, we are trying to understand, to learn other cultures while we do not know our own culture, music and instruments. Playing an instrument is not an easy task, especially Turkish Music instruments. Block flute or mandolin are instruments that are easier to learn, so at shcools they have a priority in education. It’s not an unfair reason; you cannot give Tanbur or Istanbul Kemenche to the hands of a child. It takes years for you to get the right sound from the Istanbul Kemenche, you know it very well. The important thing is not to play or sing well; the important thing is to know. If you are in this culture, you should have this knowledge. It is not difficult to