Revista 21.Indd

revista da número 21 abem março de 2009 Prospects and challenges of teaching and learning musics of the world’s cultures: an African perspective Perspectivas e desafi os de aprender e ensinar músicas das culturas do mundo: uma perspectiva africana Rose A. Omolo-Ongati Maseno University (Kenya) [email protected] Abstract. African music is an intrinsic part of some social event or occasion. The music is a communal functional expression closely bound up with daily human living and activities. Performance practice of African music is governed by function and context association, rule and procedure that determine how the music should be performed. These underpinnings provide that the effectiveness of African songs depend on the context in which the music is both heard and performed. The impact of globalisation has made the world become a small place, bridged and linked by modern technology. Musics of the world, both local and global, are available through the mass media. Many of such musics are used for teaching purposes outside their cultural contexts of performances. With these principles and belief systems un- derlying the practice of African music, how should the music be treated, transmitted/handed down in its transferred context? An attempt has been made to answer this question. The African perception on the learning of music is that music cannot be properly understood and appreciated without the knowledge of its social and cultural context. This paper examines the viability and practicability of this theory in cases where music is taught out of its cultural context. The challenge for the borrower is to determine how the owners of the music defi ne it since ‘music’ has various components in African culture. Five important terms come into use when dealing with the teaching and learning of world musical cultures: Borrowing, appropriation, adaptation, accommodation, negotiation. This paper discusses these terms using one of the widely travelled ‘Kenyan’ popular music by Fadhili Williams, Malaika. Keywords: music education, African music, music in cultural contexts Resumo. A música africana é parte intrínseca de alguns eventos sociais. A música é uma expressão funcional comum diretamente ligada às atividades diárias das pessoas. A prática musical da música africana é regulada pela associação entre função e contexto, regras e procedimentos que determinam como a música deveria ser executada. Esses pontos indicam que a efetividade das canções africanas depende do contexto onde a música é ouvida e executada. O impacto da globalização tem tornado o mundo um espaço pequeno, conectado por tecnologias modernas. As músicas do mundo, local e global, estão disponíveis através da mídia. Muitas dessas músicas são usadas como propostas de ensino fora do contexto cultural da execução das mesmas. Com esses princípios e crenças subjacentes à prática da música africana, como a música deveria ser tratada, transmitida/manipulada em novos contextos? Este texto procura responder a essa questão. A percepção africana sobre a aprendizagem da música é que ela não pode ser propriamente compreendida e apreciada sem o conhecimento de seu contexto cultural e social. Este texto examina a viabilidade e prática dessa teoria em casos onde a música é ensinada fora de seu contexto cultural. O desafi o para aquele que toma emprestada a música de um contexto é determinar como os autores daquela música a defi nem, considerando que a música possui vários componentes na cultura Africana. Cinco termos importantes podem ser usados para lidar com o ensino e a aprendizagem das culturas musicais do mundo: emprestar, apropriar-se, adaptar, acomodar, negociar. Este texto discute esses termos usando como exemplo uma música queniana muito popular chamada Malaika, de Fadhili Williams. Palavras-chave: educação musical, música africana, música no contexto cultural 7 OMOLO-ONGATI, Rose A. Prospects and challenges of teaching and learning musics of the world’s cultures: an African perspective. Revista da ABEM, Porto Alegre, V. 21, 7-14, mar. 2009. número 21 revista da março de 2009 abem Introduction world musics. Current developments in the social, Teaching and learning musics of the world’s political and economic life of peoples around the cultures have been at the core of debate by music globe has created fresh awareness of the great educationists, music artists and scholars in other diversity and diffusion of cultures. The confrontation fields (anthropology) the world over. The issues of and convergence of cultures has become inevitable concept, content and context, methodology, resour- due to modern technologies that continually reduce ces, human expertise, facilities, style/idiom, and the globe in size with tremendous speed. Conse- curriculum development have engaged the minds quently the musics of the world have combined with of many scholars, yielding diversified perspectives each other – combined elements of melody, rhythm, and beliefs on the viability of teaching and learning harmony, performance practice, instruments, to world musics. These issues have been problematic produce new kinds of music appealing to a large to the extent that some scholars have passed a multicultural audience (Nettl 1998, p. 23). As a re- death sentence verdict on the subject as an over sult, the ever-growing clarity of ethnic boundaries ambitious endeavour that cannot be achieved, and cultural distinctions have fertilised aspirations contending that the world cannot be referred to as for socio-political autonomies – a condition that has a global village (Kofie, 2004)1. Some have claimed also created the need to build channels of commu- that musics of cultures foreign to us cannot be un- nication, not from a hegemonic perspective, but on derstood easily, if at all. Others believe that because principles of equality, respect and understanding of the diversity and uniqueness that exist within (Santos 1994, p. 25). cultures where these musics come from, there can never be a universal approach to the teaching of People travel across and beyond national musics of the world’s cultures, not even developing boundaries. In the same way, music travels and some respect and admiration, an attitude referred is continually being created, recreated, modified/ to by (Elliott, 1994) as “cultural democracy”. They refashioned, adapted and reinterpreted, transcen- wonder whether world music does more to promote ding the limits of local culture and the personal self. or erase musical diversity. Others even complicate This has made the musics of the world cultures to matters more by bringing in the cultural nuances be more readily available to most people through of context and association claiming that teaching the mass media. Thus, we come to learn cultures a piece of music to a non-native audience without of other people through their music over television, reference to the social situation and context in acting as a cultural stage. which the music was born is a big mockery of that connection. They see “indigenisation” as a response Whether it is an issue of searching for a su- to globalisation, a resistance to cultural imperialism pplement to add to one’s culture, adding to our list and essentialising tropes of homogeneity. These an expanded notion of music, providing a platform people also hold an emic view that music is bound for minorities and majorities to interact through to culture and that no one outside that culture can musical activities, or encouraging a form of ex- penetrate it. According to them, music should not change in order to create a new expression, world be a commodity but should be in its very essence music as a global phenomenon is a reality that we communal, spiritual and a totally shared experience. have to contend with. Our increasing awareness of (Keil; Steven, 1994) supports this view when he cultural variation in musical practices and the rate proclaims that there should not be a music industry. of global musical interaction force us to reconsider He insists that music should not be written or me- how to respond to these developments. Therefore, chanically reproduced and mass mediated. It should denying the existence of world music is refusing to exist live, for the moment, in present time and the see the reality. makers should be rewarded with happiness and barter-like reciprocation. The bone of contention This paper discusses the prospects and has always been that the appropriators of the music challenges of teaching and learning music of the do not remember to reward the music owners, and world’s cultures by attempting to answer the follo- the concern is therefore the loss of rights of those wing questions: from whom the music is borrowed, especially when power, prestige and large sums of money become 1) How can music be understood and appre- involved. ciated outside its cultural context? There are however, others who see a lot of 2) How do we make a case for studying and potential and prospects in teaching and learning teaching specific musical culture? ______________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Personal communication, Nov. 22, 2004 8 revista da número 21 abem março de 2009 3) When music travels and is used for tea- African musical forms are formed out of a ching in a decontextualised context, how should spiritual impulse. Spirituality is its core and power. the music be transmitted or handed down to the It is the essence of a particular musical form that learners? Should traditional formats of instruction outlines the style/idiom. So, one can tamper with the be maintained? forms in order to maintain the spirit. Okumu (2005)2 maintains that it is more important to preserve the African perspective on music making spirituality in African music than the tunes, because that is what forms the basis of the discipline. Re- African music arises naturally and sponta- cognition of the main pulse and time line in African neously from the functions of everyday life. There music is therefore an important aspect to consider are functional roles that connect music to the daily when teaching this music to non-native learners.

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