Teaching and learning African music and Jaques-Dalcroze’s eurhythmics

This article looks at the indigenous music of Botswana as an African musical idiom, to illustrate common aspects between approaches to teaching and learning music in African societies and the Jaques-Dalcroze approach. The author argues that a strong foundation exists in African musical practices upon which the Dalcroze approach can build. That foundation is provided by the evidence of emphasis on certain musical concepts as displayed in the performance of a sample of song and dance genres discussed in this article. It is further contended that musical performance in African societies develops the same skills that the Dalcroze approach aims to develop.