Research-to-Resource: Effective Incorporation of World Music Into the Music Classroom

Background

As the demographics of our nation continue to evolve, it is apparent that members of our society should embrace opportunities to increase their levels of awareness and acceptance of individuals who may be members of different ethnic groups. Parents can encourage their children to be more accepting of others through what they say and do. Classroom teachers can foster a classroom climate that is open and accepting through the different activities and discussions led in a class. Music educators can also increase students’ familiarity levels with diverse repertoire while positively affecting students’ levels of cultural awareness through effective incorporation of world music into music lessons and curricula (O’Toole, 2003). By teaching children to acknowledge and embrace cultural diversities, educators are able to teach children to work together and to respect and appreciate one another (Abril, 2006b; Shehan, 1985).

Incorporating world music into the classroom as a way to acknowledge the changing demographics of our society has been encouraged for many decades. The desire to enhance music curricula in this manner has been in place since the Tanglewood Symposium of 1967. Unfortunately, many teachers have not always had the requisite knowledge or skills to do this in a way that was culturally informed or culturally sensitive. Today’s music educators, however, have access to a plethora of resources that enable them to make informed choices, which have the potential to function positively for the students they teach.

Why World Music Education?

There are many reasons world music education should be included in the classroom. Some of the reasons include having a positive effect on the broadening of music preferences (Fung, 1994), increasing students’ receptivity levels to new musics (Dekaney et al., 2011), and teaching children to be more accepting and respectful of others who may be different from oneself (Abril, 2006b; Shehan, 1985).

Researchers have shown that elementary students indicate higher levels of preference for music of different cultures when they have direct experiences with the music, especially when those experiences are coupled with brief discussions of interesting cultural elements (Abril, 2006a; Bradley, 2006). Positively affecting our students’ levels of preference for musics that are new and unfamiliar is something many music educators value. If this is something a music educator deems as important, it should be something music educators actively teach their students. Incorporating world music into music lessons regularly can facilitate the accomplishment of this goal. Providing such music experiences can have a positive impact on students’ music preferences. For example, research has shown that providing students with opportunities to listen to music of Asia and of Africa, both of which are very broad categories of music since they include so many different countries and cultures, can increase the likelihood of their liking music representative of those cultures (Fung, 1994).

Another reason music educators should increase their willingness to incorporate music of other cultures into the music classroom is so their students’ levels of receptivity to new musics are increased. LeBlanc et al. (1996) coined the term open-earedness to refer to the period of time during which individuals are most open to different forms of music. These scholars have found that individuals are most receptive and flexible (i.e., open) during elementary and college years. Conversely, individuals tend to be least receptive and most inflexible (i.e., closed) during secondary school/adolescence and during the age of retirement. Therefore, when should educators expose children to a variety of music? According to the research, the best time during which educators should provide students with frequent exposures to a diversity of musics is during their periods of open-earedness (i.e., elementary and college years). This does not mean that we do not share new musics with individuals who are at different stages of development. Instead, frequent exposures should also occur during those other stages. They should occur, however, with an awareness of the low levels of receptivity that may be demonstrated during those different stages of development. Instead of simply abandoning those opportunities to share new musics when individuals may be perceived as closed-eared, music educators should make an even more concerted effort to share new musics since repetition can be used as an instructional tool to have a positive impact on those levels of receptivity.

Some examples of new music representative of a different culture that could be shared during these periods might include zilizopendwa music of Tanzania, such as that of Samba Mapangala who was a very famous performer of this type of Tanzanaian pop music, or a children’s Swahili song such as “Tukalichume Dodo,” which has an enjoyable accompanying circle dance (Haonga et al., 2010). Both of these examples have appealing features (e.g., fast tempi, catchy melodies, representative of familiar genres/sounds), which may positively contribute to students’ levels of receptivity to new music representative of a different culture (LeBlanc, 1982; LeBlanc & McCrary, 1983).

Researchers have also shown that sharing music representative of different cultures can have a positive effect on teaching students about others who may be different from themselves (Abril, 2006b; Shehan, 1985). This exposure can teach students to be respectful and accepting of those who may be unlike themselves. As the Coordinator of Student Teaching at a large university in the southwestern region of the state of Texas, our student teachers were given the opportunity to teach at least one lesson that focused on the music of another culture. One semester, a student teacher chose to focus on the music that was reflective of the ethnicity of a foreign exchange student from Thailand. The student teacher developed a student-centered lesson that enabled the foreign exchange student to share information about her culture and to perform a traditional melody of her choice on a two-stringed traditional instrument from her country, the saw duang (pictorial images of this instrument can be found at www.google.com/search?q=saw+duang+images&safe=active&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS773US774&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijtLrrzq3aAhXKyoMKHUOeA7oQsAQIKA&biw=1430&bih=747). On the day of this lesson, the foreign exchange student showed up to share music of her culture while dressed in a beautiful traditional gown. Her American peers were outwardly excited about and genuinely interested in this new form of music, and the foreign exchange student shared music and cultural elements in an informative, educational, and engaging manner. Prior to this lesson, the foreign exchange student had a hard time interacting with her peers. Subsequent to the lesson, the student’s interactions with her American peers improved substantially.

How to Incorporate World Music Most Effectively?

Although sharing world music can be of great benefit to learners of all levels, the manner in which world music is shared is extremely important. According to Abril (2006a), for attitudinal changes toward music (and people) from another culture to occur, students must have opportunities to learn and talk about the culture being introduced through the music. He refers to this as the sociocultural portion of a lesson. Therefore, teachers should emphasize the sociocultural context and music concepts within a lesson to increase the likelihood of students gaining a thorough understanding of the music and culture being shared and retaining the knowledge acquired. Several scholars have written texts that would serve as excellent resources for music educators who are interested in teaching lessons that emphasize both of the aforementioned elements (Barz, 2004; Campbell, 2004; Robinson et al., 2016).

This type of teaching and learning can be experienced when sharing a song of another culture with young learners. For instance, while introducing the song “Ukuti, Ukuti,” a children’s Swahili song from Tanzania (Haonga et al., 2010), a teacher should teach the text, the translation of the text, and the melody of the song. While students are learning the music concepts within “Ukuti, Ukuti” (English translation: coconut tree leaf), the teacher should also take the time to integrate information that addresses the sociocultural context of the song. The teacher may provide a brief description of the story that is told through the song. “Ukuti, Ukuti” describes a situation where a child gets hurt while playing and has to go to the hospital, but the other children decide not to tell the child’s mother since it is understood (within this culture) that the children should take care of one another. The teacher can also talk about the presence of coconut trees and leaves in Tanzania, especially on the island of Zanzibar, to further enhance the cultural context of the song. This discussion could be further enhanced with the sharing of pictorial images of coconut trees in Tanzania as well as an audio/video clip of Tanzanian children performing the song, which can be accessed via this website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDMEnNozx3E.

It is also very important to involve cultural insiders (i.e., members of the culture or individuals who have been immersed in the culture for a considerable amount of time) in world music lessons (Belz, 2006). Teachers should take the time to locate cultural insiders within their school and local community and invite those insiders to share their music and culture with the students. Learning music from a cultural insider adds an element of authenticity that may be difficult to achieve if the lesson is presented only by a cultural outsider. However, even when you may be perceived as a cultural outsider, that does not mean the lesson should not be taught to one’s students. What follows is an example of how an educator might be able to provide students with a culturally rich music learning experience while teaching an indigenous song and dance reflective of a specific ethnic group from Tanzania. For instance, the “Bughobogobo” is a Sukuma song, dance, and/or drumming piece (Gunderson, 2010; Henninger, 2016) that a teacher could share with her students while involving a local member of the community who may be from Tanzania. The cultural insider would enrich the learning experience for the learners by providing them with additional details of rituals, norms, customs, and beliefs of the Sukuma, which will increase the likelihood of the students retaining the information and skills learned. One may access video clips of a university African Ensemble rehearsal of the Bughobogobo dance of the Sukuma ethnic group through this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddiXiru3QG8&t=25s. One may also access a video of a clip of a university African Ensemble rehearsal of the Bughobogobo drumming of the Sukuma ethnic group through the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIr_mETuiRo. Both rehearsals occurred in a university setting in Tanzania, East Africa, and comprised East African and non–East African scholars, teachers, and students affiliated with that university.

Authenticity is a term frequently used and discussed among ethnomusicologists and music educators who research and teach about world music integration. How does one effectively determine the authenticity level of music performed? Although a performance may be deemed as authentic on one day and in a specific setting, once that setting is changed and any element of the performance is altered, suddenly others may deem that performance as lacking authenticity. However, when one considers elements of language and instrumentation, authenticity may be obtained with the use of accurate lyrics and instruments reflective of that culture (Abril, 2006b). For instance, if one chooses to teach the indigenous song and dance titled “Masewe,” which is representative of the Makua ethnic group in Tanzania, one could increase the level of authenticity of the performance by using the original language and including drums and shakers reflective of that ethnic group. Since the dance is fairly complex, one could also make the performance more authentic by teaching correct dance moves and providing the dancers with traditional attire to wear during their performance. These elements may enhance the authenticity of the lesson.

A final component that is essential for effective incorporation of world music lessons into the music classroom is active music-making (Belz, 2006; Teicher, 1997). Learners learn best by doing. As important as the sociocultural elements of a lesson may be, teachers should not lose sight of the value of the musicking part of the lesson. For instance, providing elementary students with opportunities to perform “Baringe,” another children’s Swahili song, while also learning the culturally relevant aspects of the song and dance can positively affect the quality of the learners’ experiences with the literature. “Baringe” involves a singable melody and a circle dance/movement activity (Haonga et al., 2010). Allowing the learners to dance and sing, individually and in groups, may give them an even greater appreciation for the music of Tanzania.

Researchers have shown that sharing music of other cultures with learners of all ages is beneficial. Although the aforementioned examples incorporate music songs, dances, and/or instruments from Tanzania and Thailand, one may and should share music representative of a variety of countries/cultures. To make these world music learning experiences even more effective, teachers should give an ample amount of attention to the structure and delivery of these lessons. Instead of focusing only on the what of these lessons, teachers should also address the how of these lessons to be certain that the music and cultural information shared is retained and that the music learning experience has a lasting positive impact on the students as musicians and as individuals.