Singing tearjerkers workshop from €74.50 p/p
Singing heartbreak in Amsterdam! Book a workshop at Rederij Mokum
Have you become a seasoned bowling star, the Houdini of the escape room and/or stone grill expert because of the many company outings? Then it’s time for something new…
Book a tearjerker workshop at Rederij Mokum this year as a company outing (or birthday party)
During a two-hour boat trip, you will be initiated by our Mokum accordionist, singer and showmaster Jaap Somsen in the secrets of the Smartlap! Of course you will be introduced to the history of the genre… But more importantly: you will sing yourself! If the group turns out to have some talent, they can also sing polyphonically…
Old Dutch Smartlap
During this Mokum workshop you will be trained in the special singing techniques that have made the traditional Dutch tearjerker so famous. You will learn to use the ‘vibrato’ and the ‘sob’ correctly. In short, you will learn what Willy Alberti, Tante Leen, Johnny Jordaan and Andre Hazes have made so famous during a cruise through the Amsterdam canals. After a two-hour training session, you can theoretically get on stage straight away.
To get into the atmosphere, we dress the ship like an old brown café. On the table, of course, the Amsterdam tablecloths and the Amsterdam drinks set. You will be welcomed with a real Amsterdam drink. After which the party can begin.
What does a tear-jerker workshop consist of
- Two hours of sailing through the Amsterdam canals with private skipper
- Two hours of guidance from accordionist and showmaster Jaap Somsen
- Reception with Amsterdam drinks
- Unlimited Dutch bar (beer, wine and soft drinks)
- Well filled bowls with Amsterdam snacks
- Singing tearjerkers workshop
Under the guidance of accordionist Jaap Somsen
- Free text booklet
Optional: recordings of the tear-jerker session - Departure and arrival from our home port
>Room Mate Aitana hotel, 10 minutes walk from CS) - Parking garagewith more than enough spaces
Paid parking at your own expense - From price € 74.50 per person ex VAT
Our prices are based on a minimum group size of 15 guests. We also provide packages for fewer guests. Please note that the price per person will then be higher.
Request information
Rederij Mokum is a young company with original ideas for boat trips. Our packages are complete and affordable. Ask your question and we will think along with you. Would you like to know more about our boats or packages? Do you have questions about availability and prices, or would you like to request a (no-obligation) quote? Complete the request form without obligation and we will respond to your question within 24 hours.
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Tracks
Smartlap is a name for the life song and especially for those forms of the life song in which a lurid history is told. In the 1990s, the word smartlap grew into a nickname with the rise of smartlap choirs and smartlap festivals. Due to the popular character of the tearjerker, it seems likely that the genre was inspired by the repertoire of market and street singers from the 19th century and before.
Origin
The origin of the tearjerker or the song of life must be sought in the French chansons. In the course of the 19th century, self-written songs with sentimental content emerged among the working class. They were recited and sung in cafes. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tearjerker and the song for life were in the dark for a long time. It was dismissed with some disdain as music of the ‘lower social class’. Over the course of the 20th century, the tearjerker and the song for life made a strong comeback. The tearjerker has now become a respected genre that is seen as part of Dutch culture.
Meaning
The literal meaning of “sorrow patch” is a cloth or leather cloth on which sorrow is depicted as a kind of comic strip. Since time immemorial, troubadours have traveled from residential community to residential community and kept people informed of what was going on elsewhere. Once we arrived at the village square, where the necessary interested parties had gathered, the tearjerker was unfolded and the images on it reinforced what the folk singer had to say or sing.
The regent’s urges to expand, whether successful or not, the amorous escapades of the queen, love woes in the next village, you name it. The troubadours of that time lost their function when the newspaper and later radio, television and digital media arrived. But they persisted! In the form of artists such as Andre Hazes, Willie Alberti, Corrie Konings, the Singer Without Name and Hans Bauer. But also: Jack Poels, Boudewijn de Groot, Stef Bos and Huub van der Lubbe, who approach the intellectual side of the life song and the tearjerker