An Elementary School Music Culture Project
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Developing Children’s Multicultural Sensitivity Using Music of the African Diaspora: An Elementary School Music Culture Project Karen Howard A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Patricia Shehan Campbell, Chair Steven Morrison Shannon Dudley Program Authorized to Offer Degree: School of Music University of Washington Graduate School University of Washington Abstract Developing Children’s Multicultural Sensitivity Using Music of the African Diaspora: An Elementary School Music Culture Project Karen Howard Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Patricia Shehan Campbell, Ph.D. School of Music The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the overlapping yet potentially synchronous aims and practices of music education and multicultural education ideals in a public elementary school music class of fifth-grade children at Pinecrest Elementary School. A fourteen-week curriculum, the Music Culture Project, was created to explore five selected musical cultures from Africa and the African diaspora including Ghanaian recreational music, Afro-Puerto Rican bomba and plena, Jamaican singing games and steel pan music, African-American songs from slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, and African-American hip-hop. An examination of responses by fifth-grade children to the Music Culture Project required ethnographic techniques in compiling an account of the impact of experiences aimed to meet musical and sociocultural goals, the interactions of children with culture-bearers, and the perspectives of children and classroom teacher with regard to the development of musical skills and Multicultural Sensitivity. The daily music educator-taught classes, the four culture-bearer workshops, and the frequent informal conversations and formal interviews were carefully documented and analyzed. A Multicultural Sensitivity emerged among the children as a result of the teaching-learning experiences of the Music Culture Project. The design of the Project, the collaborations and workshop sessions with culture-bearers, and the experiences of ten- and eleven year-old children are examined in an effort to contribute to an understanding of the benefits of a curricular project intended to manifest the principles and practices of multicultural music education. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page # List of Figures……………………………………………………………… iv Chapter One: Pathways to Multicultural Sensitivity Through Music Education 1 Influences of Multiculturalism in Music Education……………….. 4 Considerations of Race in Music Education………………………… 6 Multiculturalism in Music Education: A Historical Perspective…… 9 Tracing Multiculturalism’s History in Music Education…………… 9 Dimensions of Multicultural Education……………………………. 12 The Musical Canon………………………………………………... 15 Authenticity……………………………………………………….. 17 Culture-Bearers……………………………………………………. 18 Multicultural Sensitivity in Music Education……………………… 19 Purpose of Study…………………………………………………… 22 Overview of Dissertation…………………………………………... 24 Chapter Two: Method and Context………………………………………… 26 Research Method…………………………………………………… 26 Ethnography………………………………………………… 27 Fieldwork…………………………………………………… 28 Observations and Fieldnotes………………………………… 29 Interpretation………………………………………………… 30 Coding………………………………………………………. 31 Material Culture……………………………………………… 31 Data Triangulation…………………………………………… 32 Research Permissions ………………………………………. 32 Interviews…………………………………………………… 33 Teacher as Researcher.……………………………………… 34 Focus Groups………………………………………………. 35 Provocative Declaratives and Interrogatives………………… 36 The Music Culture Project (MCP)…………………………………… 37 The Lessons…………………………………………………. 39 Additional Teaching Techniques……………………………. 39 Setting……………………………………………………………….. 42 Curricular Content, Process, and Objectives………………… 46 Music Literacy in the Pinecrest Music Program…………….. 48 Researcher………………………………………………… 51 Participants………………………………………………… 54 Children…………………………………………………… 54 Classroom Teacher………………………………………… 55 Focus Group (Boys)………………………………………… 57 Focus Group (Girls)………………………………………… 59 Summary …………………………………………………... 61 Chapter Three: The Music Culture Project………………………………… 63 Designing the Music Culture Project………………………………. 63 The Selected Musical Cultures…………………………………….. 65 i Authenticity and Music of the African Diaspora…………………… 66 Resources for Teaching and Learning……………………………… 67 Pedagogical Approaches……………………………………………. 68 Teaching and Learning in the Music Culture Project………………. 70 Ghana………………………………………………………. 70 MCP Vignette……………………………………… 70 “Kpanlogo”………………………………………… 73 MCP Vignette……………………………………… 80 Music in the Daily Life of Ewe Villagers in Ghana. 82 Puerto Rico…………………………………………………. 82 MCP Vignette………………………………………. 83 “Que Bonita Bandera”……………………………… 86 “Cheki Morena”……………………………………. 88 A Habanera…………………………………………. 89 Partner Melodies…………………………………….. 91 Music in Daily Life of Puerto Ricans……………….. 92 Jamaica………………………………………………………. 92 MCP Vignette……………………………………….. 93 “Poor Sammy”……………………………………… 95 Music in Daily Life of Jamaicans…………………… 96 African-American Music in the Historic American South… 97 MCP Vignette……………………………………… 98 Historic Songs……………………………………… 99 Hip-Hop Culture and Rap Music…………………………… 108 MCP Vignette………………………………………. 109 Time to Rap…………………………………………. 110 Hip-Hop in Daily Life in the U.S…………………… 111 Summary…………………………………………………………….. 112 Chapter Four: Collaborations With Culture-Bearers………………………… 114 Kofi: The Arts as Cultural Legacies of Ghana………………………. 118 Kofi’s Workshop Session……………………………………. 119 Miguel: Puerto Rican Bomba……………………………………….... 127 Miguel’s Workshop Session…………………………………. 128 Bomba? Or Just a Bomb?.............................................. 131 David: Redefining “Jamaican-ness”………………………………….. 134 David’s Workshop Session…………………………………… 135 Pastor Pat: Black Music of the Southern U.S.)………………………. 143 Miss Pat’s Workshop Session……………………………… 145 Collaborative Works of Music Educators and Culture-Bearers…… 152 Chapter Five: Music as a Tool for Developing Multicultural Sensitivity… 155 “Couldn’t They Find One Person From Africa to Sing It?”……… 158 “It Does Not Matter About Your Skin Color!”…………………… 162 “It Wouldn’t Make Me Feel Good.”……………………………… 165 “I Don’t Mean to be Racist, But…”……………………………… 167 “It’s Just Like Slavery Now!”……………………………………. 169 “She Does NOT Look Jamaican!”………………………………… 172 ii “You Might Be Something Like Black or White.”………………... 175 Summary…………………………………………………………… 179 Chapter Six: Conclusions and Recommendations…………………………. 183 The Music Culture Project…………………………………………. 185 Musical Accomplishments of the Music Culture Project …………. 186 Collaboration With Culture-Bearers………………………………... 189 Attaining Multicultural Sensitivity………………………………… 191 Toward a Model of Multicultural Music Education………………… 191 Further Research…………………………………………………….. 203 Implications for Future Practice…………………………………….. 205 Summary…………………………………………………………..... 210 References…………………………………………………………………… 212 Appendices…………………………………………………………………… 236 A: Parent/Guardian Consent/Assent Form…………………………… 236 B: Student Assent Form……………………………………………… 240 C: Teacher Consent Form……………………………………………. 242 D: YouTube Videos………………………………………………….. 245 E: I Used to Think Prompts and Student Responses…………………. 247 F: A Day in the Life………………………………………………….. 254 G: Rap Lyrics………………………………………………………… 263 iii List of Figures Figure Number Page # 2-1. Provocative declaratives and interrogatives…… 37 2-2. K-W-L chart…………………………………… 40 2-3. I Used to Think………………………………… 41 2-4. Learning objectives for Music Culture Project… 50 3-1. Kpanlogo clapping-stepping ostinato…………... 73 3-2. Tsobue Chant…………………………………… 74 3-3. Zaminamina…………………………………….. 75 3-4. Gankogui……………………………………….. 76 3-5. Gankogui rhythm………………………………. 76 3-6. ABC……………………………………………. 77 3-7. Axatse………………………………………….. 77 3-8. Simplified axatse rhythm………………………. 77 3-9. Original axatse rhythm…………………………. 78 3-10. Kpanlogo drums………………………………... 78 3-11. Simplified drum pattern………………………… 78 3-12. Tokee and firikiwa rhythms…………………….. 79 3-13. Firikiwa and tokee………………………………. 79 3-14. La ee la………………………………………….. 79 3-15. Que Bonita Bandera…………………………….. 87 3-16. Percussion rhythms for plena…………………… 88 3-17. Cheki Morena…………………………………… 89 3-18. Clapping rhythm for Cheki Morena…………….. 89 3-19. La Paloma Se Fue……………………………….. 91 3-20. La Paloma Se Fue marimba pattern……………… 91 3-21. Buenos Dias…………………………………….... 92 3-22. Sammy Dead-O………………………………….. 97 3-23. Woke up This Morning………………………….. 101 3-24. If You Miss Me at the Back of the Bus………….. 102 3-25. Lift Every Voice and Sing……………………….. 103 3-26. What Can One Little Person Do?........................... 105 3-27. Harriet Tubman………………………………….. 106 3-28. Follow the Drinking Gourd………………………. 107 3-29. We Shall Not Be Moved………………………….. 108 4-1. Children wearing traditional cloth………………... 120 4-2. Kpanlogo drum…………………………………… 121 4-3. Kenkeni, samba, djun djun……………………….. 121 4-4. Djembe…………………………………………… 121 4-5. Tubano…………………………………………… 121 4-6. Call and Response Patterns……………………… 123 4-7. Drumming Rhythms……………………………... 125 4-8. Sankun Che………………………………………. 126 4-9. Mbira…………………………………………… 127 iv 4-10. Bomba rhythm………………………………….. 132 4-11. Bomba tune……………………………………... 133 4-12. Emmanuel Road………………………………… 138 4-13. Diwali Riddim…………………………………... 138 4-14. Children playing steel pan with David………….. 143 5-1. Vikas’ rap……………………………………….. 178 5-2. Audra and Madison’s rap……………………….. 178 6-1. A Model of Multicultural Music Education…….. 197 6-2. A Model of the Music Culture Project………….. 199 6-3. Demonstrations