Live. &Learn. Pete Seeger and the Power of Song. Exploring. Multicultural. WebQuests: There are more ways than ever to continue your music education.

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1 music teachingnovember 2010 Volume 18, Number 3 Live &Learn There are more ways than ever to continue your music education. Pete Seeger and the Power of Song Exploring Multicultural Music WebQuests: Research Projects for the 21st Century Copyright 2010 by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Reprinted with permission. Not for further use without permission from MENC.

2 By Matt Robinson Crossing Borders Adding cultural diversity to music education expands horizons for all Thanks to technology and modern conveniences, the world continues to become a smaller place, while our communities become more diverse. At the same time, it s becoming easier to learn about the world s many cultures, to appreciate their unique qualities, to understand their significance and their fragility. For music teachers with wideranging interests, this is a time of great promise, providing unparalleled opportunities to open others ears and minds to sounds and ideas that were long considered foreign. The individuals mentioned in this article are just a few of the educators who are committed to such a pursuit; each in his or her way is helping to even the balance of musical trade. IMMERSION IN SOUTH AFRICA More than a decade ago, as Kathy Robinson prepared her doctoral dissertation on multicultural music education at the University of Michigan, she came to understand that for many teachers, bringing world music into the classroom can be a struggle. Her research showed her, she says, that it was something that they felt unprepared for and often confused by. Realizing the importance of changing this situation, Robinson now assistant professor of music education at the University of Alberta, Canada has since prepared and presented over 90 workshops on five continents, all in the name of bringing music from one country and culture to another. Without a personal experience of being other and an opportunity to challenge what you believe in and do as a person and teacher, Robinson says, paraphrasing multicultural education leader Sonia Nieto, it will be difficult to create a curriculum that is global in content and perspective. That s why photos from top: Comstock/thinkstock; istockphoto/thinkstock 1 Teaching Music I August 2010

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4 Robinson continues to travel the globe like a musical Johnny Appleseed, spreading knowledge for the benefit of students and teachers alike. Perhaps her most major undertaking is Umculo! Kimberley, held in the neighboring townships of Kimberley and Galeshewe, South Africa. In this extensive summer graduate program, which Robinson has spearheaded since 1997, general and choral music educators are immersed in the two South African communities for approximately a month. In addition to leading local choirs in both Western and world musics, participants attend area festivals and other community events. The goal is to learn about traditional South African music while at the same time helping African teachers, students, and performers with their understanding of Western musical systems, acting as what Robinson calls cultural translators. (Umculo means music in Zulu.) It is clear that participation in Umculo! Kimberley has deeply affected the teachers, Robinson says, noting that many say they have been transformed by it. It caused the lenses through which they saw the world to be ground anew, resulting in expanded pedagogical frames of reference. The next installment of the program will take place in July and August 2011; for more information, go to uofaweb.ualberta.ca/ elementaryed/summermusic10.cfm and click on Umculo! Kimberley in the right-hand column. AN EXPANDING SYMPOSIUM Of course, South Africa is far from the only place where a multicultural mix of educators, students, and performers can inspire each other. Since 1994, one of the world s largest and most ambitious multicultural music education gatherings has been at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Cosponsored by the University and MENC, the biennial National Symposium on Multicultural Music brings together specialists in the field to discuss and explore the role of music in culture within its historical context. According to founder and director Marvelene C. Moore, a professor of music education at the University, the Symposium was originally intended to serve as an excellent vehicle for exposing the university and public school students in Tennessee to the diversity of music in the world. But it quickly became a much larger program that now attracts students and educators from across the country and around the world. The Symposium, Moore says, provides exposure to music that will contribute to understanding one s own culture, supplies students and teachers with a 40 Teaching Music I November 2010 MENC books with lesson plans for multicultural music: A Kaleidoscope of Cultures: A Celebration of Multicultural Music Research and Practice, edited by Marvelene Moore with Philip Ewell (2010) Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, 3rd Edition (Volumes 1, 2, and 3), edited by William Anderson and Patricia Shehan Campbell (2010) Indian Music in the Classroom, by Natalie Sarrazin (2009) Across the Water: Teaching Irish Music and Dance at Home and Abroad, by Rebecca Farrell (2010) Travel On and On: Interdisciplinary Lessons on the Music of World Cultures, by Elisa Macedo Dekaney and Deborah Alane Cunningham (2010) Other MENC books on multicultural music: Foundations of Mariachi Education, Volume 1, edited by William Gradante (2008) The Steel Band Game Plan: Strategies for Starting, Building, and Maintaining Your Pan Program, by Chris Tanner (2006) repertoire of vocal and instrumental multicultural music literature, and offers a forum for intellectual discourse on research among faculty, students and community leaders. Moore herself has studied in Austria, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Korea, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and many areas of the United States, which allows her to draw on extensive expertise and connections that help the Symposium continue to grow in scope year after year. At the most recent symposium, held October 6-9, 2010, workshop, research, and performance sessions focused on African and Korean drumming, native American music, and a variety of other musical cultures, including Caribbean, Chinese, Irish, Iraqi, and Mexican-American. Participants also took in the rich musical heritage of Tennessee through a visit to the Museum of Appalachia and music and dance performances by local artists and students from Knox County and the University. For more information, visit music.utk.edu/mmsymposium. THE TRADITION OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY The interest in diverse musical cultures that sparked the creation of the National Symposium is not a new feature in the world of American music education. According to William M. Anderson, professor emeritus at Ohio s Kent State University and founding director of its Center for the Study of World Musics, it dates back to at least the early years of the 20th century. The principal thrust for studying a broad array of music cultures developed in the field of ethnomusicolphotos from top: Hemera/thinkstock; courtesy of marvelene Moore; stockphoto/thinkstock

5 ogy in the post-world War II era, Anderson says. This field established the idea that our global heritage includes a large number of musical traditions, often based on different but equally logical principles. By studying these various strands, students and educators at all levels are encouraged to broaden perspectives. MENC became increasingly involved in ethnomusicology and multicultural studies during the 1960s, Anderson recalls, with symposia at Yale and Tanglewood, among others; increased diversity in the organization s membership helped to expand its interests. In 1990, MENC presented t h e National Symposium on Multicultural Approaches to Music Education in collaboration with the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Smithsonian Institution. Anderson, who directed the gathering, says that it helped develop a perspective that encouraged a broader approach to musical study. Meanwhile, at Kent State, Anderson had developed a Ph.D. program in world music studies and elective courses such as Music as a World Phenomenon that quickly became popular with students. No matter how students come to discover other musical heritages, Anderson believes that the younger they do so, the better. His own research conducted while at Kent State found that students raised primarily on European musical forms sometimes appeared reticent to study other styles. This observation led us to promote the study of a broad array of musical traditions from the very earliest years, he says. Students need to begin such study as early as possible. A BAND DIRECTOR GOES GLOBAL While international music can be a subject of serious study, some come to it simply because they enjoy it. When West Chester University music professor J. Bryan Burton interviewed for his job at the Pennsylvania school 20 years ago, he took up most of the interview time discussing his love of international music and culture. As he had been drifting toward ethnomusicology from the world of band directing, he saw the interview as a perfect opportunity to have fun and let the chips fall wherever. Not only was Burton hired, but the department head asked him to include international music in his lessons. The offerings in this area soon grew to a full seven-week undergraduate unit, two graduate courses, and periodic seminars on international music and related topics. The world music offerings immerse the students in a series of world cultures, Burton explains, sharing the music, dance, storytelling, and more in a style as close to traditional transmission processes of the culture as may be created in a U.S. university classroom. By teaching experientially and encouraging his students to play instruments from around the world, Burton meets standards and curricular expectations while maintaining musical in- ThisWorldMusic founder/director Jeremy Cohen leads a group of graduate students from UMASS Amherst in a performance of the Ewe war dance Agbekor in Ghana, West Africa. photos from top: Hemera/thinkstock (2) ; courtesy of jeremy cohen 42 Teaching Music I November 2010

6 photo: courtesy of marvelene Moore tegrity and cultural respect. Students remark that children in their student teaching classrooms are excited by the new sounds and experiences and music classes become energized, Burton says. Other students remark that some children who never take part in regular lessons are especially drawn to the songs, games, and dances from around the world. In addition to multiple articles and books on the subject, Burton says he is proud to be leaving behind a generation of students and new teachers who will support and expand on his and many others efforts. Perhaps the true legacy of this program is found in the public school world music ensembles, communityschool projects, and grant projects led by students who passed through the successor courses to those first few lessons in my methods class of 1991, he says. GETTING STARTED What if you want to bring more multicultural music into your classroom but are unsure how to begin? According to Boston-based composer, percussionist, and educator Jeremy Cohen, a few simple steps can help. As the founder and director of ThisWorldMusic (thisworldmusic.com), an organization specializing in the teaching of African drumming, Cohen has led professional development workshops for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory, and school districts around the country. The following are his core recommendations for music teachers. 1 Seek out high-quality professional development. Learn from educators who have studied in the culture and have successfully adapted traditional music for the classroom. CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS During his 36 years of teaching music in Hartford, Connecticut, Alejandro Jimenez noticed a gradual population shift that brought more Spanish-speaking students into his classroom and his community. With them came new styles of music, including merengue from the Dominican Republic and bomba from Puerto Rico. At that point, Jimenez recalls, it made sense to me to start getting materials in Spanish. It was a start, but there was more to be done; despite the newcomers rapid rise to prevalence in the area, no music programs reflected where they were coming from to give them a place in the school system. Jimenez then began to create new kinds of ensembles for his new students, incorporating instruments and styles of their native countries. The practice quickly caught on, and Jimenez and his students were invited to perform at area churches and universities. For his efforts, he was named Connecticut s Elementary School Music Teacher of the Year in As the multicultural chair for the Connecticut Music Educators Association s Professional Affairs Commission, Jimenez expanded his reach even further. Having noticed that there was no representation of inner-city Latino students at the conferences, Jimenez began taking his Latin music groups to local, regional, and national music education gatherings, including the Symposium in Knoxville. Students in these nontraditional ensembles now had a purpose for coming to school early in the morning, he says. They were fully engaged and out of trouble. With his support and the confidence that came from playing their native musics, Jimenez says that his students performed better not only in his classes but in others as well, and were able to make more meaningful contributions to their school and their community. Such are the benefits of multicultural music education. And with teachers like Jimenez and his colleagues setting such inspirational examples for their students, its future appears to be in good hands. Choose depth over 2 breadth. Pick one or two world music traditions and make them the focus of your multicultural curriculum. Strive for balance. 3 World music and Western music are not an either/ or but rather a both/and. Teach aurally. Not 4 only will this help you reach non-music students, but it will ensure your curriculum remains faithful to traditional pedagogy. Teachers take part in one of the many workshops during the National Symposium on Multicultural Music Knoxville, Tennessee. Provide context. Take 5 time to educate your students about the culture from which the music arises. If you re in the market for further multicultural ideas, the My Music Class section of MENC s website can help. Go to menc.org/lessons and look for the Smithsonian Global Sound (now Smithsonian Folkways) lesson plans, which offer an introduction to a wide range of musical cultures, styles, and instruments. menc.org 43