THE TALKING DRUM July 2009 Learning how to play Karimba (revision of article in issue #30) Perminus Matiure Collaborative learning: community and university as — partners in the learning process M Staff and students, North-West University fi Intensive music courses for Arts J and Culture teachers Hetta Potgieter IJ Conferences 16 Recommended Readings/ Website 18 DVDs 18 The Talking Drum • Newsletter Issue No. 3 I • July 2009 Network for promoting Interculturai Education through Music (NETIEM) Pan-African Society of Musical Arts Education (PASMAE) Prof. E Oehrle, School of Music, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4041 South Africa Fax:+27 (31) 260-1048 • E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Prof. Elizabeth Oehrle illlllKWUWMB Illustration for The Talking Drum: Dina Cormick Editorial sharing of his knowledge and love of address often changes, but currently all this indigenous instrument through back issues of TTD should be found at he Talking Drum is fortunate The Talking Drum. music.ukzn.ac.za/HomePage7865 - next T indeed to be able to turn to click - Recent Publications then scroll Andrew Tracey for assistance. Readers Hetta Potgieter from the North-West down to the bottom of that page for will recognize that this cover includes University in Potchefstroom features TTD on line. You may also Google: The the same pictures of the two mbiras in this issue once again. Her work Talking Drum ukzn. which appeared on the cover of the with her students and in her previous issue. The small mbira on the community is ground-breaking and TTD, mouthpiece for PASMAE (Pan left was made by Andrew from a very relevant. Her Musikhane Community African Society for Music/Arts hard piece of African Blackwood, so Project not only transformed the Education), includes information of hard that he would never do this again. thinking of her students but also the their conference in Nigeria. My He relates: "It is a Zambian/Malawian perception learners had of music and intention also was to publicize the very type 'kalimba', modeled on a Cewa one of how to perform. Dance was also important Conference at North-West from Malawi in my father's collection. an integral part of this project as was University, Musical Arts in South Africa, The other mbira is one of the styles the re-imagination of existing operas but, the unavoidably delayed formerly made by Kwanongoma with an African context. Her desire to publication of this issue made this College of African music in Bulawayo, assist Arts and Culture teachers impossible. The Conference invitation which many people have mistakenly resulted in a collaborative in-service and information are retained for started to call nyunganyunga, following training workshop which she shares in readers who may wish to follow the Dumi Maraire, but it is a karimba." "Intensive music courses for Arts and proceedings. My sincere apologies go Culture teachers". Educators from to the organizers and readers for this This issue includes a revision of other provinces in South Africa are mishap. "Learning how to play Karimba" by challenged to compile similar Perminus Matiure, which appeared in workshops for their teachers, many of Please continue to submit relevant issue #30 of The Talking Drum, and he whom are floundering as Arts and materials to share with the wider was graciously assisted by Andrew. Cultural educators. Combining the educational communities through TTD. arts in education is synonymous with Perminus currently studies and teaches Transferring the wealth of knowledge views of the arts in Africa; however, at UKZN, and he is a fine performer. in the minds of scholars and students teachers are not adequately trained He and Jerry Rutsate, also a Shona to written articles is not easy, but it is and need the kind of assistance which music teacher, spent time with Andrew an exercise worth pursuing. at the International Library of African Hetta provides. Music in Grahamstown, and they had discussions about the Karimba. We Hopefully our website problems are are grateful that Perminus initiated the solved. Unfortunately the website Elizabeth Oehrle Learning how to play Karimba © Perminus Matiure, School of Music, University of KwaZulu-Natal Mbira music of Zimbabwe has developed must have been coined by Dumisani to greater heights both in Africa and in Maraire in his long stay in USA. The name overseas countries like Britain, America has been forwarded to his students and Sweden. Much of the development resulting in its distribution to many parts has been propounded by the of the world. As we speak very few introduction of mbira teaching and people know the instrument as karimba. learning in schools and institutions. Much Instead nyunganyunga is widely used. It is of mbira teaching is common in Teachers' important for those interested in African colleges and Universities following the music to know the real name of the mbira works of Hugh Tracey, Andrew Tracey, and realize that Dumisani Maraire might JegeTapera, Eiiott Ndlovu. Dumi have generated the name from another Maraire and others who developed the mbira called nyonganyonga belonging to Kwanongoma karimba into the present the Sena/Barwe in Mozambique and nyunganyunga. For the purpose of this Sena/Tonga,Sena/ Gorongozi and article I will use the name karimba to Sena/Manganja in Mozambique and refer to Kwanongoma karimba. It is Malawi which is described in depth by quite disturbing to note that when Tracey (1972:96). What we call student teachers in Zimbabwe leave nyunganyunga today was brought to colleges or universities, most of them do Zimbabwe from Mozambique by Jege Figure I. Parts of karimba not further impart the skills of playing Tapera who then taught Andrew Tracey in karimba to children. The reasons may be Bulawayo in 1960. Jege Tapera was invited called mukwa or from mufenje trees. It is attributed to the unavailability of to teach the instrument at Kwanongoma important to note that it is becoming karimba instruments in the schools or by Robert Sibson. Several students were hard to find these trees these days lack of a proper teaching material in introduced to karimba and Maraire because it has been used so much by the terms of literature and methodology. In happened to be one of the students furniture industry. Below is a log from a this article I will present both the taught at Kwanongoma. His immaculate mubvamaropa tree ready to be content and methods that may help in proficiency on the instrument enabled developed into a gwariva. improving teaching and learning karimba. him to popularize it in America. Even in The article will discuss the history of Zimbabwe karimba is now taught in karimba, parts of karimba, layout of the schools, teacher's colleges and in keys on the karimba and Tracey's pulse universities. It is the aim of this article to notation which will be used to help teachers intending to teach karimba transcribe two songs; "Kukayiwa" and to beginners, improve their teaching skills "Chemutengure". in order to promote the growth of the indigenous music of Africa. History of karimba "nyunganyunga" The structure of karimba 'Nyunganyunga' is a new name given to the type of mbira known widely in the Parts of karimba Figure 2. Photographed in Chitsvuku Hill Each part of karimba has its own countries around the Zambezi river, I 8 December 2008 Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and function which has a bearing on the Malawi, as 'karimba' in the languages south resultant music produced by the Karimba soundboard measures 21cm of the river, and 'kalimba' in the languages instrument. The soundboard (gwariva) is by 18cm on average dimensions. Fifteen north of the river. The same mbira has a the primary resonator of the instrument. metal keys are mounted on this few other local names too. It is believed It is the board on which the keys are soundboard using a crossbar, mutanda to be the earliest mbira of the region mounted. Without it we can not talk of and a bridge, danhiko. Most karimbas around Zambezi River (Tracey 1972:85). an mbira. Most mbira soundboards are have some buzzers in the form of bottle Tracey goes on to maintain that it is made from a special type of wood tops. To amplify the sound the assumed that the name nyunganyunga extracted from either mubvamaropa also instrument is mounted in a round wooden resonator which was designed For karimba tuned in F the top two feeling of the song. It is important for a by Hugh Tracey for his Kalimba in the manuals are separated by the highest beginner to master the basic pattern 1950s and was first made by Indelicate a key which has the pitch of high F or (T) first before attempting more complex KwaZulu-Natal guitar maker. It was later above. The two top layers have keys variations. Mbira teachers who jump on simplified by Eliot Ndlovu.the with the same pitch, which are C, D and to teach students complex variations instrument-maker at Kwanongoma, after E or (5), (6) and (7) respectively on before teaching them the basic pattern Andrew Tracey had brought it to either side of F. It must be noted how­ of the song make karimba learning a Bulawayo in I960. The sole aim was to ever that not all karimbas are tuned in F. monster rather than a pleasure. make the karimba suitable for learning Instead karimbas in the Zambezi valley Suggested steps to follow when and teaching purposes in schools. Below are tuned in different keys which makes introducing karimba to beginner are: karimba a transposing instrument is the resonate ready for use: • The history of karimba depending on the player's preference. • Its structure and layout of notes However Andrew Tracey suggests that it Learning and teaching methods of is reasonable to have a common pitch karimba for all karimbas and he uses G.