I was particularly struck by the ability and talent of not only those appearing on stage but festival attendees too. The masterclasses I attended which involved audience participation and interaction clearly showed a high level of understanding of music. Jesper Holm whose forte is jazz suggests that it is very important to know which note of the chord you are singing at all times. As he played chords on the piano he got the audience to sing one of the notes and expected, at the same time, for that note to be identified; 5th, 3rd, 9th, etc.

A lecture by Professor Peter Vuust, jazz musician/neuroscientist at Aarhus University was particularly fascinating. He emphasised the importance of listening to music which appeals to you to enable the release of dopamine in the brain. We all know that listening to Mozart increases the functionality of the brain but now of course this can be proved by measuring the brain activity under a scanner. However, did you know that the same effect can be produced by listening to Blur?

I had the most fun by attending the class run by Lene Norgaard called Stomp & Zap Mama Style. Take an 8-beat phrase, stamp on the 1st, clap on the 3rd, stamp on the 6th and clap on 7th. Now, while you're doing that, sing a complicated rhythmical song in Swahili and in harmony! Great fun, but I'm not sure I achieved it.

The combination of Vocal Line and Bobby McFerrin made a fabulous show and Bobby McFerrin's CD 'Vocabularies' (is well worth a listen. Added to that, I purchased 3 CDs – Vocal Line (www.vocalline.dk), Vox North DK (www.voxnorth.dk) and Touché (a group run by Jesper Holm : www.myspace.com/touchejazz). All exceptional.