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MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 5/08 K:lProj/Acc&Pres/ClRC/DateDue.indd CHILDREN'S MUSIC MAKING IN THE GAMBIA: PATHWAYS TO CULTURALLY INFORMED MUSIC PEDAGOGY by Lisa Huisman Koops A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Music Education 2006 ABSTRACT CHILDREN'S MUSIC MAKING IN THE GAMBIA: PATHWAYS TO CULTURALLY INFORMED MUSIC PEDAGOGY By Lisa Huisman Koops With the intent of developing an approach to pedagogy that accounts for cultural elements of specific musical practices, the purpose of this research was to construct an ethnography of the children’s music culture in a suburban community of The Gambia, West Africa. The specific problems of this study were to observe and describe the forms and meaning of children’s music making as well as the musical pedagogical processes evident among children in The Gambia and to apply this information to the practice of teaching world musics in elementary general music settings. During three months in The Gambia, I observed children playing and making music in home, school, and community settings; interviewed children and adults; attended adult-centered musical events; and learned to play many of the children’s music games. I also video- and audio-taped observations of play sessions and interviews. The data from this study were organized into the following categories: forms of music making and repertoire, musical teaching and learning processes, and meaning and role of music in children’s lives. Gambian children exert agency, or power, control and authority, through their musical activities. In settings in which children have a greater degree of control, such as on the playground or during play sessions at home, children show their power through choice and use of language, movement, and attitude in songs, dances, and games. Children in The Gambia teach themselves music. They are able to do this through a sequence of listening, observing, and doing musical activities. This self-directed process is supported by the rich musical environment, a cultural expectation to be musical, and the motivation to learn that is built into many musical activities. Enjoyment is one of the central meanings of music in Gambian children’s lives, linked in part to the opportunities for participation, interaction, and the exercise of agency within music making. Music is also used for cultural understanding, entertainment, education, and communication; enjoyment is linked to each of these functions. Based on the results of this research, I identified three teaching pathways that can lead to culturally informed music pedagogy. First, teachers can improve teaching methodology of all musical practices by gaining and applying knowledge about the musical learning processes of children in other musical cultures, acknowledging and respecting children’s agency in music making, and being flexible in weaving the changes required by these commitments into their existing teaching methodologies. Second, in exploring musical cultures and the role of music in people’s lives, teachers can focus on helping their students to learn about a specific musical culture, such as Gambian children’s music, and consider with students what music might mean to the Gambian children and its impact in their lives. Third, developing relationships between students, musical practices, and musicians can occur through introducing students to musical practices by listening to and learning to perform representative pieces, communicating with musicians, and possibly traveling to the geographical location to experience musical life there. Copyright By LISA HUISMAN KOOPS 2006 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to the many professors, friends, and family members who made possible the research shared in this dissertation. Heartfelt thanks to my committee: to Dr. Cynthia Taggart, my advisor and fiiend, for encouraging me, challenging me, and supporting me throughout my doctoral program and for her insights into many drafts of this dissertation; to Dr. Michael Largey, for inspiring me to bring together ethnomusicology and music education in my research and teaching and for providing guidance to do so; to Dr. Mitchell Robinson, for assistance in all things qualitative; to Dr. Isaac Kalumbu, for helping me understand more about the history and context of West African music; and to Dr. Sandra Snow, for her input and insights throughout the dissertation process. Thanks to Ibra Sene for teaching me Wolof, to Papis Niang for reviewing the Wolof portions of this manuscript, and to Mary Procopio and Jed Koops for serving as peer reviewers of my coding analysis. I am also thanka to the College of Arts and Letters and the African Studies Center of Michigan State University for supporting my preparations and research through generous fellowships. Jé’réjéfl to the many children and adults who shared their music and hospitality with me in The Gambia, to the teachers and administrators of Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, to my research assistants, and to the National Council for Performing Arts and Culture and the Region One Education Directorate for providing permission for this research. Thank you to Mom and Dad Koops for welcoming me into their home, helping me to get on my feet with my project, and listening to my adventures with taxis. vi Thank you to my friends, Christine, Laura, Sandie, and Tami, for walking alongside me through the last several years and for cheering me on; loving thanks to my family — Mom and Dad Huisman, Jeff and Amanda, Andy and Natalie, Grandpa and Grandma — for unending encouragement and support. Special thanks to Jed, my wonderful husband, for being there every step of the way with reassurance, assistance, creativity, and love; I could not have done any of this without you. Finally, thanks be to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for doing immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine: to Him be all the glory (Ephesians 3:20-21). vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 Rationale for the Study ............................................................................................ 5 Culturally Informed Music Pedagogy .................................................................... 12 Authenticity ............................................................................................................ 16 The Gambia ............................................................................................................ 28 Brief Background & History ...................................................................... 28 Music of The Gambia ................................................................................ 29 Purpose and Problems ............................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER II RELATED RESEARCH ................................................................................................... 35 Ethnographies of Children’s Musical Cultures ..................................................... 36 Blacking: Venda Children's Songs ............................................................ 36 Gaunt: Agency in Black Girls’ Play .......................................................... 37 Campbell: Songs in their Heads ................................................................. 38 Music Leaming on the Playground ....................................................................... 40 Merrill-Mirsky: Transmission of Playground Music Games in Los Angeles Schools ............................................................................................ 4O Riddell: Collection, Notation, and Analysis of Playground Games .......... 42 Harwood: Handclapping Games in a Champaign—Urbana, Illinois Girls’ Club ................................................................................................. 43 Addo: Ghanaian Children's Music Cultures .............................................. 45 Dzansi: Pedagogy on the Playground ........................................................ 46 American Teachers, West African Children’s Music ............................................ 48 Kubitsky: Ewe Children's Music from Ghana, West Africa, in the Classroom ........................................................................................ 48 Koops: Gambian Children's Song Games in the American Classroom ..... 49 CHAPTER HI DESIGN AND PROCEDURES ........................................................................................ 53 Design ................................................................................................................... 53 Participants ............................................................................................................. 53 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 54 Analysis ................................................................................................................. 59 viii CHAPTER IV “‘BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP,’ ‘KIRIBANG,’ AND ZIMBAS”: CHILDREN’S AGENCY IN MUSIC MAKING AT HOME, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND AT SCHOOL ............................................................................................................................ 62 Music at School ...................................................................................................... 64 Music at Home ....................................................................................................... 81 Music in the Community ....................................................................................... 91 Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Kiribang, and Zimbas: Children’s Agency in Music Making ....................................................................................................... 98 CHAPTER V “DENUY J ANGAL SEEN BOPP (THEY TEACH THEMSELVES)”: CHILDREN TEACHING AND LEARNING MUSIC IN BAATIIKUNDA ...................................... 100 Learning through Listening, Observing, and Doing —— Children at Play .............. 104 Learning through Listening, Observing, and Doing in the Community .............. 114 Learning at School ............................................................................................... 1 18 “Defiuy J angal Seen Bopp”: They Teach Themselves ........................................ 125 CHAPTER VI “NUNGI NOSS (THEY ARE ENJOYING)”: THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN CHILDREN’S LIVES .............................................................................................................................. 127 Joy and Excitement .............................................................................................. 129 Music is for Everyone: “It Entertains, Educates, and Communicates” ............... 133 Music entertains ....................................................................................... 133 Music educates ......................................................................................... 136 Music communicates ............................................................................... 141 Meaning of Dancing ............................................................................................ 146 Meaning of Lyrics ................................................................................................ 149 “Nungi noss”: We Enjoy Ourselves ..................................................................... 157 CHAPTER VII IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE ................................................................................ 159 Common Threads .......................................................................................... 160 The Disconnect of Music Inside and Outside the Classroom .................. 160 Children’s Agency in Music Making ....................................................... 162 Similarities in Repertoire and Use of Repertoire ..................................... 163 Three Pathways to Culturally Informed Music Pedagogy ................................... 168 Pathway One: Improving Teaching Methodology ................................... 169 Vignette A: Teaching “Sohna Maryama” .................................... 169 Vignette B: “Kii tank kii tank, kii kan la?” On the Playground ..174 Possibilities for Pathway One ...................................................... 177 Pathway Two: Exploring Musical Cultures and the Role of Music in People’s Lives .............................................................................. 182 Vignette C: Telling the story of music in children’s lives in The Gambia ............................................................................. 1 82 Vignette D: Reclaiming a Rich Musical Environment ................ 187 ix Possibilities for Pathway Two ..................................................... 191 Pathway Three: Developing Relationships between Students, Musical Practices, and Music Makers ....................................................... 197 Vignette E: Children’s Music Exchange with Baatiikunda Lower Basic School ..................................................................... 197 Vignette F: Pre-Service Music Educator’s Research Trip to The Gambia ............................................................................. 201 Possibilities for Pathway Three ................................................... 206 Developing a Culturally Informed Approach to Music Pedagogy ...................... 208 CHAPTER VIII SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH.211 Summary .............................................................................................................. 211 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 212 Suggestions for Future Research ......................................................................... 216 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................. 220 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS APPENDIX B .................................................................................................................. 223 UCRIHS APPROVAL LETTER APPENDIX C .................................................................................................................. 224 INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENTS APPENDIX D .................................................................................................................. 230 RESEARCH PERMITS APPENDIX E REPERTOIRE ..................................................................................................... 233 E1: “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” with Coda ............................................................ 234 E2: Gambian National Pledge and National Anthem Lyrics ............................... 235 E3: “Sally Walker” .............................................................................................. 236 E4: “Slide, Slide, Slide” Gambian and American versions ................................. 237 E5: “Play Akkara” ................................................................................................ 239 E6: “Bopp” ........................................................................................................... 240 E7: “When I Went” Lyrics ................................................................................... 241 E8: “My Grandmother” Lyrics ............................................................................ 242 E9: “Suma Doomi Yeesu” excerpt ...................................................................... 243 E10: “School, Education, Spell Your Name” ...................................................... 245 E1 1: “Competiton” ............................................................................................... 246 E12: “Ginte Walli Ma” ........................................................................................ 247 E13: “Three Three Domsee” ................................................................................ 248 E14: “Ten Zi” ....................................................................................................... 249 E15: “Kiribang” chant excerpts ........................................................................... 250 E16: “Kii tank kii tank” ....................................................................................... 251 E17: “Rap a Tap 3 Tap” ....................................................................................... 252 E18: “Maa New” Lyrics ....................................................................................... 253 E19: “Soonaa Maryama” ..................................................................................... 254 E20: “Mbaa Nyaling Wo” .................................................................................... 255 E21: “Bakari Sipa” ............................................................................................... 256 E22: “Papa J e'nd Na Xar” ..................................................................................... 257 E23: “Home Again” ............................................................................................. 258 E24: “Raymbele” excerpt .................................................................................... 259 E25: “Bul fontoo sa yaay” ................................................................................... 260 E26: “God is Good” ............................................................................................. 261 E27: “Es Tiga Tiga” ............................................................................................. 262 APPENDIX F ................................................................................................................... 263 REPERTOIRE IN ENGLISH HEARD IN FIVE FIRST GRADE CLASSES, 11 JULY 2005 APPENDIX G .................................................................................................................. 264 LITERATURE ABOUT THE GAMBIA REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 265 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure l. Gambian Children’s Music Learning Diagram .............................................. 103 xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Brikama, The Gambia; January 1999 The group of fifteen children who had gathered at a compound just outside Brikama, The Gambia sang, danced, and played one selection after another: Jola songs, Mandinka songs, English songs, different styles of dances, circle games, and clapping games. Both boys and girls, ranging from a young toddler to pre-teenagers, joined in the fun. One activity flowed into the next as someone thought of another song, dance, or game. Their mothers, aunts, and older cousins looked on as the children played, smiling and oflering me explanations of cultural context or song translations. I was struck by the musical ability of the children to perform complex melodic and rhythmic material, their joy in expressing themselves musically, and the willingness of all of the children to participate in musical activities — three aspects of music making I had not observed, to a great extent, among my students in Michigan. Zeeland, Michigan; September 2002 "Today we’re going to learn one of the games I learned in The Gambia, and we can play the way Gambian children play! ” I announced to the class of twenty-five second graders at a public school in Michigan. "Okay, please make a circle. Now, join hands and swing your arms. Listen to this song... ” As I tried to teach them the circle game “Kii tank kii tank, ” which we had watched together on a video, I wondered how Gambian children learn to play it. Verbalizing each part and practicing the sung portions of the game using echoing teaching procedures felt like an artificial approach to teaching the game. There were many musical skills that the students could practice through playing the game, including singing, moving to the beat, and call and response style. Yet, I worried that, by teaching the game as an ”activity, " it might lose some of the power and enjoyment that made it a fun game for Gambian children. I wondered how to teach in a way that would be nzore true to the game as it is played in The Gambia, and how to help the students experience it the way Gambian children do. Holland, Michigan; September 2004 At a workshop with piano teachers on using Gambian children '5 music with American elementary students, one participant asked, “Don ’t you have any in English? These are too hard for me. ” Another teacher replied, “Oh, just change the words. That ’5 what I do when I have a song from another culture that I want to use. ” Several other teachers raised their eyebrows at this, but made no comment. My reply encouraged the teachers to take the necessary time and effort to learn the Mandinka language lyrics of the Gambian games: “Changing the words really changes the musical experience for the students, ” I said. “You can learn the words, it just takes a little practice. " Later I wondered how many teachers change aspects of music from cultures other than their own to make them "easier. ” It was discouraging to realize that, for the teacher who changed the words, the cultural context of the songs and games she used fiom other cultures was probably minimized or ignored as she taught her students the repertoire. I reflected on the resources available for teaching students music from practices other than our own, and wondered If we do more harm than good sometimes when we treat this material superficially or with alterations. As a music educator of infants, toddlers, and elementary age students at a community music school, as well as of university elementary education majors taking a music methods course, I am always searching for the best way to nurture the musical development of a broad range of learners. In my teaching and research, I have found that teaching music with attention to cultural context holds exciting possibilities for music education. In this dissertation, I bring together my interest in Gambian children’s music with my desire to find more effective ways of teaching music from a culturally informed perspective by constructing an ethnography of children’s music making in The Gambia and exploring implications for American music education. I initially became interested in children’s music making in The Gambia during my first visit there in January 1999. My connection to The Gambia is through my parents-in- law, who are conducting language development research there. While visiting them, I traveled to six homes of their friends and acquaintances and videotaped children playing music games. The children’s ability to execute syncopated and cross-rhythmic clapping patterns, as well as melismatic vocal lines and songs in a range of tonalities and meters, was evidence of their outstanding musical skills. I observed that the children were able to do this with much greater accuracy and expression than the students I had worked with in Michigan and that they were able to do this at a younger age than my students. I was also struck by the way in which many of the children’s games, such as hide and seek and tag, included music. The widespread nature of musical expression was another exciting factor for me; all of the children at the homes and neighborhoods we visited eagerly shared their songs and games, not just a few of the children. The realization that children are learning musicianship from one another, as well as from parents and teachers, was also inspiring to me as a music teacher. Returning to the United States, I completed my student teaching in elementary general music and began full-time teaching of first- through fifth- graders. I quickly realized that most of my students did not share some of the musical abilities and inclinations of the children I met in The Gambia. This led me to wonder what enabled the Gambian children to be highly skilled musically, and whether that knowledge could help my own students improve their musicianship. For my master’s thesis research I pursued these research questions by working with four groups of children in a community in The Gambia, learning their music games by playing along with them, and then video- and audio-taping them playing the games. I also interviewed children and adults about the games, transcribed the musical notation, translated the words, and compiled a collection of 13 Gambian song games, clapping chants, and dances (Koops, 2002). Upon returning to Michigan, I taught these Gambian children’s music games to my first- through fifth-grade students and enjoyed bringing my students into contact with the musical practice of Gambian children’s music. As I introduced the Gambian music games to my American students, I realized that I was bringing music, instruments, cloth, greetings, and stories from another culture into my classroom, but presenting it all in the same way that I presented American folk music. I speculated that, if I knew how the music is taught and learned in The Gambia, I could teach the repertoire more holistically and effectively and share a story of how children interact with music in another part of the world with my students. As a result of sharing the Gambian music with my students, I also reflected on how important it is to me that my students experience music from cultures around the world. This enriches their musical vocabulary and experience, enlightens them to the similarities and differences of the experience of people in another part of the world, and opens their hearts and minds to the joys and concerns of children and adults in other areas of the world. This commitment to including music from around the world in music education, coupled with a realization of the importance of knowing the musical teaching and learning process in other cultures, helped me establish a focus on the musical learning process of Gambian children for this dissertation. Under a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship during the 2004- 2005 academic year, I studied Wolof, one of the languages spoken in The Gambia. For my dissertation research I worked in Baatiikunda', which is a primarily Wolof-speaking community. Baatiikunda is a densely populated, suburban area about 30 kilometers from the capital city, Banjul. Rationale for the Study Recent studies of American music education have noted a sharp decrease in student participation in some regions (Moran, 2004). For instance, in California, student enrollment in music courses dropped by 46.5% between 1999 and 2004. During this same time period, student population grew by 5.8% and enrollment in other arts courses, such ' “Baatiikunda” is a pseudonym for the community. I am not using the real name in order to protect participant anonymity. as drama, dance, and theater, increased (Music for All Foundation, 2004). The report citing these statistics explores possible reasons for the decline, including the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, budget crises, lack of public support for music education, or faulty statistics; they conclude that it could be a combination of pressure resulting from lowered budgets and implementation of testing in other subjects, but state that firrther research is needed to determine why music education is declining in California (Music for All Foundation, 2004). Some researchers, looking at these and other statistics, suggest that the drop in enrollment in music education could be due to a lack of relevance of music offerings at school (Kratus, 2005). In the music classroom, children are asked to sing folk songs or play instrumental repertoire from previous centuries; the musical world in which they participate through mass media often has little to do with school music repertoire and activities. In addition to the differences of repertoire inside and outside the classroom, nother possible cause for the decrease in student participation is the way in which :pertoire is presented: as sonic objects rather than human activities and experiences illiott, 1995). By shifting music teaching to include the cultural contexts of the musics i n g studied, students may view music as more relevant, both as they experience the lSIC and as they reflect on how the music is experienced by musicians in the culture 11 which it comes. This approach can be applied to all genres, styles, and practices of do. Recently, the discussion of teaching music with attention to cultural context has ered around the inclusion of “World music.” World music education, or the teaching and learning of music from many cultures around the world, is a movement in American music education that is a result of the cross-disciplinary interests of music education and ethnomusicology (Campbell, 2004). Beginning with the inclusion of folk songs from throughout Europe, as well as some African-American, Native American, and East Asian songs in the early 19005; through greater openness to these sources in the curriculum, along with Latin American songs, in mid-century; to the landmark Tanglewood Symposium in 1967, the American music education curriculum became increasingly open to music of many times and places throughout the twentieth century (Volk, 1998). Since that time, the inclusion of multicultural materials in textbooks and curriculum resources has grown, but the incorporation of multicultural teaching methods has lagged behind (Volk, 1998). The National Standards for Music Education (Music Educators National Conference, 1994) articulate the importance of learning music from many cultures, calling for all students to learn to sing, play on instruments, and listen to music of “diverse cultures” (Content itandards l, 2, and 6, p. 26, 28), as well as “understand music in relation to history and ulture” (Content Standard 9, p. 29). While the multicultural movement in music education has created motivation for e inclusion of world music materials in music education classrooms, and the National rndards clearly call for this inclusion, many music educators are not yet stretching their riculum and methodology to include world music. As Campbell (2004) writes, rltural diversity is on the radar screen of music teachers and musical diversity is red in principle, but the curricular infusion of musical expressions of the world is yet ; infancy” (p. 13). Advocates of including world music repertoire in American classrooms cite a wide range of possible benefits from such inclusion. Learning music of another culture enables students to develop multi-musicality, or the ability to perform and appreciate the music of a musical practice outside one’s own (Campbell, 2000). By doing this, students not only learn the musical skills and concepts of another musical practice, they also begin to understand the practice in relationship to their own. Teaching music within its cultural context can also facilitate more expressive musical experiences and performances (Palmer, 1992), as well as experiences that are meaningful on a deeper level to students (Swanwick, 1994). This can lead to increased student motivation, as can the interest of learning music from another culture and the use of instruments and other materials from the culture being studied (Edwards, 1998; Pembrook & Robinson, 1997). These possibilities are explored in further detail under the heading “Authenticity” later in this chapter. Studying the musical teaching and learning, or transmission, in other musical practices can lead to the identification of elements of the musical practice that help its members to learn; educators can consider, in turn, whether it is possible to cultivate similar elements in their own culture. For example, Kreutzer (2001) found that Shona- peaking children in Zimbabwe performed melodic contours, intervals, and song adences with greater accuracy than their same-age peers from Western cultures, as )cumented in other research studies. Kreutzer identifies environmental factors, eluding the prevalence of music in daily life and the expectation of all children to sing 3 dance, as key factors in the Zimbabwean children’s strong musical achievement. 'haps by focusing on supporting similar environmental factors in one’s community, a music educator could help improve his or her students’ musicianship, an idea explored further in Vignette D of Chapter 7. Some curricular materials advocate careful attention to cultural context in order to present accurate musical practices (Campbell, 2004; Campbell, McCullough-Brabsen, & Tucker, 1994), but teachers do not always have the time and resources, or possibly even the desire, to follow recommendations for teaching music in context (Klinger, 1994). However, teaching music without attention to its cultural context is problematic in several regards: it risks misrepresenting the musical practice being studied, it fails to take advantage of the potential benefits of culturally infused music teaching, and it promotes a conception of music as isolated sonic events rather than meaningfirl human practices (Elliott, 1995). Music educators who value the teaching of music in cultural and social contexts face the issue of how best to teach a musical practice outside of its home setting. They also are confronted with deciding which elements of the musical practice could be altered, adapted, or changed without losing the meaning or expressiveness of the music, if students are unable to perform musical works due to difficulty level, language barriers, or lack of instruments. Discussion about this struggle to balance accurate performance iractice with accessibility has focused on the concept of authenticity, an issue I will .ddress later in this chapter. In this dissertation I will construct an ethnography of a children’s music culture in iaatiikunda, The Gambia, in order to study how children there learn music and what the )le of music is in their lives. I will argue that an in-depth study of a specific children’s LUSIC making practice can improve American music education by contributing to the development of a culturally informed approach to music pedagogy. Teaching music using a culturally informed approach, with consideration for the social and cultural contexts of the music being taught and learned, enables students to have a theoretically grounded experience. This brings together theory (knowledge of the social and cultural context of the music making practice) and practice2 (the music making experience, including singing, dancing, playing instruments, and listening). Theoretically grounded experiences are central to education, according to educational philosophers, including Dewey (1916), and psychologists, such as Piaget (Lefrancois, 2000). In this study, the theory, or social and cultural contextual information, consists of a collection of observations about the kinds of music making by children in Baatiikunda, how they learn to do music, and some possible meanings of the music in the children’s lives. This theoretical information, taken alone, could make an interesting children’s picture book or documentary film, but does not have the power to create an educational experience that will affect the way American students understand and perform Gambian music. On the other hand, when practice (classroom musical experiences) is disconnected from theory (social and cultural context), the resulting musical experiences are less rich in expressive power, personal meaning, student motivation, and aesthetic value than culturally-based experiences (Edidin, 1998; Edwards, 1998; Palmer, 1992; Pembrook & Robinson, 1997; Swanwick, 1994). The situation of practice-without-theory leads to ' The term “practice” is used in two ways in this dissertation. In this discussion of ationale, “practice” refers to a practical experience, or an educational event in a :lassroom. Throughout the dissertation, “practice” more commonly is used to mean musical practice,” or the music making of a group of people (Elliott, 1995). 10 problems of authenticity. An additional problem with experiences not based on theory is the misinformation these experiences propagate and the resulting misconceptions and stereotypes about people, places, and cultures that can ensue. The goal of culturally informed music pedagogy is to bring theory and practice together in a way that fosters musical experiences infused with cultural knowledge, thereby enabling students to share a cultural connection with the people of the musical practice being explored, encountered, studied, and performed. While music educators have been embracing the idea of teaching musics from around the world for several decades, the existing theoretical base available to and used by music educators is lagging behind the number of resources and collections of repertoire; there is an even greater shortage of literature exploring how to combine this theory and practice. This dissertation seeks to develop a theoretical base of knowledge about children’s music in The Gambia and suggest ways to combine this theory with practice. There is no agreed-upon terminology for discussing the teaching of music from :ultures around the world. In this dissertation I will refer to the approach of teaching nusic of a specific culture with attention to the cultural context and teaching and learning iractices of that culture as “culturally informed music pedagogy.” Whenever possible, I vill use specific, descriptive language to explain what I mean: “children’s dance songs rom The Gambia” rather than “non-Westem musical materials,” for instance. When the rbel is unavoidable, I have chosen to use “world music” to refer to the expanding :pertoire of music taught and learned in the schools; “world music” includes music from 1 times, places, and genres. ll The review of literature for this dissertation begins with a discussion of culturally informed music pedagogy and an investigation of how the concept of authenticity relates to the endeavor of culturally informed music pedagogy. Information on The Gambia and Gambian music completes the review and informs the Purpose and Problems for this study, which are presented at the close of this chapter. Culturally Informed Music Pedagogy In the conclusion of his dissertation on multicultural-world music in music education programs of Big Ten universities, Miralis (2002) recommended that Big Ten universities develop a required course for music education majors on the pedagogy of multicultural-world music education: As with the case of western art music, awareness of, knowledge about and ability to perform a specific type of music does not necessarily mean that one has the essential skills in successfully teaching others about such music. A pedagogical course focusing on multicultural-world music would provide the essential knowledge and skills on the appropriate methodologies and techniques for incorporating world music in the elementary and secondary classroom, as well as on how to better address the diverse backgrounds, needs and abilities of the students in the classroom. (Miralis, 2002, p. 265) 'his call to develop intentionally culturally informed music pedagogy is echoed by ampbell (2004). One aspect of culturally informed music pedagogy is the appropriate selection and .e of repertoire. In Kwami’s (1991) study categorizing Nigerian songs, he argues that 12 songs from two categories (life cycle songs and songs for children and adolescents) are most appropriate for use in the school classroom, while songs from a third category (songs for adults) are better not performed by children in music classrooms. His categories were based on his collection of songs from several communities in Nigeria. The material classified as appropriate for use in schools by Kwami included songs sung for and by children and young adults, dealing with topics such as birth, naming, developmental milestones, social events, and stories. Adult songs, on the other hand, tended to deal with issues of morality, social commentaries, and music of cult societies. He cautions that using this adult music in the classroom can result in “cultural repercussions” (p. 136), including causing offense to the musicians and fostering misunderstanding by taking the music from a context in which children do not typically participate. While Kwami argues against decontextualization of adult music for use with children, he does allow for decontextualization of children’s music among genders. While his collection is divided into girls’ music, boys’ music, and songs sung by both girls and boys, he does not see education or cultural problems in asking children to sing songs from both gender groups. This is particularly helpful to teachers of coeducational classes, because it broadens the repertoire possibilities. This use of gendered music by both genders in an educational setting occurs in other areas of music education as well; for instance, the lyrics of an SATB choral piece may be written from the standpoint of a woman, resulting in the male students’ singing lyrics that may be considered “girls’ music,” or vice versa. In order to determine whether it is appropriate to teach music belonging to one gender group to both boys and girls, the 13 teacher may need to evaluate what it is about the music that causes it to be categorized as “girls’ music” or “boys’ music,” and determine whether these factors will lead to a culturally negative experience. In the case of Gambian girls’ clapping chants I collected during my master’s thesis research in The Gambia, I chose to teach them to all of my students, since I felt the boys could learn something musically and culturally from experiencing the clapping games, and there were no serious issues or cultural taboos that suggested it would be inappropriate to share them with my male students. The repertoire I collected consisted of more girls’ games than boys’ games, so by teaching all games to all students, they were able to experience a broader repertoire. In addition to his recommendations about repertoire, Kwami (1991) suggested the following three-part learning process for songs from cultures other than the students’ own: 1) begin by listening to the song, then chant the words, sing the tune on neutral syllables, and, finally, sing the song; 2) analyze the song’s structure and format; and 3) create something new based on knowledge of this song, such as a rhythmic accompaniment or a new song in the same style or dealing with similar issues. A second element of culturally informed music pedagogy is investigating the musical and cultural system and beliefs of the culture whose music is being studied, as well as the pedagogical processes of the musical practice, in order to better develop a model for teaching music in its cultural context. Nzewi (1991, 1997, 1999), a Nigerian composer, musicologist, and music educator, argues that African music education should be based on African musical thinking and music making, rather than European musical systems. He identifies three stages of music education arising from an Afiican approach to music: pulse sense, rhythm sense, and general musicianship. He highlights the fact that 14 formal music education in many African institutions is centered on European curricula and standards, and suggests an alternative curriculum for primary music education consisting of “culture-environmental sensitive modules.” In the end of his 1999 article, Nzewi presents aspects of African music he finds compelling in considering an African approach to music pedagogy, including understandings and misunderstandings of “African rhythm,” the role of music therapy within Afiican music making, and the importance of music making within community. Studying how Nzewi and other Africans advocate the teaching of Afiican musics in African educational settings informed how I developed a model to teach Gambian music in American educational settings, with attention to the potential benefits of teaching African musics in the American classroom. In addition to opportunities to study world music pedagogy in pre-service teaching classes, appropriate repertoire, and knowledge of musical practices, a necessary component of culturally informed music pedagogy is knowledge of how music is taught and learned in other cultures. In her book Teaching Music Globally, Campbell (2004) highlights this need: “World music pedagogy concerns itself with how music is taught/transmitted and received/learned within cultures, and how best the processes that are included in significant ways within these cultures can be preserved or at least partially retained in classrooms and rehearsal halls” (p. 26). Throughout the book she suggests ways that teachers can incorporate knowledge of world music pedagogical practices into their teaching, with an emphasis on active listening preceding performance and creative work with world music materials. Knowing how Gambian children learn music is crucial to my goal of teaching it to American from a culturally informed perspective. 15 Authenticity An undercurrent in the discussion of culturally informed music pedagogy, and the teaching of world music in general, is the issue of authenticity. Scholars and educators have defined, used, and confronted the issue in many ways. Educators interested in theoretically-grounded musical experiences of all sorts, from Baroque cantatas to Romantic art songs to Wolof drumming to Native American dancing, recognize the importance of bringing historical, social, and cultural background to bear on the musical performances. Questions raised in the vignettes that opened this chapter, including how much knowledge is necessary, what kinds of changes to repertoire or performance practice can be made without losing the musical and educational value, and how this theoretical knowledge affects experiences, are issues debated under the umbrella of authenticity. For my master’s thesis, I collected 13 Gambian children’s music games and taught them to my students in Michigan. As I was teaching the Gambian repertoire using my typical teaching methods and techniques, which I used to teach familiar folk songs and music from my own culture, I hypothesized that it would be more effective to teach the repertoire using, to the extent possible, the teaching process used in The Gambia. This led me to reflect on the fact that choosing appropriate repertoire is not enough when it comes to teaching world music. We need to understand how music is taught and learned in other cultures, as well as what the music means in the children’s lives, in order to more fully experience the richness of a musical practice. These facets of theoretical knowledge — what children do, how, and why — are all necessary for culturally informed music experiences. 16 The idea of wanting to be true to the music of a culture, to the people of that culture, and to one’s students in teaching is at the heart of the discussion of authenticity. In this study, authenticity requires learning how music is transmitted and what it means to Gambian children, in order to provide a context from which to teach Gambian repertoire. This will also help me to more fully understand music in the lives of children in a culture other than my own. This theoretical knowledge can then surround the musical experiences of Gambian children’s music that is shared with students outside The Gambia. Examining what others say about authenticity reveals that there are several ways to approach this “wanting to be true.” I will explore the concept of authenticity and how it is used, and conclude by drawing the insights together into my own approach to authenticity and apply it to this study. Throughout the discussion of authenticity, it is apparent that attempting to bring together theory and practice has potential stumbling blocks as well as possible benefits. The definitions of authenticity represented in the music education literature fall into four models: the continuum model (Palmer, 1992); the two-fold historical/personal model (Kivy, 1995); the three-fold reproduction, reality, and relevance model (Swanwick, 1994); and the moving-beyond authenticity model (Johnson, 2000; Santos, 1994). In addition to analyzing the definitions used, the arguments about authenticity in the literature can be viewed through the lens of strategy: how does each author use authenticity as a strategy for making or justifying decisions in music education?3 For 3 The idea of authenticity as strategy is from Dr. Michael Largey, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology, Michigan State University. 17 some, attention to authenticity enhances an aesthetic experience; for others, authentic musical encounters enhance student motivation. The term “strategy” implies both application and purpose: how authenticity is used and why it is important. I have identified four authenticity strategies used in music education. The first two authenticity strategies emphasize the music, while the final two center on the students’ experience. First, the strategy of preserving expressive qualities rests on the belief that attention to cultural accuracy leads to a more expressive musical experience. For example, performing a Gambian children’s game using the original language, performance formation, and movements of the game will yield a more expressive experience than singing the song associated with the game while standing on choral risers. Second, the strategy of enhancing aesthetic value locates authenticity within the musical object and promotes working toward historical accuracy in order to enhance aesthetic expression; proponents of performances using period instruments and applying research on Baroque ornamentation to performance adopt this authenticity strategy. Third, using authenticity to increase student learning yields gains in student motivation, understanding, and performance. Teachers may note such gains when using drums from The Gambia for a Wolof drumming piece rather than snare drums and tambourines. The fourth and final strategy focuses on using cultural knowledge about the meaning of music to heighten the meaning of a student’s experience of that music. For instance, when the cultural background of African-American spirituals is explored with students, their performance of the spirituals may mean more as they connect the musical experience to historical knowledge or emotional reactions such as empathy. 18 As will be seen by the breadth of the definitions of authenticity described below, authenticity is not an issue that pertains only to teaching and learning music from cultures other than one’s own, or to music from a distant historical time period. Authenticity relates to all the music we teach. In spite of this universal importance of authenticity, the discussions of authenticity in the literature tended to focus on either the historical aspect of authenticity or the cultural aspect. This could be due to the perceived conflict of interests among educators who emphasize historical repertoire, which tends to be drawn from the Western art music canon, and those who focus on repertoire from beyond the Western canon. In his article “World Music in Education: The Matter of Authenticity,” Palmer (1992) describes authenticity as a continuum. On one end is absolute authenticity: the music the way it is performed in its home setting. Palmer does not define the opposite end, but I assume it is music taken out of context and changed to fit the purposes of the situation. As soon as music is removed from the context in which it was created, absolute authenticity is no longer possible; teachers must evaluate how far on the continuum a musician can go without negating potential educational benefits of teaching the music in the classroom or distorting the music in a disrespectful way. For example, taking the tune of a Gambian children’s song with Mandinka lyrics, adding new lyrics in English, and performing it with xylophone accompaniment may be considered to be removing the music from its context in such a way that the expressive power of the music might be obscured and students do not learn an example of Gambian children’s music. Palmer’s (1992) definition of authenticity as a continuum is accompanied by a call for teachers to teach from the authentic end of the continuum. Using the Japanese 19 folk song Sakura as an example, Palmer recommends that Western arrangements and translations be avoided. He also says that, instead of using simplifications of pieces, teachers should look for examples within the musical practice that are not simplified, since the original loses some of its essential qualities in a simplification. This strategy of authenticity as a means for musical expression can be used by teachers in justifying time spent investigating the context of a piece, or in encouraging students to persevere in learning the text of a piece rather than simplifying or translating it. This strategy serves as a reminder that the extra time and effort can improve musical expression. One of the costs of Palmer’s approach is that attention to authenticity may result in less exposure to music of other times and places. It is not always possible to find a musical piece from a specific practice that is accessible to particular students, either according to ability level or instrumentation. If a teacher adhered strictly to this strategy for achieving and using authenticity, she or he might be severely limited in the musical practices available to her or his students. In those cases, the teacher might decide that exposure to a musical practice is more important than complete accuracy and make some modifications. Additionally, while the students may not have as rich a balance of theory and practice as Palmer would like, simplifications may still enable students to learn something about a musical practice and culture. Finding the balance of theory and experience depends on availability of materials and the perspective of the teacher. Rather than viewing authenticity as a continuum, Kivy (1995) proposes a two-fold model. Focusing on historical authenticity in performance, Kivy explores two main aspects of authenticity: historical (attention to the intent, sound, and practice of the 20 original) and personal (interpretation and expression of the performer). Kivy’s model is cited by Edidin (1998), who advocates increased attention to historical issues of authenticity in music education. In this model, authenticity resides both in the musical object and in the act of performing. Edidin (1998) demonstrates this second strategy for authenticity: using authenticity to enhance aesthetic value. Using authenticity to achieve heightened aesthetic expression is based on Reimer’s (2003) philosophy of music education that prioritizes aesthetic experiences within music education: experiences in which the meaning of musical sounds is sought and shared. Edidin champions authenticity as a means for aesthetic expression; he argues that historically authentic performances have greater aesthetic worth than inauthentic performances and are therefore valuable and worthy of time and effort in education. His view of historical authenticity calls for knowing the intentions of the composer, the performance practice of the time, using period instruments, and being musically creative within the boundaries of the composer’s intentions. For Edidin, musical meaning is located in the musical work itself, and he contends that preserving the musical object is of utmost importance. He sees the danger of inauthentic experience as a less pleasing musical performance that results in a diminished understanding of the musical experience. A problem with this authenticity strategy is its reliance on knowing historical performance practices, obtaining historically accurate instruments, and the assumption that there is an “authentic ideal” that is worth pursuing in the classroom. Knowledge of historical performance practices may be incomplete or inaccurate and historical 21 instruments expensive or unavailable. Additionally, just as there is not “one true way” that a folk song is sung in any culture (Santos, 1994), there is not one pure authentic ideal for performance of a historical piece. This approach may also deny students the understanding of how music changes when it travels geographically and progresses through time. While the strategy of authenticity as a way to improve aesthetic experiences may be important to music educators working from an aesthetic orientation, those with a praxial view of music education will tend to use authenticity as a way to more fully induct students into specific musical practices (Elliott, 1995). Praxial music education focuses on the music making experience and its meaning rather than the meaning found in musical objects. Palmer’s (1992) emphasis on using authenticity to preserve expressive qualities of music, described above, is useful to both aesthetic and praxial approaches to music education. Swanwick (1994) expands Kivy’s two-fold model to a three-fold design: authenticity as reproduction, reality, and relevance. He defines authentic reproduction as trying to reproduce the music exactly as it was first created; this aligns with Kivy’s historical authenticity. A second aspect of authenticity, according to Swanwick, is reality, or the examination of whether a piece of music reflects an actual musical practice in the world, and not just for the music classroom. Relevance refers to generating individual meaning in the act of music making, and is similar to Kivy’s personal authenticity. Swanwick writes: “ ‘Authentic ’ musical experience occurs when individuals make and take music as meaningful or relevant for them ” (p. 219, italics his). He goes on to argue that relevance is the most important factor when it comes to authenticity, followed by 22 reality. Reproduction is of less importance, according to Swanwick, in part because of “cultural migration,” or the constant change of musical styles. The idea of authentic reproduction hinges on a belief that there is a unitary example to reproduce. This is a problematic assumption for many educators and musicians who recognize that music exists as experiences, not as objects (Elliott, 1995; Santos, 1994); each performance of a musical work is different, and there is no way to identify (and then seek to replicate) one particular performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, for example, as the best of all time. The corresponding authenticity strategy to Swanwick’s model focuses on the students rather than on the music as the priority in the music making process. Swanwick’s emphasis on the importance of personal relevance yields different choices for a music teacher than Palmer’s position. It becomes important to understand why a piece of music is meaningful and relevant to the people who created it before leading one’s students in experiencing the same music. Even if the students do not take identical meaning and relevance, their knowing something about the cultural context is essential. Swanwick’s (1994) strategy of attention to personal meaning in music making could help a teacher decide to lead her students in experiencing a piece of music, even when the students cannot perform all the details accurately. This decision is supported by Swanwick’s strategy of placing priority on personal connection with meanings in a piece of music. A final authenticity strategy suggests that attention to authenticity can lead to increased student motivation, heightened understanding, and improved performance. This approach promotes authenticity as a beneficial component of the learning environment. 23 Within the context of a two-week unit on Ghanaian drumming, Pembrook and Robinson (1997) investigated the effect of live versus taped instruction and authentic versus traditional instruments (their terms). They found that authenticity, in terms of using luna and gungon drums of the Dagbamba people, resulted in significantly higher scores from students on attitude towards a unit on Ghanaian drumming, better recall of information about the music, and better performance of skills. Live instruction resulted in improved performance, but not higher scores on attitude and recall of information, when compared to taped instruction. Edwards (1998) also reached the conclusion that attention to authenticity increases student response to learning. In her qualitative study of the response of children to a unit on Native American music, she found that the group using instruments of the Navajo, Hopi, Apache, and Yaqui peoples generated more journal responses overall (her criterion measure) and more responses about instrument playing than the groups with the inauthentic (traditional music room) instruments. Her larger findings included the conclusion that studying Native American music helped the students grow in the areas of musical skills, knowledge of musical content, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural valuing. Teachers who adopt this authenticity strategy will make decisions that focus on the students’ experience of the musical practice, including using indigenous instruments. Educators who insist on authenticity for the sake of preserving a musical tradition would probably disagree with allowing children to play traditional instruments without extensive training. However, teachers using the fourth strategy, more concerned with introducing students to a variety of musical practices, would let children play simple 24 rhythms on drums from practices around the world, not worrying about technique or cultural context. Using authenticity as a way to build student motivation can assist teachers who are looking for ways to engage students. It also can justify budgeting for indigenous instruments. While it may be beneficial for students to experience instruments from musical traditions around the world, the reliance upon purchased materials found in this strategy can be limiting. An alternative approach to an authentic instrument experience is to consider how children in the culture being studied may create their own instruments. For example, Africans and African-Americans historically have demonstrated the ability to make “something from nothing” or “more from something” in their approach to music making (Brown, 1990). Taking the materials on hand to create instruments demonstrates resourcefulness, creativity, and skill in crafting. Creating drums from household materials and using them for a drumming lesson is an alternative to using costly drums, and could promote a discussion of the practice of making instruments; it could also help students to relate to how children in another culture enjoy making music with found sounds and so better understand the idea of creating “more from something” or “something from nothing.” Far from viewing authenticity as a continuum or a personal meaning-making strategy, Santos (1994) rejects the concept of authenticity altogether, saying that the idea is based on the faulty notion that musical practices are static and that “one true version” exists of a piece of music. Despite his rejection of authenticity, Santos does recommend the idea of teaching a musical practice with attention to indigenous music making and pedagogy. He uses this idea to highlight the problems in the past of teaching non-Westem 25 music in a Western framework, and calls for respect and cultivation of musical traditions within the scope of intercultural music teaching. In her article “Authenticity: Who Needs It?,” Johnson (2000) calls on teachers to move beyond the inauthentic/authentic question to ask questions about the music and its context. She suggests answering questions such as “How was the music produced? For whom? By whom? In what context? For what purpose? With what influences?” (p. 284- 285) as a means to directing the investigation of music practices with the intent of improving classroom performance. Johnson’s article and approach highlight the sentiment of not belaboring the definitions and executions of authenticity; rather, she suggests asking the questions that address all of the definitions of authenticity, and moving on to making music. The acknowledgement of the problems associated with authenticity noted by Santos (1994) and Johnson (2000) are thoroughly discussed by Bendix (1997) in her study of the concept of authenticity as it relates to the development of the discipline of folklore studies. Authenticity as a concept relies on the comparison of “self and Other” (p. 17), writes Bendix, and is not a characteristic located within objects or processes. “The crucial questions to be answered are not ‘what is authenticity?’ but ‘who needs authenticity and why?’ and ‘how has authenticity been used?”’ (p. 21). Bendix critically examines the way authenticity has been used to elevate some cultural materials (those declared “authentic”) above others (implied to be “fake”), giving higher value to traditions and artifacts considered “pure.” This labeling of the authentic and non- authentic was used in an attempt to understand the past, rather than accepting that cultures change over time; and static, “authentic” practices are not an accurate way to 26 understand the past or present. She advocates eliminating the word and concept from scholarly discourse, as it is built on faulty assumptions and claims. Although I agree with the concerns about authenticity of Bendix (1997), Santos (1994), and Johnson (2000), I am not ready to discard the term. The core of the way it is currently being used in music education — to bring about a greater connection of theory and practice — is worthwhile. Claims of authenticity have been used in music education to gain support for pursuing culturally and historically accurate performances, using instruments from the cultures being studied, and in taking and making musical meaning. While publishers have profited from the desire for “authentic” musical materials from other cultures, music educators are now realizing that authenticity does not reside within the curriculum guides. A possible solution to the issue of authenticity is attention to authentic pedagogy, or teaching music in the way in which it is taught in its home culture. As previously noted, knowledge of how music is taught and learned is necessary for culturally informed pedagogy; this is an area that has been somewhat neglected in discussions of authenticity and ethnomusicological research. This dissertation addresses that gap, recognizing that authenticity, or the work of being true to music, culture, and students, is an integral part of culturally informed music pedagogy. My approach to authenticity in this dissertation recognizes that authenticity does not exist in the repertoire, but resides in the music making, teaching, and learning process. While I recognize the need for accuracy in Gambian repertoire, this approach leads me to focus energy on studying and describing how children learn and teach music and what it means in their lives, in order to develop an understanding of the context of the 27 music making. Based on this knowledge, teachers can develop teaching strategies that take this information and combine it with experience. The Gambia Brief Background & History The Gambia is the smallest country on the mainland of Africa, with an area of 4,363 square miles (11,300 square kilometers), which is a little less than twice the size of Delaware. During the colonial period, The Gambia was at various times under the rule of the Portuguese and British; the British held The Gambia as a colony until 1965 (Charry, 2000; The Gambia, n.d.). Since that time, the country has experienced a number of relatively peaceful government changes and currently enjoys the tourist slogan “Your Haven in Africa,” indicating its peaceful status in relation to some of its neighboring countries. The Gambia is currently a democratic republic under the rule of Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh (Else, 1999; The Gambia, n.d.). Geographically, The Gambia is land-locked by Senegal, except for The Gambia’s western border along the Atlantic Ocean (80 km of coastline). The Gambia’s climate consists of two major seasons, the dry, cooler season from November to May, which attracts tourists fi'om Western Europe, and the rainy, hot season from June to October. The Gambia is home to 1.55 million people (July 2004 est.), 95% of whom come from five main ethnic groups (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%) (The Gambia, n.d.). Of the remaining 5% of the population, 4% identifies with other African people groups, and 1% is non-Afiican. Islam is the predominant religion in The Gambia, with a minority (between 4% and 9%) practicing Christianity, and a smaller 28 percentage (1%) claiming indigenous beliefs alone; indigenous beliefs are commonly mixed with both Muslim and Christian religious practices (Else, 1999; J ohnstone, 1993; The Gambia, n.d.). Economically, The Gambia depends on tourism for income and survival; agriculture (fruit, grains, and ground nuts) is the other major industry. In addition to tourism and agriculture, the industries of beverage production and craftsmanship (metal, wood, and clothing) provide employment for Garnbians; these two industries are directly linked to the tourist market as well (The Gambia, n.d.). There is a high rate of unemployment in The Gambia. Their currency, the dalasi, declined in value and stability for several years, but is now beginning to stabilize (Stats: The Gambia, n.d.). Although the official language of The Gambia is English, and schools are expected to teach students in English, many other Gambian languages are predominantly spoken in homes and in the community, including J ola-Fonyi, Mandinka, Mandj ak, Western Maninkakan, Pulaar, Serer-Sine, Soninke, and Gambian Wolof (Gordon, 2005). Members of these language groups come from families present in pre-colonial Gambia and neighboring Senegal. Music of The Gambia When writing about music in Afiica, scholars should avoid stereotypes and generalizations (Agawu, 2003). Each culture has its own instruments, aesthetics, performance practices, genres, musical material, dances, and transmission styles. Basing assumptions about the whole of African music on the study of specific individual cultures 29 leads to a stereotyped conception of African music. By examining the details of many specific cultures, the rich diversity of music traditions in African countries is revealed. On the other hand, there are some unifying features of many of the musics of Africa, particularly within regions such as West Afiica, and ignoring this unity also obscures understanding. Music making in The Gambia shares common features with many other African cultures, including an emphasis on rhythmic expression. Chemoff (1979) argues that the key to the notable rhythmic complexity of musical behaviors of West Africans, from young children to adults, is immersion in a rhythmically rich musical environment. He writes, “Facility with rhythm is something people learn as they grow up in an African culture” (p. 94). This rhythmic richness is heard in daily activities, such as the rhythmic pounding of yarns and playful tapping on a typewriter while typing, as well as in music and language. Many West African languages require accurate rhythmic phrasing and cadences in order to be properly understood, another layer of rhythmic richness in the sonic environment (Chemoff, 1979). Agawu (1987) confirms the importance of rhythm to West African musical expression: “A unitary conception informs the variety of ways in which they express themselves rhythmically, whether this be in the form of children’s game songs, or lullabies, or music accompanying worship, or work songs, or songs of insult, or greeting formulas, or dance, or speech” (p. 403). Through all seasons and aspects of life, rhythm is central to musical expression. Agawu also notes the importance of rhythm to speech; accurate phrasing in spoken language is often tied to the rhythm of the spoken words. Improvisational creativity is another feature of West Afiican music. Campbell (1990) notes that West African musicians are expected to add new aspects of music to a 30 performance, such as a new melody, rhythm, or text, rather than re-creating a previous musical work precisely as the original. This adds a challenging layer to the pursuit of authenticity in teaching and performing such music, as a deep knowledge of the musical practice is needed before a musician is able to improvise. There are many elements, including knowledge and skills, necessary to performing with improvisational creativity. For example, in his study of drumming, Chemoff (1979) found that such improvisation requires knowledge of and the ability to perform many different patterns; musicians also need to know when it is time to move from one musical idea to the next. While The Gambia shares many musical characteristics with other West African musical cultures, certain elements are specific to Gambian music making as part of the Mande region (countries that were part of the Mande empire) (Charry, 2000). The most important of these elements is the musical role of the praise-singer, also called griot (French), gewel (Wolof) and jali (Mandinka) (Charry, 2000; Ebron, 2002). Jalis are part of the artisan class in Mande societies, crafting words and sounds (Charry, 2000). The j alis serve as historians, culture-bearers, story-tellers, and praise-singers. They depend on members of the upper class to act as patrons, paying them for their services; the upper class depend in turn on the jalis to proclaim their name, ideas, and great deeds publicly (Ebron, 2002). There are men jalis and women jalimusoo; the men play the kora (stringed instrument), bala (wooden barred instrument) and koni (drums) in addition to singing, but the women usually only sing (Charry, 2000). Wolof society is traditionally organized similarly, with the gewels serving many of the same roles as Mandejalis, and playing the sabar (drum) and xalam (lute) (Charry, 2000). Historically, jaliya (the art of the jali) has been transmitted within specific families, but recently schools have opened in The 31 Gambia that teach the instruments of the jali to both girls and boys from any family background (Lundberg, 1999). Purpose and Problems Culturally informed music pedagogy combines theoretical knowledge of world music cultures and pedagogy with experiences of musical practices from around the world. In order to teach music in this way, it is necessary for music educators to have a theoretical base of knowledge about world music practices, including how music is taught and learned, as well as to develop ways to bring together this theoretical knowledge with music teaching methodology and practices in the music classroom. This dissertation seeks to address the need for culturally informed music pedagogy by investigating the children’s music culture in one community in The Gambia, West Africa, contributing an understanding of one children’s musical practice to the body of literature on children’s music making, as detailed in Chapters 4 through 6. It also serves as a model of how ethnographic information can transform methodology, repertoire, and curriculum, leading to culturally informed pedagogical practices, as shown in Chapter 7. With the intent of developing a music learning model that accounts for cultural elements of specific musical practices, the purpose of this research is to construct an ethnography of the children’s music culture in the community of Baatiikunda, The Gambia. 32 The problems of this study are as follows: 1. To observe and describe the forms, meanings, and cultural contexts of children’s music making in Baatiikunda, 2. To observe and describe the musical pedagogical processes evident in school, on the playground, and in homes; and 3. To apply this theoretical information to the practice of teaching world musics in elementary general music settings. Secondary questions will include: a) b) d) a) What role does music play in the lives of the children in this neighborhood? What kinds of music making do these children do? Why do the children engage in these forms of music making: what meaning does it hold for them? How is music used in their lives? What is the children’s repertoire? Which cultures and ethnic groups do the songs come from? How do children learn music in school? At home? On the playground? In the community? At ceremonies and special events? What pedagogical processes are at work when children learn music from one another? Are there any gender differences apparent in children’s music making? If so, do these differences impact the learning process, socialization process, or both? 33 h) What is the relationship of children’s music to adults’ music? Does this relationship influence how music is taught and learned by children? 34 CHAPTER II RELATED RESEARCH The related research for this dissertation falls into three categories: ethnographies of children’s music, studies of informal music pedagogy, and research on West African music for use in American classrooms. Three studies provide examples of ethnographies of children’s music. Blacking’s (1967) thorough study of Venda children’s music is an early example of ethnomusicological techniques through analysis of children’s music of a South African culture. Gaunt (1997a; 1997b) looks at the music play of African- American girls in New York City, as well as other regions of the United States. Also, Campbell’s (1998) ethnographies of children’s music cultures in a suburban area of Upper Northwest America inform the questions and methodology of my study. A second category of research, music learning on the playground, contains studies from both North America and Africa. Merrill-Mirsky (1988) and Riddell (1990) studied girls’ playground games in Los Angeles, California, and Harwood (1992) conducted a similar study with African-American girls in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. In addition, two studies address playground music learning in Ghana: Addo (1996) and Dzansi (2004). Addo focused on the cultural relationships inherent in children’s music, while Dzansi emphasized the role of playground pedagogical processes in the music learning of Ghanaian children. Finally, two studies by American music teachers seek to collect and teach West African children’s music to American children. Kubitsky (1998) collected children’s music in Ghana for use in her American music classroom. My master’s thesis (Koops, 2002) on 35 - ~‘a Gambian children’s song games for the American classroom provides cultural and musical background for the current study. Ethnographies of Children’s Musical Cultures Blacking: Venda Children ’s Songs In his study of children’s music in Vendaland, South Africa, ethnomusicologist Blacking (1967) found that children’s music was complex, shaped by cultural patterns, categorized based on social context rather than musical content, and related to adult music in harmonic organization and structure. Children’s music was not used merely as preparation for participation in adult music making, nor did it contain a progression from simple to complex musical ideas and skills. These factors suggest that the children’s music making is worthy of study, both separately and in relation to the adult’s music making of the area. Blacking (1967) spent 22 months in the field, collecting data through recording songs, learning songs from children and adults, transcribing the songs, and interviewing children and adults on the musical and cultural meanings of the songs. He also looked at how Venda children perceive the basic metric organization of the songs. This data collection resulted in 56 transcriptions of songs, based on 400 recordings, direct transcriptions, and fieldnotes. Blacking analyzed the rhythmic, melodic, and cultural content of the songs. He believed his study to be exhaustive, including all well-known children’s songs in the area at the time. The core question in this study was to investigate the differences between music of children and adults, and Blacking (1967) found that these differences existed on the 36 surface level. Repertoire, performance practice, and style were separate for children’s songs and adult’s songs; however, Blacking noted underlying similarities on harmonic and structural levels. This study highlights the importance of carefully investigating children’s music, both as a separate musical practice and as part of the entire musical landscape of a community or culture. Blacking’s (1967) study, driven by the question of the relationship of children’s music to adults’ music in Venda culture, used cultural analysis as well as rhythmic and tonal analysis to answer the research question. While Blacking’s focus was on the relationship between children’s and adults’ music, the focus of my study was on musical teaching and learning processes, which required attention in participant observation situations to how music was being transmitted. Also, the scope of my study was limited by the amount of time I spent in the field, so I did not attempt an exhaustive catalog of the children’s music as Blacking did. Gaunt: Agency in Black Girls ’ Play Gaunt’s (1997a; 1997b) in-depth study of Afiican-American girls’ music play combines ethnography with historical, cultural, and musical analysis in exploring how musical play shapes African-American girls’ and women’s identities. Based on her study of African-American girls’ music making through ring games, hand-clapping games, and double-dutch jump rope, Gaunt argues that these are forms of oral transmission of black musical aesthetics. She identifies the following elements of black musical style that are found in black girls’ musical games: different musical timbres created by different body parts and placement; back-beat or off-beat rhythms formed through claps; feet stomping 37 ‘IJI. [hills— s that sounds like the thud of an electric bass guitar or string bass; speech-like delivery; the inclusion of non-traditional sounds as part of music; and the manipulation and importance of language (vowels, timbre, consonants) in musical expression. Gaunt (1997a; 1997b) goes on to argue that, while rap and hip-hop, along with other forms of black music making, have been traditionally viewed as being centered on men, the music making of black girls at play is reflected in rap and hip-hop and should therefore be acknowledged and valued. Women play a major role in defining black music, argues Gaunt, just as music helps women define and identify themselves as African—American women. In this research, Gaunt (1997a; 1997b) focuses on the agency expressed by girls and women through musical forms and the musical connections of these forms to West African music and other African-American genres. While she does not focus on the learning process girls use to acquire competence at these games, this study is helpful in interpreting my dissertation data, particularly the questions that arose about the meaning of dance among children (see Chapter 6). Gaunt found that African American girls and women express sexuality in games, cheers, dance, and popular music, through the lyrics, rhythm, and movement. Campbell: Songs in Their Heads Campbell, a music educator and ethnomusicologist, provides an excellent model of the study of the meaning of music in children’s lives in her book Songs in their Heads (1998). Campbell uses ethnomusicological methods to study the role of music in the lives of children. She goes beyond the elementary music classroom to playgrounds, general 38 classrooms, and preschools, observing and interviewing children to find out what music means to them. During about sixteen months of fieldwork, Campbell (1998) collected data for this study, mostly through non-participant observation of children at play and interviews with children. Campbell’s methodology for the observations consisted of obtaining access to the field; taking fieldnotes and making an audio-recording during the observation, including descriptions of the environment, the children involved, the music making occurring, and the children’s interactions with her; and analysis consisting of writing up the notes in detail, listening to the tapes repeatedly (up to ten times) to gain insights, transcribing the musical segments, and writing a narrative of the observation. For the interviews, Campbell (1998) prepared general questions and musical questions for the children, including “What will you be when you grow up?” (general questions, p. 231) and “Do you ever just think about music? What do you think?” (musical question, p. 232). She used these questions as idea starters during her conversations with children but did not follow a formal interview script. Rather, she allowed each interviewee’s answers to direct the conversation and adapted questions accordingly. Campbell (1998) found that children express and embrace musicality in myriad ways, most outside of the music classroom, and she suggests that music educators need to pause and reflect on the bigger picture of children’s musical lives. In the afterword of her book, Campbell invites “further explorations of an interdisciplinary sort by those whose interest in music and its meaning in children’s lives, with collaborative efforts by 39 4! specialists who can criss-cross the fields of education, ethnomusicology, anthropology, and folklore” (p. 226). Campbell’s (1998) framing question on the meaning of music in children’s lives was one of the core questions of my ethnography of children’s music culture in Baatiikunda, The Gambia. Campbell’s methodology of investigating the meaning of music in children’s lives centered on non-participant observation and informal interviews. For my study, I used both non-participant observation (observing children from the sidelines) and participant observation (observing while participating in musical play) techniques. Music Learning on the Playground Merrill-Mirsky: Transmission of Playground Music Games in Los Angeles Schools In her study of girls’ playground music games among several ethnic groups in Los Angeles, California schools in the 19805, Merrill-Mirsky (1988) found that singing games were a living tradition that showcased both distinct cultural features of the groups, as well as cross-cultural influences. The games observed, collected, and analyzed by Merrill-Mirsky included handclapping games, ring games, jump rope rhymes, cheers, and other miscellaneous games. She identified distinct elements including variations on ring games, such as stone-passing and counting-out among Southeast Asian children; tendency toward pitched melodies of Euro-American and Asian children, as compared to non-pitched melodies of Afiican-American children; more structure and specialized movement among Latino children’s games; and a higher expectation of individual expression and creativity in African-American children’s games. Merrill-Mirsky’s 40 analysis suggests that the African-American tradition carried the greatest cross-cultural influence of all the groups, with repertoire, handclapping patterns, and rhythmic elements appearing first among African-American children, and then spreading to other neighborhoods and schools, and thus other ethnic groups, in the city. The African-American music games studied by Merrill—Mirsky (1988) had higher levels of musical complexity and expectations of creativity than the repertoire of other ethnic groups. She links some of the features of the girls’ games to West African musical roots, including a low body center and bent-over stance during dance and movement, rhythmic complexity, a circular formation for ring games and dances, and a solo/chorus form that allows for individual expression. In investigating how the music games were taught and learned, Merrill-Mirsky (1988) found that the transmission depended on enculturation that took place over many years, from the time little girls were toddlers, watching their older sisters and neighbors playing, to first graders, working on learning the songs, chants, and clapping patterns, to second and third graders, attaining proficiency at the games. She found the peak age for this genre to be third grade, with the older girls occasionally playing the games, but losing interest as they grew older. Merrill-Mirsky (1988) writes that the genre of girls’ playground games demonstrates musical and verbal complexity, cultural expressiveness, and personal power on the part of players. She suggests that the music games could be useful to students working to learn English or develop verbal skills, but quickly adds a note of caution, stating that this genre flourishes without adult intervention. Menill-Mirsky raises questions about whether adults should become involved in the genre: “Should children’s 41 traditional music be ignored, and left alone will it flourish? Is there value in children’s music that should be recognized? Does that mean that adults should teach singing games?” (p. 229-230) In recognizing the importance of children’s power, or agency, within the genre of playground games, Merrill-Mirsky (1988) raises one of the central concerns for researchers investigating children’s music: how to study and learn about the musical practice without interfering or affecting it. In my research, I attempted to do this by beginning with observation before moving to participation; by listening to the children talk about their play and following their lines of thought, rather than my own questions; and by not interfering when children were negotiating whose turn it was or what game to play, unless a child was in danger of injury. Still, as a researcher, I realize that my presence affected what went on during play sessions, and that needs to be taken into account when interpreting results. Menill-Mirsky’s (1988) findings are useful to my study as a basis for comparison of repertoire, techniques, and pedagogical strategies held in common between Los Angeles girls’ playground play and Gambian children’s music play; these connections will be discussed in more detail in later chapters. Riddell: Collection, Notation, and Analysis of Playground Games Riddell (1990) also studied children’s playground games in Los Angeles schools; the focus of her dissertation was to collect, notate, and analyze the games. She developed a system of notating the games that includes musical, clapping, and movement notation, as well as lyrics. She also includes many variations of the games she analyzed. Several of 42 _ he?“ I these were games I found in The Gambia, so Riddell’s thoroughness is helpful in providing a basis for comparison of these games; the similarities will be discussed further in Chapter 4. In comparing her findings to ethnomusicological studies of children’s music in other parts of the world, Riddell (1990) notes several similarities: children’s music is connected to movement, the interaction of individual to group is central, music is not taught through a sequential process, and children express ownership through their musical expressions on the playground. The teaching process she observed of games on the playground consisted of the process of watching, repeating, and starting over if a mistake is made. In addition to comparing her findings to previous research, Riddell (1990) points out the differences between children’s informal music making and the music education they experience in the classroom. While children learn music from one another non- sequentially and through trial and error, exhibiting ownership in the process, in the music classroom they experience sequential, simplified, teacher-controlled musical experiences. Riddell also critiques the lack of movement in American music classrooms, but this is dependent on the teacher and teaching methodology; many of the major elementary general music methods today advocate using movement in a variety of activities in the music classroom. Harwood: Handclapping Games in a Champaign-Urbana, Illinois Girls ' Club Like Merrill-Mirsky (1988) and Riddell (1990), Harwood (1992) studied the transmission of clapping games. Harwood’s study focused on seven- to fourteen-year—old 43 African-American girls at an after—school Girls’ Club in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Based on her data, Harwood found three principles that guided the transmission of handclapping games: games are learned holistically, not separated into songs, clapping pattems, phrases, or other units; games are practiced as an entire unit, with difficult passages or patterns not being isolated for separate practice; and one of the keys to successful transmission is the lack of time restraints in the informal setting. Harwood (1992) observed, participated in, and videotaped play sessions of handclapping games at the Girls’ Club approximately once a week for seven months, in addition to interviewing girls and adult supervisors of the Club. As she observed the girls develop skill over time, she noted that players progressed through a cycle of learning: from observing a game, to struggling with it, achieving competence, and then mastery. This cycle was repeated with successively more difficult games. In her article, Harwood (1992) concludes by alluding to a problem: while we can observe how children learn music informally, that does not help us know how to better teach it: “While a study of the processes involved in oral transmission may not suggest how to teach music effectively, it does clarify practices and conditions that contribute to learning music effectively” (p. 25). In her research situation, a mixture of ages, fi'eedom from time restrictions, and minimal adult intervention were conditions that helped facilitate the transmission of the handclapping genre. While Harwood does not suggest implications for teaching practice based on her observations, in this study, I do attempt to draw implications, as seen in Chapter 7. 44 Addo: Ghanaian Children ’s Music Cultures In her study of how cultural norms are evident in Ghanaian children’s play songs, Addo (1996) argues that the interaction of music, text, and movement provided multiple demonstrations of cultural knowledge. A musical and cultural analysis of one song game, Maame Abrewa, reveals musical influences of adult music on the children’s music Qiolyrhythmic figures); cultural expectations of cooperation and individualism showcased in the circular formation used in the game; and symbolic actions within the game acknowledging elder’s activities. The researcher spent 6 months gathering fieldnotes, interviews, photographs, audiotapes, and videotapes; from this data she transcribed 52 play songs, which she analyzed musically (tonal material, range, melody, rhythm, form), by performance practice (performance formations, location, performers), and culturally (text, customs, cultural background). Her participants included 35 children, aged 7 to 15, from three schools in central Ghana. Addo (1996) found that a majority of the games collected were based on heptatonic scales and had ranges within an octave. The melodies were influenced by the local language, F anti, which is a tonal language. Rhythmically, Addo found the play songs to be complex, requiring performers to sing, move, and clap both divisive (built on equally divided beats) and hemiola (two against three) patterns simultaneously. The form of the games was typically call and response, and the texts were repetitive and playful. Children took their performance seriously, and if a child “spoiled” the game, she or he was out. 45 'H. _ __""““E| The attention to detail in analysis demonstrated by Addo (1996) in this study is important in accurately studying and representing African music. Similar inclusion of musical analyses in works on Afiican music is something more scholars need to do, according to Agawu (2003). For my dissertation research, I transcribed selected children’s songs and music games in order to provide examples of observations and interpretations. I also analyzed the musical and lyrical content of several songs, found in Chapter 6, in order to explore possible meanings of the repertoire in children’s lives. Due to the limited scope of my study, I did not complete a thorough comparison of children’s music to adult’s music, because that would have required extensive research and analysis of adult’s music. Rather, I completed and studied transcriptions of children’s music in order to better understand the data obtained from participant observations and interviews and to help the reader understand my discussion of children’s music making. I also attended several adult music events in order to gain a basic understanding of how children’s music relates to adults’ music. Dzansi: Pedagogy on the Playground In her 2004 article “Playground Music Pedagogy of Ghanaian Children,” Dzansi argues that the pedagogy evident in children’s playground music play is marked by participation and imitation, constant movement, shifting leadership roles, and child- created and enforced rules. Dzansi used research on social contexts of learning for her theoretical framework, and her goal was for the naturalistic music education of the playground to inform formal music education by allowing students to participate in 46 ;eachin g in the classroom, teaching music through play, and use of indigenous songs and games in the music classroom. Dzansi spent four months gathering data for this study. She studied four sites (three schools and a neighborhood); subjects (boys and girls) were between 6 and 15 years old. The schools represented diverse areas (rural and urban). School playground play times lasted 30 minutes per day; Dzansi also observed children in a neighborhood from 4:00 to 5:00 PM three times a week. Dzansi interviewed 10 teachers in each school and 12 parents in the neighborhood, as well as the children. This research builds on a current research agenda of music educators in Ghana, who argue that music in Ghanaian schools should be taught from a more indigenous, less Western, perspective. Similar arguments are made by Nzewi (1999) in Nigeria and Oehrle (1991) in South Africa. This turning towards away from Western repertoire and pedagogy allows local repertoire, traditions, and styles of learning to take precedence in the classroom. One of the aspects of my ethnographic study of children’s music in Baatiikunda, The Gambia, was to find out what kind of music is taught in the local primary school, and how it is taught. Dzansi’s research purpose was to promote change in Ghanaian formal music education. My methodology was informed by Dzansi, but my purpose was different. I studied playground music pedagogy in order to inform the teaching of Gambian music in American music classrooms. 47 American Teachers, West African Children’s Music Kubitsky: Ewe Children ’5 Music from Ghana, West Africa, in the Classroom Like Addo (1996) and Dzansi (2005), Kubitsky (1998) worked with children in Ghana. Kubitsky’s study is unique, however, in her aim: she studied and learned Ewe children’s music, as well as dancing and drumming, in order to identify materials that she could teach to her American students. Beginning with her experience as an Orff- Schulwerk teacher, Kubitsky experienced and examined Ewe children’s music with the intent of collecting teaching materials to use in her classroom. Kubitsky (1998) spent seven weeks working with children and adults, learning songs, taking drumming lessons, and collecting song and dances in a village in southeastern Ghana. The songs she collected fell into three categories: game songs, story songs, and general songs. Kubitsky noted that Ewe children learn moral and cultural values through their songs. Musically, the children’s songs were primarily in call and response form and accompanied by clapping. Kubitsky (1998) noted differences in songs originating from northern Ghana, typically using diatonic scales, and those from Southern Ghana, more often drawn from pentatonic tonal material. Her analysis of data included selecting material that could be taught from an Orff-Schulwerk perspective. She transcribed the songs, music games, and dances (using drawings of positions and formations), provided text, transliteration, and translations, as well as cultural background information. She also compiled an audiotape and a videotape of performances to use in her teaching. Finally, Kubitsky (1998) applied her work to her American music classroom by designing 9-week units for early elementary and upper elementary classes. The units 48 included songs, dances, instruments, and Cultural information she had gathered in Ghana. A public performance by the students shared their learning with parents and the community. Kubitsky (1998) demonstrated a research and teaching process that resulted in a culturally contextual music learning experience for her students. Beginning with her training as an Orff-Schulwerk music teacher interested in world music, Kubitsky located a community in which she could learn music to bring back to her American students. Her Orff-Schulwerk lens enabled her to focus on material that would be accessible to her students; this focus also makes her collection and results appealing to other teachers of the Orff-Schulwerk methodology. For my dissertation research I focused on investigating the forms and meaning of music making in children’s lives, rather than on collecting and transcribing songs and games. My results contain some transcriptions and analyses, but this was not the core of my study. In making applications to the American classroom, I studied how to influence the pedagogy of cross-cultural music, in addition to making specific suggestions about repertoire and activities. Koops: Gambian Children ’s Songs Games in the American Classroom In January 1999, I conducted informal field research on children’s games in several communities near Serrekunda, The Gambia. I spent time singing and playing with six groups of children and videotaped them playing, singing, and dancing. Based on the data from this study, I developed 5-week units for second, fifth, and sixth grade general 49 music classes. These units were well-received by my students and resulted in an introductory cross-cultural experience for them. At the conclusion of this research, I noted that my study had only scratched the surface of the topic of children’s games in The Gambia (Huisman, 1999). I stated that further research was needed to accurately transcribe and describe the music games, collect contextual information on the cultural background of the games, and discover the depth of possibilities for using these music games in the American music classroom. I focused on these issues as I continued my research on Gambian children’s music games for my master’s thesis. I returned to The Gambia in June 2002 to collect children’s music games for my thesis research, which resulted in a collection of 13 music games (Koops, 2002). While there, I worked with four groups of children, three of which spoke primarily Mandinka and one of which spoke primarily Wolof. The children taught me their favorite music games, both Gambian and English (learned in school). I video- and audio-recorded the children playing the games, transcribed the songs and chants, and translated the text with help from translators. For my thesis I presented all of this, along with instructions for playing the games and cultural information, followed by suggestions for implementing the games in American classrooms. This research is similar to Kubitsky’s research in Ghana, in that I spent time playing and learning children’s music in West Africa. Kubitsky also focused on learning drumming and dancing, which I did not. Rather than framing the collection in a single music education approach, such as Orff-Schulwerk, I chose to select and present songs in a way that is accessible and applicable to a variety of teaching methods, including 50 Dalcroze, Kodaly, Music Learning Theory, Orff-Schulwerk, and combinations of the above. I also included classroom applications in my analysis, which Kubitsky did not. In this dissertation I expanded my previous research by investigating the personal and cultural meaning of music in children’s lives and by exploring how music is taught and learned by children in Baatiikunda, The Gambia. One primary difference in my dissertation research, compared to my master’s research, is an emphasis on observing children in their natural musical environment, rather than asking them to demonstrate specific games and songs. I was also not concerned with collecting material to bring back to the American classroom, as I was in my previous research. Rather, I focused on observing how children teach and learn music, in order to apply ideas and themes to America music education. The thesis (Koops, 2002) does provide examples of 13 songs, games, and dances of children in one community in The Gambia, which I used as a basis of comparison with the music of children in Baatiikunda. When I found songs in common, I used the transcriptions from my thesis. In order to teach music from a culturally informed perspective, it is essential for teachers to draw upon a body of literature on the topics of children’s music making as well as how music is taught and learned by children in other parts of the world. The studies reviewed above demonstrate the beginning of this work; much more research is needed on specific children’s musical practices and pedagogical processes. This dissertation seeks to add to the research body by describing children’s music making, teaching, and learning in The Gambia, West Africa. It fits into all three categories of studies reviewed above: ethnographies of children’s musical practice, studies on 51 playground learning of children, and research on how to bring together theory and practice in order to develop culturally informed music pedagogy. 52 CHAPTER III DESIGN AND PROCEDURES Design This project was a qualitative study using ethnographic techniques of immersion, observation, participant observation, song and chant collection, and interviews to collect data. Data sources were fieldnotes from observation and participant observation, transcripts of interviews, and audio- and video-recordings of children’s play sessions. As part of my doctoral course work I focused on ethnomusicology, the discipline that provides the methodology for this study. For this dissertation, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork, but it was done within a music education framework, since I am trained as a music educator, interested in studying how children learn music in The Gambia and how this might apply to the endeavor of music education in the United States and other parts of the world. The methodology, results, and interpretation of this study are primarily ethnomusicological, but the framework, implications, and conclusions are from a music education perspective. Participants The main participants in this study were residents, both children and adults, of a neighborhood in Baatiikunda, The Gambia. I observed primary school aged-children (age 5 to 13) learning music in school and playing music games on the playground and in their 53 homes. Groups of children, as well as their older siblings, parents and teachers, participated in interviews. Two young adults (one female, one male; each approximately 20 years of age) helped as research assistants and translators for this study; I paid them an hourly wage. They were chosen for their knowledge of the neighborhood and children, ability to speak several local languages as well as English, and interest in the research. In doing research in a Wolof-speaking area, one of the challenges was in understanding the subtle meanings in what people said and the hidden meanings in song texts. In addition to the translations and guidance offered by the research assistants, I showed my work and shared my ideas with people in The Gambia who were interested, in order to get feedback on areas I was missing or misunderstanding. I also followed up with questions to several individuals from Senegal currently living in the United States; Senegal is Gambia’s closest neighboring country and also has a large population of Wolof people. Dr. Robert Koops and Mrs. Esther Koops (my parents-in-law) provided linguistic support and expertise, as well as lodging, local contacts, and cultural advice. Procedure I spent twelve and a half weeks in The Gambia during Summer, 2005. Upon arriving in The Gambia, I obtained research permission from the Region One Education Directorate and the National Council for Arts and Culture, Research and Documentation Division (see Appendix D). I identified a school in Baatiikunda that served as the geographical center of my study and talked to the headmistress about what I was interested in studying. In addition to the permission from the Education Directorate, I 54 obtained permission from the headmistress and teachers to observe classes and recess periods. From the headmistress, I learned which teachers in the school were most interested in music, as well as how they would like me to participate in school activities during my stay. In my first few weeks, I also made contacts at the Teacher’s College, explaining my research interests, and inquiring as to whether there were other researchers working on similar projects. No similar research projects were identified. Additional approval for research with human subjects was granted by the Michigan State University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects, or UCRIHS (see Appendix B). I used assent and consent forms (translated into Wolof) to receive permission from all neighborhood participants and their guardians to work with the children and videotape research sessions (see Appendix C), with research assistants explaining the consent form and procedure to children and guardians; informed consent was also received from all adult participants. Because it was not culturally appropriate or practically feasible to seek informed assent and consent from the 3600 students and parents of the school, 1 limited my work there to observing in the classrooms and on the playground; the Education Directorate and headmistress agreed to provide permission for this work. At the request of the headmistress and teachers, I also read English books and taught a few English songs to several classes. Observation and participant observation were the mainstay of my research. During non-participant observation, I acted as an observer in view of the children; during participant observation, the children knew that I was a researcher, so my role was “observer as participant” (Creswell, 2003, p. 186). The degree of my participation or observation varied throughout my three months in The Gambia, which is typical of field 55 research as described by Hammersley and Atkinson (1995). The non-participant observation allowed me to make observations about the environment and community interactions during children’s music making, while participant observation helped me to build relationships with the children with whom I was working and gain insights about the musical teaching and learning processes. When we moved from Fajara to a compound in Baatiikunda, I became more immersed in the environment, not only during research, but when going to buy bread or fruit, visit friends, or sit outside. During the participant observation, I did not take fieldnotes, in order to avoid distraction. Following the observation, I typed up detailed fieldnotes of what I observed and any questions I had. In situations where it did not affect the observation, such as non- participant observations, I took fieldnote jottings and typed detailed fieldnotes following the observation. My fieldnotes were based on the recommendations of Emerson, F retz, and Shaw (1995) in Writing Ethnographic F ieldnotes: fieldnotes were detailed, written up as soon as possible after the event, and tracked my thinking using asides, commentaries, and in-process memos. I structured the interviews with children in my study as feedback interviews, in which children responded to audio— or video-recordings of their musical play. This allowed the children to reflect on what they were doing and explain and clarify elements to me. It also reduced the language barrier in developing questions, as children responded primarily to something they had done rather than to my questions. In my research in 1999 and 2002, I was direct in asking children to perform music games when we visited. For my dissertation research, I took a more natural approach, observing play times to see how much music play the children engage in of their own 56 accord. I observed children playing on their own compounds, in addition to at school. This was facilitated by a neighborhood community center where the children gathered most afternoons to play; the home where I stayed in Baatiikunda was located on the compound of the community center. The neighborhood children became accustomed to seeing me around the community center, and I was able to observe them at various times of the day, engaging in a range of activities. As I walked around the neighborhood, children and adults recognized me and greeted me by my Gambian name (“Nima Njiel”); I had the opportunity to observe children playing games in the streets, outside compound walls, and within their compounds. I conducted two types of interviews: question interviews and feedback interviews. The question interviews were mostly with adults (older brothers and sisters, parents, and teachers). My questions were drawn from the following topics: meaning and cultural context of specific music games; historical background on specific music games (did the interviewee play it as a child?); interviewee’s perception of the role of music in children’s lives; and for teachers, how they use music in their teaching. For each of these topics I had specific interview questions (see Appendix A). I conducted most of these interviews in English, since many of the interviewees spoke fluent English; interviews in Wolof were translated with the help of a research assistant. In my feedback interviews with children, I provided video- or audio-recordings and asked the children questions about what was happening in the recording. I did this with small groups of four to six children at a time. I recorded the children’s responses as they explained to me and reflected with one another on what was happening. When showing video, I used my laptop computer. For the feedback interviews I was assisted by 57 a research assistant/translator, in order to help me conduct the interview entirely in Wolof or Mandinka, depending on which language the children chose to speak. Conducting research in The Gambia required flexibility when setting up appointments and trying to establish a schedule. I learned to follow the flow of events and complete observations and interviews when convenient for participants, rather than attempting to accomplish my set goals for a research day or week. Beginning in mid-June the rainy season arrived in The Gambia, causing some roads to be impassable, school assemblies to be cancelled, and play sessions to dissolve from time to time; this contributed to the need for flexibility. During the first half of my research, I lived in Faj ara, a short ride by public transportation from Baatiikunda. While in F aj ara, I took the opportunity to listen to archived Gambian children’s music at the National Council for Arts and Culture. After I moved to Baatiikunda, I became more immersed in research, as well as participating in neighborhood events. Each of my research events — observations, participant observation sessions and interviews — lasted from one to three hours, and required up to an hour of travel and setting up. The data collection for this study occurred during my stay in The Gambia from May 12 to August 5, 2005. I transcribed interviews and worked with translators to translate song texts and interview transcriptions while in The Gambia, in order to ensure accuracy and provide opportunities for checking. I used the following equipment: digital video camera (Sony Handycam DCR- HC20), audio recorder (iRiver iFP-999), laptop (Sony Vaio), and microphones (Sony wireless WCS-999 lapel microphone for interviews and some observations, internal video camera micrOphone for observations). I did not videotape observations the first few 58 weeks; I spent the time getting to know the children and acquiring a broad idea of what was going on musically. In the last half of my research time, I did more videotaping that documented a broad spectrum of musical activities of the children on home compound settings. I made DVD backups of all videotapes, which I played on my laptop during feedback interviews. In 1999 and 2002, the videotaping I did was largely staged musical activities for the camera; this time I tried to video children in more natural settings and ways. While they were not as accustomed to the video camera as many American children, the Gambian children had seen similar devices used by tourists. In order to help them become used to the video camera, as well as share with them the research process, I allowed the children to look through the viewfinder and played back the video of play sessions for them at a later date. Analysis The analysis of my results began informally in The Gambia as I read through fieldnotes and transcripts and identified further questions and possible themes. More formal analysis occurred in Michigan upon my return. I coded fieldnotes and interview transcriptions, looked for themes, and organized my fieldnotes and transcriptions into an ethnographic story. I also transcribed selected songs and games. I analyzed the results both as a music educator interested in the musical leaming process and musical development, as well as an ethnomusicologist looking at social and cultural contexts and meanings of music making. The transcriptions included in Appendix E are intended as an aid to the reader; they are not intended for classroom use, as they do not include complete translations, 59 pronunciation guides, and playing instructions. Transcriptions intended for classroom use are included in my thesis (Koops, 2002). For “Rap a Tap a Tap Tap” (Appendix E17), I used a recording of a teenaged observer performing the song for the transcription because the musical intent of the performance was more clear; the children I worked with did not sing the song in its entirety when playing. Many of the songs are sung with slight variations by different people. In coding my data, I followed recommendations of Creswell (2003) and Miles & Hubennan (1994). I used a total of 83 codes. Thirty-five of these were external codes that I compiled based on research literature and expectations from my past research. The remaining 48 were internal codes that arose from the data. In order to check the trustworthiness of my coding, I asked two peer reviewers with experience in ethnomusicological research, as well as backgrounds in education, to look over samples of interview transcripts, fieldnotes, and video transcripts. The reviewers confirmed that my analysis through coding was consistent and thorough. In presenting the data in the following chapters, all names have been changed in order to protect confidentiality with one exception. Landing J aaju, a teacher and composer known throughout The Gambia, asked that his name be used. He is not based in or near Baatiikunda, so using his name poses no risk of other subjects losing anonymity. Also, pseudonyms are used consistently: each time I refer to Ndey, for example, I am referring to the same individual. All English comments by participants are transcribed directly; if they are translated, it is noted, as in “The research assistant translated the girl’s response as follows.” English is the official language of The Gambia and is commonly spoken by 60 children and adults; this English is influenced by the vocabulary and grammar of local languages, and thus some of the English comments in the following chapters contain what the reader may perceive as errors or inconsistencies. I chose not to change the English in order to reflect the way the language is used by children and adults in The Gambia. Phrases and lyrics in Gambian languages in this document are identified with the following standardized language codes (Gordon, 2005): Mnk: Mandinka Wof: Gambian Wolof Fuf: Pulaar (or Fula) The majority of the examples used are in Gambian Wolof. I used the standard orthography adopted by the Senegalese government in 1975 (Gaye, 1980; Wolof Language Page, n.d.). In some of the musical transcriptions, an extra syllable is added at the end of a word ending in a double consonant, such as “bopp-a” (Appendix E6); in The Gambia words ending in a double consonant typically are pronounced with a slight “ah” after the double consonant. 61 CHAPTER IV “‘BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP,’ ‘KIRIBANG,’ AND ZIMBAS”: CHILDREN’S AGENCY IN MUSIC MAKING AT HOME, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND AT SCHOOL A group of children are playing in the road in front of a “bitik, ” a small shop selling bread, canned goods, cookies, cigarettes, flashlights, and dozens of other everyday items. A mother sits at a small table nearby, selling cookies to passers-by. Two children stand about six feet apart, facing each other, with a thin loop of elastic around their knees. They look on as the other players take turns playing “Kiribang. " T uuti approaches the elastic and takes several preliminary hops, setting her jumping rhythm and focusing. She begins the routine: first, jump into the center and out the other side. Second, hook close elastic with inside foot and jump over other elastic, creating a triangle with the elastic; jump out. Third, repeat from the other direction. Fourth, jump into the center and out the other side, as in the beginning. As she jumps, T uuti chants “mm-hm, mm-hm " in rhythm with her jumping. She successfully completes this first step of ”Kiribang, " and the two girls holding the elastic move it to their hips and say “suftat” (hips). T uuti repeats the routine, now made difi‘icult by the higher elastic. She is again successful and moves on to “ndigg ” (waist). During this step, T uuti pushes the elastic down with her hand when she goes across and holds it up to go under when she hooks the elastic to form a triangle. Her movements are smooth and polished; she has done this many times. 62 The players holding the elastic move it again to their knees as T uuti begins the next level: “oom, turn ‘round ” (knee, turn around). For this level, each of the four movements above includes a 90 degree turn. T uuti advances to “suftat, turn ‘round ” but loses her balance and steps on the elastic while turning and crossing. The other children yell “F ail! " and T uuti takes the place of one of the elastic holders. The next child in line begins her routine. When her turn comes again, T uuti starts where she left of]: with ”suftat, turn ‘round. ” She continues through more levels. Each level has a slightly different pattern of jumping and phrase to say while jumping: “Jalgatti One, ” “B, I wanna C, ” and “Go'or jeg, Ayda Modu Mustafa. ” Some of the players chant to themselves while they jump; some players chant “Ay-oo, so fi sofa ” when a player completes a step, indicating closure to that level. T uuti is smiling and out of breath when she fails again; she takes her place to hold the elastic for another player. Kiribang is one of many forms of children’s music making I observed in Baatiikunda in which children exerted agency through their movements, use of language, attitudes, and decisions. “Agency” here refers to power, control, and authority. In exerting agency, children demonstrate power, control, and authority in their music making. In this chapter I will describe the forms of music making of the children at school, at home, and in the community, arguing that the children demonstrate power and leadership and express ideas and emotions in their music making, with greater agency being shown in situations in which children have more control over their music making and behavior. This will be demonstrated through a variety of examples of repertoire and 63 music making situations. In Chapter 5, I focus on the musical teaching and learning processes that occur within children’s music making. In Chapter 6, I turn to the meanings of music making and role of music in children’s lives; I also describe the nature and meaning of selected music lyrics. Music at School At the school in which I worked during my three months in The Gambia, I observed children engaging in music during classroom singing times, at morning assemblies, during a games session, at a drama troupe performance, at an Army Band concert, and during playground play. Throughout these experiences, the children tended to participate more enthusiastically when they had greater control over their situation. In classroom settings, children had little control over activities and repertoire, and their lack of agency was reflected in their attitude and level of participation. On the playground, however, the children exerted agency by controlling the play (what to play and who was playing), controlling the music during play (setting or changing the tempo, adapting lyrics), and demonstrating competitive skill or expressing emotions through play. In activities that occurred outside of either sphere, children exhibited varying levels of control. There are three types of schools in The Gambia: government schools, like Baatiikunda Lower Basic School (BLBS), where I did most of my observations; private schools; and mission schools. The government schools stress being affordable, accessible, and relevant (TC, 5 July 2005). A painting on the wall above the headmistress’ office at BLBS shows a girl and boy student holding a book together and 64 reaching their arms toward a banner stating “Striving towards Education for All.” Beneath the children, another banner reads: “Access, Quality, Relevance”; “Especially Women & Girls” is painted underneath this banner. The mission statement, also painted on the wall, reads: The School shall strive to provide six years of basic quality and relevant education and training so as to allow and assist each and every child [to] develop and utilise his or her full potential punctuated by a high standard of moral discipline within the framework of the National Education Policy and in pursuance of Vision 2020 (2003). This policy of accessible, relevant education has resulted in overcrowded schools, a common problem in The Gambia. BLBS is home to over 3700 students in 68 classes. Due to the large enrollment, the school runs a “double shift,” with 34 classes coming for morning shift (8:30 AM — 1:30 PM) and 34 more classes in the afiemoon (2:00 PM-6:20 PM). Some teachers stay for the double shift, and some teach only morning or aftemoon. According to the enrollment data from 2004-2005, there are an average of 55 students in each class, with younger grades having fewer (50) and older grades more (60). Teaching primary school at BLBS is challenging. Many of the classrooms lack adequate firmiture; children crowd into desks with the top boards falling off or sit on the floor. The younger grades have few books or learning materials. Children are responsible for bringing their own notebooks and pencils to class but often are not able to do so because of lack of resources. Classrooms are open-air brick structures with no electricity; noises from adjoining classrooms or outside can be distracting. Making oneself heard as a teacher in a room of 55 children is difficult; many teachers had implements to help them 65 get the class’ attention, such as a piece of rubber hose to slap on a desk. Teachers, despite low pay (or not receiving pay for months at a time), recognize the obstacles but persevere. One teacher’s comment about finding ways to accomplish goals, even with minimal resources, shows the pride that many teachers take in their work: “Improvisation” is a key word for government schools — if we don’t have desks, we sit on the floor; if we don’t have chalk, we find another way. We make do with what we have and strive to educate the children. (TC, 5 July 2005) This approach is reminiscent of Brown’s (1990) argument that African and African- American use of instruments is marked by the ability to do “something from nothing and more from something” (288). Primary school teachers are responsible for teaching “all the subjects that is, Maths, English, Science, Social and Environmental Studies, Physical Education, Verbal, Quantitative, Population and Family Life Education” (AJ, 8 June 2005). There are also nine Koranic/Arabic teachers at the school who provide Koranic instruction for the students in daily lessons. Music is scheduled for half an hour in each class’ weekly timetable, and rhymes and “games” are added for the lower grades (one to three). Whether these lessons actually occur is based in part on the individual teacher and their interests; there are not music specialists who provide music instruction for all students. Inside the classroom, students are expected to sit quietly and speak only when the teacher calls on them; their control over their learning process is minimal. I observed classes laboring over math and reading lessons; students’ heads resting on their hands, paging listlessly through books, as the teacher sat at his desk. This quiet lethargy gave way to joyful running, shouting, jumping, and playing during the break time fiom 11:30- 66 12:00 and 3:30-4:00 each day. The school courtyard pulsated with life as children ate their lunches purchased from vendors, played soccer, hopscotch, tag, clapping games, “Play Akkara” (see Appendix E5), and roamed about, socializing. Music is seen as extra-curricular in Gambian primary schools. According to the vice-principal of the Gambian Teachers’ College in Brikama, many years ago music was included in the teacher training cuniculum for all primary school teachers (NJ, 24 May 2005). One teacher informed me “when we were at college, almost 90% of the songs we were taught were all English songs” (FC, 8 June 2005). When the Teachers’ College moved to a new campus in 1981, several changes occurred in the curriculum, including the elimination of music. This caused a trickle-down effect in the schools; since it was no longer part of teacher training, it was no longer part of the cuniculum in the schools. The vice-principal of the Gambian Teachers’ College went on to explain that music is now viewed as an “extracurricular activity.” Some schools have singing lessons as the last period on Friday or for a special occasion. The inclusion of music in the classroom depends on the individual school culture and the individual teachers’ skills and talents. In schools in which music is an important part of their school traditions and cultures, music is more present; with teachers for whom music is a special talent, more music is present in the classroom (NJ, 24 May 2005). At Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, children in some classes experience music as part of their regular classroom activities. Each class was scheduled to have a half-hour singing time each week, but not all teachers followed this recommendation. Teachers who did include music in their classrooms sang both English and local songs with the students. In one class I observed, the students sang the English songs with slouched 67 posture and poor vocal technique; when they switched to a song in a local language, they sat straight, sang clearly, and took turns dancing along. Schools are required to teach in English, even at the lower levels; this leads children to have less control over verbal and written communication, as most primary- aged children are not yet fluent in English. The Gambia was a British colony until 1965, and English is the official language, although not the mother tongue of most Gambians. Several teachers told me that learning English is the main goal of nursery school (for children age 3 to 7). Children at a private school about 20 kilometers from Baatiikunda told me they were not allowed to speak Wolof at school, and children who did were sent to detention. Baatiikunda Lower Basic School did not take this strong an approach; teachers spoke with one another in local languages during breaks. Wolof and Mandinka were the languages of choice on the playground, and children learned other local languages through playing with classmates. The government, however, requires teachers to teach lessons in English, and children struggle to learn to read in a language in which they are not yet fluent. The English emphasis canies over to the repertoire sung in the classroom. One morning I visited five first grade classes and asked them to sing for me. In some classes the teachers chose the songs, and in others the children directed the process. Almost every class I visited sang the English counting song “One Little Finger” for me. They knew many English songs, mostly learned from their nursery school teachers. “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” was another favorite, with an extended coda (see transcription of coda in Appendix El). I also heard classes chanting as part of lessons, repeating what their teacher said, or memorizing facts. Including the popular “One Little Finger” and “Baa, 68 Baa, Black Sheep,” I heard about 25 English songs and chants, five local language songs, and two Arabic songs (see Appendix F for a list of the songs and chants in English). When the teacher asked the students to choose a song in a local language, the children often could not think of one to sing or asked for an English song, only to be told by the teacher “That’s English, not local language!” On the playground, the children could sing many songs in local languages, but in the classroom they have been conditioned to focus on English songs. A possible reason for the emphasis on English songs in the classroom, in addition to the language issue, is that most local language songs for children are intended to be accompanied by dance or play rather than sung sitting in a crowded classroom. When the children did sing local language songs, they often got up and tried to dance in the cramped quarters. Although they could not execute all of the dance movements, they completed modified movements, and the rest of the class showed appreciation for classmates’ dancing with clapping and cheers. In several classroom settings, I observed that the children’s singing of English songs tended to be heavier, harsher, and less accurate than their singing of local language songs. When they switched from an English song to a song in Wolof or Mandinka, for example, I could hear a marked improvement in their singing voice quality, pitch accuracy, and expression. The focus on English songs was also evident at a nursery school I visited, but it was balanced with local language songs and contextualized by a balafon (barred instrument with gourd resonators, similar to xylophone) musician. The children gathered with their teachers in a common area and prepared for a performance at a local 69 governmental function the next day, singing and dancing to several songs in the Balanta language composed by the balafon player. The children also sang many of their favorite English songs, including “One Little Finger,” “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” “Where are You Going,” and “Yuppi Ya Ya (I Remember When I Was a School Boy).” During the English songs, the children shouted the melody, with imprecise pitches; when they shifted to the Balanta songs, they sang more melodically and carefully. At the morning assemblies on Mondays and Fridays at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, students recited the National Pledge and sang the National Anthem (English lyrics written by a Gambian; see Appendix E2). They sang at a low pitch (the tonal center was B flat below middle C) with harsh tone, and pitches were approximate. This could have been because the range was too low for their voices or due to the large number of students singing (over 1000) without accompaniment or leadership. Children’s performance of English songs inside the classroom and during morning assemblies was different than their use of English repertoire during school break. Inside the classroom, many students showed an attitude of boredom or fatigue when asked to sing some English songs, contrasted with their energy and enthusiasm for local languages songs. Children sang other English songs, including “One Little Finger,” enthusiastically, but with less tonal accuracy and musical expression than I heard in performances of local languages songs. This could be due to a lack of connection between the musical material of the songs and the music of their cultures, a language barrier, the manner in which they learned the songs, or other factors. Outside, the children chose to include many English play songs in their break time repertoire. They adapted the games and lyrics and enjoyed them on their own terms, 70 exercising control over the material by changing it to fit their linguistic and rhythmic interests. For example, the version of “Sally Walker” (see Appendix E3) I heard in Baatiikunda contained the phrase “Fly da, fly da, coconut tree” (possibly meaning “fly to the coconut tree”). Although many of the 56 variants of “Sitting Sally Walker” listed by Riddell (1990) contain flying themes, none refers to a coconut tree, which is one of the trees well known to Gambian children. Rhythmically, the girls I observed added a chant to the performance of “Slide, Slide, Slide” (see Appendix E4) as compared to the versions in Riddell (1990), adding rhythmic interest and energy. Much of the English repertoire children chose for the playground consisted of chants, rather than songs, which allowed them to focus on rhythmic expression and performance rather than melodic material. Besides weekly music lessons that some classes experience, the younger grades have one “games” session included in their weekly timetables. Each teacher approaches the “games” session differently, some focusing on athletic games, others leading their students in playing music games. A games session I observed with one first grade class showed greater student involvement and consequently better participation than the singing times I had observed inside their classroom. The class was monitored by the teacher, but play took place on the playground; the games session was more similar to school break time than to class time in the way children were given an opportunity to show leadership, move, and sing. The class played for 45 minutes without pausing, moving from one song, game, or dance to the next. The girls and boys played in separate circles (about 25 children in each circle), and several of the children in each circle were natural leaders, suggesting new games and organizing the players. 71 Another avenue of musical expression was the drama team; both the performers and audience participated musically in performances. Many schools, including BLBS, have a drama team that performs on special occasions. The BLBS drama team performed for my husband and me, as well as many of the other classes at the school, on 27 May 2005. The fifteen drama team members participated in singing and dancing as several adult drummers from the community provided accompaniment and direction. The drama team performers are selected for their musical talent and family connections, as the team organizer explained to me in an interview when I asked how the team members are chosen: We pick children who are born griots [professional praise-singers and musicians], whose parents are griots. We choose those children because they are the ones who are the right people to be involved in the drama. We cannot choose every Dick, Tom, and Harry to be in the drama; you have to choose the right person for the right job if you want to achieve your aims in a short time. So we go round the classes from Grade 4 to Grade 6, the upper classes, we extract these children whose parents are griots, we call them out, we choose them here, and then we train them... (AJ, 8 June 2005) The drama team’s performance consisted of singing Mandinka songs and dancing, accompanied by a group of adult drummers hired for the performance. Their performance told the story of a Gambian ceremony; one teacher I asked said it was a Gambian wedding, and another said it was part of a circumcision ceremony. Dancers participated in group movements as well as individual dancing; the singing was unison and done as a group. 72 The children in the audience were musically active as they watched the dancers and drummers. They clapped and danced along, and some sang along. When the performance began, there were about 100 children gathered around the circle to watch; as it continued, more and more children crowded around until there were several hundred. A similar scene of audience participation occurred at an Army Band Concert held at the school. The army band is a touring band that plays Gambian popular music. The school hosted the concert and charged a small admission fee in order to raise funds to repair the corrugated roof of a classroom before the rainy season started. As the musicians set up their equipment, the children gathered around, watching. When the musicians began to play, children who had been playing around the school courtyard ran, jumped, and danced over to the stage. There were around 400 or 500 children there at the beginning of the concert, and by the end of the evening, 2330 students had bought tickets. The students closest to the musicians jumped and danced along with the music, responding heartily when the musicians asked them a question or called for a response. The musicians spoke to the children in Wolof, which may have contributed to the audience’s feeling of control of the event. Some children stood on chairs to see better and danced on the chairs as they enjoyed the concert. Farther back, small groups of girls danced together. Boys walked past, jumping and dancing as they traveled. A group of girls toward the middle of the courtyard, farther from the band, was playing a jumping game called “Ten Zi.” All the children I could see who were moving were moving to the beat. The dancing was varied, with some girls lifting their feet like in the game “Play Akkara,” some twisting, and some jumping. 73 The concert lasted for about two and a half hours, and the children were reluctant for it to end. One of the school deputies remarked with a laugh, “In fact, they never wanted the music to stop! I had to send some of them by force, to send them home” (MI, 13 June 2005). The greatest amount of student control in musical activities at school occurred during school break. Teachers used break time to visit with one another, eat lunch, and rest, leaving the children on their own. During the first ten minutes, most of the children ate their lunches that were purchased from women with small stands on the road around school and in the courtyard between the lower basic and upper basic schools. When the students finished eating, they played in groups, typically divided by gender and age level. Many of the boys played soccer and other ball games; one day several fifth grade boys drew a small tennis court in the sand and played tennis over an imaginary net. Girls stood or walked together, talking; some of the older girls crocheted hair accessories with fine thread; others played a variety of games. Some of the games, such as soccer, tag, and “Touch” (a combination of “Sharks and Minnows” and “Dodgeball” using sandals as the object to throw) did not typically incorporate musical behaviors, although on occasion I observed a child dancing while waiting for the ball to come her way. Other games, such as “Alaafani” (hopscotch) incorporated dance-like movements but no tonal or rhythmic material. When the rains came in mid-June, the girls began to play “Alaafani”; the moist sand allowed them to draw the hopscotch court. As I watched the girls playing, I noticed that some of them jumped through the boxes with their non-hopping leg lifted in front of them, a movement 74 similar to one of the dance movements the drama team did. Their movements were graceful and controlled. There were several forms of play that incorporated more musical behaviors. Through their musical play, children showed agency by deciding what to play, monitoring the rules and who was playing, telling others if they were doing it wrong, adapting games to make language more accessible if necessary, and engaging in competition. Many children chose to express themselves musically during break time, either through games, singing, or with improvised instruments. “Play Akkara” and “Bopp” were the most common games played by girls during school break. “Play Akkara” is a competitive clapping and jumping game (see Appendix E5). There are many different versions, but they all require two players to clap and jump a rhythm. In the version most often played at school, a group of about five girls stands in a horizontal line, and the leader faces the first player (challenger). They clap, jump, and stomp, and if the challenger stomps the same (mirrored) foot as the leader three times, she becomes the new leader; if the challenger stomps the opposite foot, her turn is done and the leader moves to the next player. I observed girls from first grade through sixth playing “Play Akkara.” The mothers I talked to said they played it as children; a woman fiom Ghana who lived on our compound also reported playing it in Ghana and demonstrated the differences in her version. Girls played it with varying speeds and numbers of opponents. They played it on the sand, standing on the cement porches, and standing on a waist-high cement sign at the front of the school courtyard. 75 Sometimes they formed two teams and kept score; other times they took turns being the leader. In some versions, the leader chanted a number as she jumped: “Te-en, te-en, twen-ty, twen-ty. . .”, increasing by ten with each successful standoff. When she lost her leadership and returned to the line, she remembered how high she had gotten and picked up where she left off when it was her turn again. In mid July, a variant of “Play Akkara,” called “Bopp,” appeared and spread quickly at the school and in the neighborhood. When playing “Bopp,” the set-up is the same as with “Play Akkara,” with one leader and a line of challengers (see Appendix E6). The leader and challenger say together “One, two, three” while clapping, then “Bopp” (and touch their heads), three claps, “Mbagg” (shoulders), “Ndigg” (waist), “Oom” (knees), “Tank” (foot), touching each part and clapping three times in rhythm between. Throughout this process, the players also jump or bounce. When they finish ”Tank,” they shift to a “Play Akkara”-like stomping competition. Advanced players also spin while doing the opening movements with head, shoulders, etc. In both “Play Akkara” and “Bopp,” players demonstrate their skill through competition. These games are most often played by girls and provide a competitive counterpart to the boys’ soccer games. The players monitor one another’s turns, acting as referees and controlling the outcome of any disagreements about who wins, free from adult intervention. Clapping games also were played competitively, but the goal was usually to keep playing without a mistake rather than be declared champion; in some games, if players reached the end successfully, there was a contest to see who could keep from laughing or moving the longest. Many clapping games, played in formations of two, three, or four 76 players, such as “Slide Slide Slide,” “When I Went,” “My Grandmother on Her Way,” and “Suma Doomi Yeesu,” were popular with the fourth and fifth graders (see Appendix E4, E7, E8, E9). The first graders could not always complete the clapping routines, but they worked on learning them (discussed further in Chapter 5). These games, consisting of chanting and clapping routines, demonstrated the girls’ rhythmic skills. A second group of clapping games allow for a greater number of players standing in a circle and carry a range of competitive elements and end goals. During “School Education, Spell Your Name,” the players chant the title of the game. Then a player spells her name one letter at a time, with other players echoing each letter twice: “N (N N), Y (Y Y), I (I I), M (M M), A (A A).” Players hold hands and swing their arms in a small circle as the speller says a letter, then clap twice as they repeat the letter (see Appendix E10). During play, if a player forgets how to spell her name or loses the rhythm, she is out; this is uncommon, however, and play usually does not continue until only one player is left. The game “Competition” (see Appendix E11) requires players to think quickly of items in a set category, and is more commonly played until only one player, the champion, is left. The motions are similar to the game above, with players holding hands and swinging their arms in a small circle followed by three claps. The lyrics follow: “Competition, are you ready, if so, let’s go. Names of .” The leader names a category, such as presidents, foods, schools, teachers, or mothers. Each player then has to say an item in that category that no one else has used, keeping the rhythm of the chant. If a player names something that does not fit the category, repeats an item, or cannot think of something, s/he is out. The motion and clap continue through the naming of items. 77 Play proceeds as players are gradually eliminated until one person is left and declared champion. Young women from The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana all reported playing this game as they grew up. As with “Play Akkara,” this game provides an opportunity for competition, demonstration of verbal skill, and child—centered control of rules and who is in or out of the game. The gradual elimination of players is also found in “Dance on My Law” and “Es Ti ga Ti ga,” in which players stand in a circle with their hands held waist-high, palms up; each players’ right hand is on top of her neighbor’s left hand (see Appendix E27). During the song (there are English, French, and Wolof versions, each slightly different), players pass the beat around the circle, clapping their free right hand on their neighbor’s right hand. The person whose hand is clapped on the last beat of the song is out, and players are gradually eliminated until only one player is left. This “champion” has to run quickly to a tree as the other players chase him or her, screaming. Another set of games, played in a circle, features singing along with movements or dancing. Players are not eliminated from these games, and there was not a clear “champion” at the end of play. “Ginte Walli Ma,” “Sally Walker,” and “Three Three Domsee” were popular on the playground among the younger students. In “Ginte Walli Ma,” students swing arms and sing a verse that includes players’ names one by one; when a player’s name is called, she sits down (see Appendix E12). “Sally Walker” features one girl in the middle, dancing, hiding, spinning, then choosing the next Sally Walker (see Appendix E3). “Three Three Domsee” (see Appendix E13) is the English game “I Wrote a Letter to My Love” in which one player runs around the outside of the circle and drops a “letter” (usually a sandal). The person by whom she drops it jumps up and chases her. 78 Some of the lyrics are recognizable English words, but other phrases have been adapted by the children; when the younger children sing it, there are fewer recognizable words, and, when older children sing it, they use more English. In the latter two games, the player who is “it” has the choice of who will be “it” next. The remaining two games I observed required athletic skill as well as rhythmic accuracy; both were highly competitive and allowed players to demonstrate skill. “Ten Zi” is a game played by four children (see Appendix E14). They draw a court with four boxes in the sand, similar to a four-square court. Each player stands in the middle of one of the sides, with one foot in each of the two boxes on her side. During a chant, the players sway side to side, back and forth, turn, and finally jump out; the last one to jump out loses and is replaced by a new player. “Kiribang,” described in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter, was popular at school when we arrived in May but fell out of favor with the teachers (see Appendix E15). Several people told me that this was because, when the girls jumped over the high elastic, their underwear showed. A mother suggested it was because “Kiribang” was too distracting to the students, and they would refuse to stop playing it and come to class or continue thinking about the levels during their lessons (AC, 1 August 2005). One boy told me that one of the deputies had told the girls to “leave it” and not play it anymore. Students did not play “Kiribang” as often at school after that (I only saw it occasionally in July and August, usually in an area of the playground where the adults could not see the players), but it continued to be popular for play outside of school. The game is described in more detail below in the discussion of children’s music making in home settings. 79 The repertoire during school break was more balanced between local language and English songs than classroom repertoire. Children chose to play “When I Went” and “My Grandmother,” English clapping chants, in addition to clapping games like “Raymbele” and “Teelakulo” that have chants in local languages. English circle games, such as “Sally Walker” and “Three Three Domsee,” were played and enjoyed; players adapted and modified the lyrics with which they were unfamiliar. The most popular game on the playground, “Play Akkara,” has few words. In addition to this organized musical play, I observed children making music with “found sounds” and expressing themselves musically as they walked or did other things. One day I saw a girl with two plastic bottles walk back and forth several times along the length of the classroom building and beat out a pattern with the bottles. I heard another girl singing to herself as she exited the classroom for break time. Another day a boy walked by, clapping. Another boy walked by, tapping an empty plastic bottle on his head to a beat (kong kong). As I sat and observed break time, sometimes I heard children singing to themselves or one another as they sat near me on the concrete porches of the classrooms. Following the victory of the Gambia Under-17 Team in the Africa Cup soccer championships 22 May 2005, one of the most popular songs for the children to sing was “Under 17,” a song composed by Gambian rappers “Black Acoustic” in honor of the Under 17 team. Some repertoire is distinctly children’s music and is only used in children’s play or at school. Other songs belong to all age groups, and children use them to dance to or play with. The song “Under 17” was owned by the children in a powerful way. They learned it, sang it, and adapted it on their own, unmediated by adults. 80 I observed a range of musical behaviors among children in school settings, with more enthusiastic participation common in settings where children had greater control or greater comfort with the repertoire. The playground was an important cultural space for children, as it provided an arena in which they could exert control over their music making and expressions. Through playground musical play, children demonstrated leadership, creativity, competitive skill, and social awareness. There are many similarities between the playground play and the play in children’s homes, discussed below. Music at Home Children’s agency in music making at home shared similarities with agency on the playground at school, including choosing repertoire, controlling who plays and who is out, and adapting repertoire. In home settings, children also showed agency as leaders within mixed-age groups of children, through enacting playful power struggles within games, and by preparing themselves for participation in adult musical events. Forms of music making in home settings included singing, dancing, playing drums, playing musical games, and listening to music. Most of the children I observed lived on compounds, a group or row of small dwellings with a common courtyard, surrounded by a cement wall and gate. On some compounds, there were several branches of an extended family represented in the homes; others were grouped by vocation (one compound housed a bakery and the bakery workers); still others were grouped by ethnic group. Children often have age mates to play with on their own compound as well as many other children in the neighboring compounds. Baatiikunda is densely populated, with many people sharing each living 81 space that is small by most American standards. The typical home in Baatiikunda has a living room and one or two bedrooms; most have outdoor kitchens and bathrooms; a few are hooked up to electricity or a phone. There is not enough electricity for the entire country constantly, so it is rationed; in July and August, it was unpredictable and available less than one third of the time due to maintenance on one of the generators. Children are expected to help with daily chores, including caring for younger siblings, pumping water, washing clothes and dishes, running errands, and helping with cooking. In general, I observed that families expected their daughters to help more than the sons; I often saw boys playing soccer or roaming the neighborhood during the day, but seldom saw girls with leisure time during the day. Many of the children go to school, some in the morning and some in the aftemoon; most children from Islamic families also attend several hours of Islamic school each day. The time period from 5:00 to 7:00 PM was playtime for many children, and during this time I observed them playing in several compounds in the area. As I walked around the neighborhoods, I often heard children singing and playing music games; not all children played music games all of the time, but hearing singing and chanting was not unusual, either. Athletic play is common among the children in Baatiikunda. The boys on the compounds in Baatiikunda played soccer every day and were even more enthusiastic about their favorite game because the Under-17 Gambian team had recently won the All- Africa cup. I also saw boys playing card games and tag. One day the girls and boys I played with declared that they wanted to have “races.” They had a system and a racetrack: two people line up back to back under a tree, someone says “On your mark, get set, go,” and they race in Opposite directions around the sidewalk that goes in a circle 82 towards the back of the compound, past a building, and back. Many of the common elements of life and play I observed in Baatiikunda were heightened by musical elements, though not themselves considered music. The regular calls of the muezzin, calling the faithful to prayer, were delivered over loud speakers from neighborhood mosques and filled the air with the sung-chanted delivery of the prayers. The soundscape in Baatiikunda also included a host of natural, human, and mechanical sounds: many different kinds of bird songs, the ratchety frog, the dogs, the clapping of the dry palm leaves together, rain (gentle, steady, pouring, pounding), thunder (far, near, gentle, strong, long, short), people talking, laughing, singing, drumming, children playing, cell phones ringing, car horns beeping, trucks chugging, music blaring fi'om a recording studio, a low-flying airplane rumbling, BBC News from a radio. The diversity of bird songs is astonishing, from rooster to laughing dove to sun bird. Walking past a preschool, I noticed the similarity of the chattering of the children and the chattering of the birds. The variety of sounds, timbres, and rhythms of the soundscape is a foundational layer in the rich musical environment in Baatiikunda. Children’s musical play at home included “Kiribang,” clapping games, circle games, dancing, and singing songs. The children I observed chose to perform more local language repertoire than English language repertoire when playing at home, although the children did include many of the same English games played on the school playground in their home play. They added more local language games, such as “Kii Tank Kii Tank” and “Papa J end Na Xar.” When the English words or music were not appealing, children left them behind, as in “Rap a Tap a Tap Tap.” Many of the younger children, ages 3 to 5, played a musical version of “Hide and Seek” called “Maa NEW.” When asked to “sing 83 a song for me,” children often sang English language songs; this could have been because it was a connection with my own culture or because they associate standing and singing a song with the English repertoire from school. When they demonstrated dancing, the songs they sang were always local language songs. Some circle games used local language songs and some used English. There were consistent differences among boys and girls in their musical expression and play. A few boys played “Kiribang,” “Play Akkara,” and other music games, but most boys preferred to play soccer. When the boys did experiment with these games, it was usually in a joking way. Boys did participate in drumming, dancing, and singing. On the playground, boys and girl typically moved around in separate groups; this is mirrored in Gambian society, in which men’s and women’s spheres are typically separate. Drumming is not limited to males, and there are a few female drummers in The Gambia, but the majority are male. The new game in The Gambia in 2005 was “Kiribang,” also called “Kiribum,” “Kiribam,” and “Piribum” (see Appendix E15). Children and adults reported that the game came from Senegal and was transmitted by children who went to visit cousins in Senegal and returned to their neighborhoods in The Gambia with the game. “Kiribang” was the most popular game played by girls outside of school I observed while in The Gambia; boys preferred to play soccer, but occasionally tried “Kiribang.” The system of steps and levels was complex and carefully followed; “Kiribang” was played similarly in several other communities I visited, about 40 kilometers from Baatiikunda. During the summer, the passion for “Kiribang” grew as more people learned it and improved their 84 skills. The children’s enjoyment of the game also grew as their teachers and parents began to disapprove of it; perhaps this disapproval made “Kiribang” even more attractive. I saw children playing “Kiribang” in the street, on compounds, and occasionally at school. The preferred way to play was with a thin loop of elastic about 12 feet long. Two players held the elastic around their legs, creating a loop about 6 feet long. Children bought elastic loops from local tailors for 5 dalasis (about $0.20). The elastic lasted for several weeks at best before it snapped; children retied it repeatedly until there were too many knots or it became too short to play. If elastic was unavailable, children used old rags knotted together or tape from a cassette. One group even drew a line in the sand to represent the elastic and completed the many levels and routines of “Kiribang,” still noting when a player “failed” by stepping on the “elastic” or made some other mistake. If there were not enough children to act as posts, players looped the elastic around flowerpots or other stationary objects to provide a practice space for themselves. Children exhibited agency in playing “Kiribang” first by choosing to play it, participating in the popularity of the game despite some adult disapproval. They also demonstrated athletic skill and endurance, rhythmic accuracy, and memory of the different levels. As a group, the children monitored who was playing and declared if a player had made a mistake; this is another example of the control they exercised during play. One difference I observed between school playground play and home play was the mixing of ages that was common at home, but not at school. While children were typically grouped by age when playing at school, they more commonly played with 85 mixed-age groups at homes, partly because that increased the number of possible players. In these mixed-age groups, the older children often acted as leaders and referees. Another difference in home settings was the occasional observation and intervention of adults. At school, teachers almost never stepped in on the playground to watch the play and help determine who was “out” of a game. In homes, it was not unusual for a mother, aunt, or neighbor to walk over and observe the girls playing, commenting on how it was different than their own play, and intervening if the observer thought the girls were being unfair or a fight broke out. On occasions when adults were not present, players were left to monitor and judge themselves. All of the games I observed at school, including “Play Akkara,” “Bopp,” “Ten Zi,” clapping games and circle games, were also enjoyed by children playing on compounds and in their homes. In addition to those games, I also observed some that were not played as often at school, such as “Kii Tank Kii Tank,” “Rap a Tap 3 Tap Tap,” “Papa J end Na Xar,” and dancing songs. “Kii Tank Kii Tank” is a Gambian game similar to the English “Red Rover,” but it is played in a circle (see Appendix E16). Players form a circle around a caller and join hands. During the first part of the game, the caller squats down and puts her hands on each player’s feet in turn and sings “Kii tank kii tank kii kan la?” (Wof: Whose feet are these?) The group replies “Njie la, Njie la, kong, kong, kong, warase” (Njie’s feet), filling in the surname of the person whom the caller is touching. As the group sings each person’s surname, they swing their arms. Next, the caller names a food while touching the joined hands of two players. If it is an appealing choice, the players say “ahm!” and pretend to eat it. If it is a bad 86 suggestion, they pretend to tip it off their hands. If the players are not paying attention and “eat” a bad food, the group laughs at them. When a food has been assigned to each junction of hands, the caller tries to escape. She calls: “Dinaa fi geene” (Wof: I will go out) and the players respond “Doo fii geene” (Wof: You will not go out). The call is sung as the caller runs and pushes against the hands of the group, as in the English game “Red Rover.” The group always replies “No.” Finally, the one in the middle either breaks through a pair of hands or ducks under the hands, and everyone chases her. She tries to get to a tree or gate, “home free,” before they catch her; if they catch her first, they may hit her. The person who arrives first to the former leader is the next one in the middle. In this children’s game, a power struggle is played out, as the one in the middle sings “I will go out,” and the group responds, “You will not go out.” The player in the middle pushes physically against the joined hands of other players, and must find a link weaker than her own strength or a link of players who are tired of this portion of the game, in order to get out from the circle. Including struggles for power within play is another example of the agency shown within children’s music making. In “Rap a Tap a Tap Tap,” the players I observed often chose to ignore most of the music section of the game in favor of the tug-of-war section, again enacting a power struggle (see Appendix E17). In this game, two children form a bridge and the other children pass under the bridge. Before beginning, the two members of the “bridge” each choose a “side”: England or America, airplane or boat, car or truck, etc. As the song finishes, the bridge makers “catch” the player closest and take him or her off to the side. The caught player is given a choice between the two sides but not told who represents 87 which side. After everyone has been caught and assigned, the two teams play tug of war. This is similar to the English singing game “Oranges and Lemons” as described in Campbell, McCullough-Brabson, and Tucker (1994). The lack of interest in the musical portion of the game among the children I observed could have been because they did not find the music interesting or compelling. The first time through they half-heartedly sang the song, and after that they did not even bother with the musical element, driving instead as quickly as possible to the tug of war. One game I heard many times on the other side of our neighbors’ compound wall was “Maa New” (see Appendix E18). This game is popular with younger children, both boys and girls. “Maa New” is a version of hide and seek that begins with a chant. Following the chant, the seeker stands by a tree and hides his or her face while the other players run off to hide, usually on the same compound. The seeker begins calling “Maa fiéw!” (Wolof for “I come”), and the hiders respond “Déedéed” (W of: no) as they are finding their hiding places. The seeker continues calling “Maa flew” until the hiders shout back “Waaw, waaw” (Wof: yes, yes). The seeker then runs around, trying to find the hiders; the goal for the hiders is to make it back to the tree where the seeker stood without being caught. During the play sessions I observed, the children also spent time dancing and singing. On one compound, the children stood in a circle and sang local songs, such as “Bakary, Sipa” or “Ngansumana Woy,” while dancers took turns dancing in the middle. On another compound, two boys played Sabar rhythms (see discussion below on Sabar drumming) on buckets while the other children did Wolof dances. The dancing was varied and represented Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, and Jola traditions. Through the dancing, 88 children were both participating in a musical event with one another and preparing for participation in adult events. When I asked children to sing songs for me, they stood and sang a variety of songs. Their favorite was “Under 17,” the song by a popular Gambian group celebrating the May, 2006 victory of the Under-17 soccer team in the Africa Cup Championship; children also proudly sang another song celebrating the soccer championships, “Victory for History Tomorrow.” “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” and “One Little Finger” were also favorites. I observed children making music with found sounds at home, just as they did at school. At one home I visited, the children were playing with a discarded metal tube from a shower. They sang and talked into one end, and either listened to the other end themselves or held it for one of their siblings to sing into or listen. Another day I heard some boys clinking and tapping things as they walked on the street ahead of us. They were gathered at the comer of two streets, by a wall, and started a little parade as we walked by. One of them was clinking something made out of clay, another tapped a bottle, and they started singing. There were about six of them, around 10 years old. The music was somewhat complex, with interesting rhythms, different timbres, and singing. Chanting and marching was popular for little boys; I observed several small troupes conducting parades through the neighborhood. Almost every day I saw children drumming on yellow water containers, coffee cans, pipes, or buckets. The children used these implements to beat out set drumming patterns learned from adult music events, and sometimes other children joined in dancing to the drumming. One day I saw three boys straddling a low cement wall drumming on 89 yellow water tubs. Each boy played with a stick in one hand and used the other bare hand; they had plastic streamers tied around their heads, Rambo-style. After playing for several minutes one of them added a whistle, a common musical element in drum ensembles. They were enjoying themselves a great deal. Adults also contributed to the musical environment experienced by children in Baatiikunda. Some of the mothers in the neighborhood where I lived sang while they did the laundry or washed the dishes. The women sang the songs, in their own local languages, softly and sweetly. The neighborhood children I interviewed reported that their mothers sang a wide variety of songs: lullabies, work songs, praise songs, and other songs particular to their ethnic group. The children could sing these songs as a result of hearing them from their mothers. Some parents taught children songs directly, as in the case of Esther, a mother who sang Sunday School songs to her 19-month-old daughter Afia while encouraging Afia to do the motions and join in the singing. Mothers and aunts also participated in the children’s dancing play, occasionally taking a turn to dance in the middle, demonstrating the dance move the children were working on. Children and adults enjoyed listening to music in their homes and along the streets. There are many small “recording studios” that duplicate cassettes and videotapes and play music during the day. One day as I walked past, I noticed the children who were passing by the recording studio danced their way by. Reggae and rap are especially favored in the Gambia, along with Gambian and Senegalese popular artists such as Youssou N’dour and N’dongo L6. I also heard recorded balafon and kora music while walking through the neighborhood. 90 In their music making at home, children exert agency through making decisions, controlling play, and rehearsing for adult musical involvement. Their music making includes many similar games and expression that are seen on the school playground, but also involves playing instruments and dancing. The mixed-age groups offer an opportunity for leadership among the older children, while the adult presence and occasional intervention remove a layer of independence and authority exercised by children on the school playground. In addition to music making at school and in home settings, children also experience music in their communities, the subject of the next section of this chapter. Music in the Community Outside of school and their homes and compounds, children experience music at musical events such as Sabars and Zimbas; at naming ceremonies, weddings, parties, circumcision ceremonies, and other special events; in informal celebrations that connect them to other community members; and at their places of worship. These events are usually organized and controlled by adults, reducing the amount of agency shown by children. However, children do exert agency in choosing whether and how to participate at Sabars and Zimbas, as well as their level of involvement in dancing at parties and celebrations. They have less control at more formal events, including ceremonies and religious Observances. Almost every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening, and many weeknights as well, a neighborhood in the Baatiikunda area hosted a Sabar or Zimba. The neighborhood hired a drum troupe for the event. Five or more drummers brought their drums and 91 stands, along with backup players and someone to replenish the supply of ge're‘m (tree branch sticks approximately 12 inches long and the width of a pencil) used in drumming. The organizers borrowed or rented 35 to 50 plastic chairs and assembled them in a circle with a gap for the drummers. The purposes of the event were entertainment, socialization, cultural transmission, and sometimes hind-raising. Children were usually the first to arrive, gathering as the drummers set up their equipment. They sat in the plastic chairs, swinging their legs and listening to the drummers warming up. As their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers arrived, the children scampered away from the chairs and found places to stand just outside of the circle. During the Sabar, the adults in the audience, mostly women, took turns dancing while the children watched, imitating their dancing from their places along the sidelines. Several times, a child with advanced dancing ability entered the dance ring and took a turn, to the delight of the audience; they showed their appreciation by handing the dancer money and clapping. Five dalasis ($0.20) tickets are sold for the Zimba, often to raise money for a cause (such as a new roof for a nursery school). At a Zimba, the main attraction is one or more dancers dressed in lion costumes. These Zimbas chase the children standing outside the circle who have not purchased tickets. It becomes a game for the children to come as close as possible and then run away without being caught. If the Zimba catches a child, he forces the child to dance in the middle of the circle. In addition to the intricate and athletic dancing of the Zimbas, children observe some of the audience members dancing who are invited by the Zimbas. During the performance, some audience members place money in the Zimba’s mouth or outstretched hand if he comes around growling. If they 92 are not receiving as much as they want, the Zimbas sometimes throw a small bill into someone’s lap, growling and expecting the person to add something to it and give it back. Money collected by the Zimbas is divided by the performers at the end of the event. Children typically have a choice about attending these events and what level of participation to take at the events. Some children choose to remain on the sidelines, others stand by the drummers, and some venture into the circle. Adults control when the children are done dancing by shooing them back out of the circle after they have danced for a minute or two. At Zimbas, children tease the Zimba by sneaking into the circle without a ticket, then running away at top speed. In this game, they were also choosing to participate and face the consequences of being caught by the Zimba. The repertoire played at Zimbas and Sabars is well known by the community. Drumming “tracks” are passed down from one generation to another of drummers; introductions and conclusions to the tracks are composed by the master drummer. Drum hits have corresponding vocables, enabling the drummers to practice their parts vocally as well as with the drum. For example, in one ensemble’s ending to the track “Ceeb-u J en,” several drum parts play “paCha gin Taw raw Raw, paCha gin Drin, gin Che che.” The children become familiar with these vocalizations of the drum rhythms and chant them to one another while they practice dancing during play. Music is an important part of celebrations and parties. At a young woman’s confirmation party I attended, the host played a mix of up-beat recordings, including Afiican and Western groups from a range of eras. Another confirmation party I observed featured loud, recorded music late into the night (loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear). A child’s birthday party included recorded popular music and dancing. At these 93 events the children were not able to choose the repertoire, but they could choose whether to dance and what kind of dancing to do. A Gambian wedding is a multiple-day event with music woven throughout; children are includedin many aspects of the celebration. In late July, 3 friend of Awa, one of the women living on our compound, got married. As the bride’s fiiend, Awa organized the wedding day festivities that included drumming, dancing, and dinner during the afternoon before the wedding. Everyone was invited to the festivities, and the neighborhood children came to enjoy the feasting and celebrating. During the dinner, a young man living on the compound provided recorded music from popular Gambian and Senegalese musicians. Following the dinner, the bride and her attendants went to their home to prepare for the wedding, then returned to Awa’s compound for a supper. After supper, the entire group moved to another compound for the wedding itself, which was followed with more drumming and dancing during the evening. The following evening, friends and relatives celebrated again with more drumming and dancing at the bride’s family’s home. I did not have an opportunity to observe any naming ceremonies or initiation/circumcision ceremonies or preparations while in The Gambia, but several people I spoke with mentioned them. According to Ceremonies of The Gambia, a publication of the National Centre for Arts and Culture (2004),jalis or gewels (praise singers) participate in naming ceremonies by announcing a new baby’s name at the naming ceremony eight days after the child’s birth. The jalis or gewels also serve as entertainment at feasts following the ceremony; bands or drumming ensembles are also hired for some ceremonies to provide entertainment and music for dancing. 94 Initiation, or circumcision, ceremonies vary by ethnic group and according to religious observance; in many families, infants are circumcised, but still participate in initiation as teenagers (National Centre for Arts and Culture, 2004). Some groups are calling for an end to female circumcision, stating that it is cruel to children (Faye, 2005). The circumcision and initiation rites that do occur are interwoven with music, with drumming and dancing before the circumcision ceremony; cultural teaching of songs, stories, and sayings during the healing time, while initiates are away from their families; and singing, drumming, and dancing at the homecoming ceremony (National Centre for Arts and Culture, 2004). Music is also a part of less formal celebrations and serves to connect members of the community with one another. One afternoon as some children and I were playing “Kiribang,” we heard the sound of drums approaching. Several minutes later a soccer team rushed onto the compound, cheering, drumming, and whistling. They carried a trophy and brought it around to the people living on the compound, friends of theirs, asking for donations in celebration of their recent local championship. Music was a large part of the country’s celebration of the Under-17 soccer championship as well. Local musicians wrote songs in honor of the team, as discussed above; Youssou N’Dour, a world-renowned Senegalese musician, gave a concert in The Gambia as part of the victory celebration. Gambians expressed their joy at the outcome of the championship through spontaneous cheers and dancing. A boy and girl described it this way: LK: What did you do when they won? Boy: We go to the road to support them. 95 LK: And what were the people doing? Were they shouting? Boy: They were shouting, and they were singing. Girl: They say (she sings:) “A-la-la-la, Under 17, a-lo-lo-lo, Under 17, A-la-la-la, Under 17, a-lo—lo-lo, Under 17.” They sing that. (OC and AN, 24 June 2005) In this situation, as in the celebration of the neighborhood soccer team, music helped to connect children to a larger community. Religious observance is another facet of life in which children experience music in The Gambia. The voice of the muezzin, or Muslim caller, calls the neighborhood to prayer throughout the day. The children I interviewed recognized that the muezzin '5 call was a form of heightened speech: they disagreed with one another as to whether or not it was singing, acknowledging that it was more than just speaking. Several of the children I interviewed demonstrated the muezzin ’s technique. All of the children at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School participated in morning prayers during the Monday and Friday assemblies with a similar sung-chant style of prayer. The majority of Gambians in Baatiikunda claim Islam as their religion, but there are several Protestant and Catholic churches in the community. I interviewed several children about music making that occurs at their places of worship. One group of girls I asked argued among themselves as to whether there is singing at the mosque; my research assistant summarized their conversation: “She said yes they sing, and the other one said no, they don’t sing. But they said there, you read some verses, and it’s like you’re singing” (1G, 27 July 2005). The chanting of verses and prayers at the mosque has musical characteristics but is not identified as music by most children. In religious 96 observance both at the mosque and at the school assembly, the children showed little agency. Children from Christian families agreed that they sing at church and demonstrated many songs, including English and local language songs. During the services I observed at a Protestant church in Baatiikunda, members of the congregation took turns each week leading the singing at the beginning of the service. This time of “praise and worship,” which also included prayer and Scripture reading, lasted for the first 45 minutes of the service. (Most services were about two and a half hours long). The repertoire depended on the song leader; when Awa, a Wolof woman, led, she chose Wolof songs and even wrote a new song for the congregation to sing. Esther, a Ghanaian woman married to the Gambian pastor of the church, usually chose choruses in English. During the singing, everyone clapped along, many clapping a hemiola (three against two) pattern. Several men played djembe drums, and sometimes an adult or child played a tambourine. The children in the congregation sang and clapped along. At one service, I observed a 6-year-old boy who sat in the fiont pew watching and listening to a young man playing a djembe drum to accompany the congregational singing; the 6-year- old copied each hand movement and sound. While a few children had the opportunity to play instruments within the service, most of the religious observance in Christian churches was organized and led by adults. The musical participation of children at community events, including Sabars, Zimbas, ceremonies, celebrations, and religious Observances, showed varying levels of participation and choice. Overall, less agency is demonstrated by children at community musical events, as compared to on the school playground or playing at home, because the 97 community events are mediated by adults. When agency is shown, it is usually through choosing whether and how to participate. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Kiribang, and Zimbas: Children 's Agency in Music Making In this chapter I have explored the varying levels of agency exerted by children in music making in school, at home, and in the community. Children demonstrate agency in situations in which they have control over the music making and extramusical decisions; the school playground and playing at home offer the greatest opportunity for this to occur. In all three arenas, Gambian children are surrounded by music, an integral part of daily life, including worship, work, relaxation, learning, socializing, and creative expression. They participate in their musical world through listening, observing, singing, dancing, clapping, and playing. The three references in the chapter title and section heading above refer to the three spheres of children’s music making: school, home, and community. Children’s agency within music making in the classroom at school is limited; they do express some agency through their attitude and participation, showing through enthusiasm and body posture which music they prefer. On the playground, agency is shown through decisions about what to play and how to play, as well as adapting repertoire to better fit their needs. This is similar to play at home, where children also enact power struggles and relate to one another across age groups. In community events, agency is shown through choice of participation. Examining the music making of a group of children through the lens of agency helps in understanding children’s music as an independent musical practice, related to 98 adult music making, but with its own repertoire, customs, meanings, and transmission process.'Viewing music making as an arena where power issues are at play for children is also necessary when looking more closely at how the music is taught and learned, the subject of Chapter 5. Understanding the importance of music in children’s lives, which is partly due to the agency, is further explored in Chapter 6. 99 CHAPTER V “DENUY JANGAL SEEN BOPP (THEY TEACH THEMSELVES)”: CHILDREN TEACHING AND LEARNING MUSIC IN BAATIIKUNDA Lamin, age 19 months, has just awoken from his afternoon nap. His mother dresses him in a shorts outfit of Gambian cloth made by his uncle, a tailor. She sets him on the floor of the living room of the house they share with her mother and her three brothers, Lamin 's uncles. Lamin begins passing a ball back and forth to me but quickly gives this up when he spots an emery board sitting on the coffee table in one corner of the room. Standing next to the table, which is an ideal height for him to drum on, Lamin begins waving his arms. On his left wrist is a metal bracelet that clunks with each hit; his right hand holds the emery board the way he sees his uncles and cousins hold the ge're'm (stick) when playing nde'nd (drums). As Lamin experiments with the sounds produced by his bracelet and the emery board on the table, his mother chants encouragingly and claps: “Waaw! Waaw! " (”Yes! Yes! ”) Lamin moves his left and right hand independently, with control, to produce varying rhythms. Occasionally he hits both hands at the same time, but typically alternates. After several minutes he returns to playing with the ball; several more minutes pass, and he is back at his drumming station. His mother chants the vocables for a popular drum rhythm and says “Féccal! F éccal.’ " (“Dance/ Dance! ”) Lamin bends his knees to his mother ’5 beat. We move outside to observe a play session with the other children who live on Lamin ’s compound. As the eight- to twelve—year-old girls chant and clap “When I Went, " Lamin stands, watching intently and clapping along. The girls switch to “Bopp, " a game 100 in which they chant and touch head, shoulders, waist, knees, and foot. Lamin tries to copy them as they touch the different body parts. When they begin to play “Play Akkara, ” a competitive clapping and stomping game, Lamin closely watches the feet of his neighbors and bounces along as the girls jump and stomp. Gambian children like Lamin grow up in a rich musical environment. Family members or neighbors may be specialized musicians, as are Lamin’s uncles and cousins who are professional drummers. Children living on drummers’ compounds hear the drumming patterns from infancy, watch the adults as they play at practices and performances, and bodily internalize the rhythms by learning the accompanying dances. While playing together on their compounds, seven- and eight-year-olds play ndé'nd rhythms on buckets while their age-mates dance. At around age 12, boys begin to take part in the performances, playing during the warm-up time at a Sabar or Zimba or near the end of the performance if another drummer wants a break. They learn to drum through a sequence of listening, observing, and doing. A master drummer explained the process of learning this way: LK: How did you learn to play Sabar? NN: I taught myself (tr). LK: How will your sons learn? NN: Modu and Alieu? They teach themselves (tr) (Wof: “fiungi jangal seen bopp”) (NN, 19 July 2005). 101 In this chapter I will describe the teaching and learning of music I observed in Baatiikunda. I will describe the pedagogical processes I observed among children in three types of settings: playing with one another at home or during school break, participating in adult-centered musical events, and learning at school. The theme of children teaching themselves (“j angal seen bopp”) canies through the observations of music learning in all three settings. I will argue that the process of children teaching themselves is facilitated by the rich musical environment, expectation to be musical, motivation to learn, and formal teaching style children experience both in school and in religious education. Several of these aspects are similar to those identified by Kreutzer (2001) as critical to the musical success of children she observed in Zimbabwe. In investigating how children teach themselves, I observed three main activities in music making settings outside of the school classroom: listening, observing, and doing. In listening, children absorbed the sounds of the musical culture, either passively or intentionally. Observing focused more on movements, from clapping to jumping to dancing, required in musical play. In doing, children tried out the movements and musical elements, often without a successful performance at first; these attempts were a critical part of the learning process. In addition to these three areas of learning, there were combinations of listening plus observing, observing plus doing, doing plus listening, and listening, observing, and doing simultaneously. In listening plus observing, children were paying attention to both the sonic (musical) and visual (movement) elements of the musical event; during observing plus doing, children practiced a skill or part of a game while watching other performers; even while doing, children would listen to the music to be sure their singing or movement coordinated with the performance. 102 These combinations of listening, observing, and doing can be thought of as a Venn diagram, with each activity occurring separately as well as in combination with the ll'illlllllllllll others: Figure 1. Gambian Children’s Music Learning Diagram. Sometimes children moved through the different aspects of this learning diagram within a matter of minutes, when a child learning a new game listened several times as it was played, watched to see the motions, and joined in. In other situations the process extended over many years, with infants hearing drum rhythms in their mothers’ arms at a 103 Sabar (drumming and dancing) event, toddlers watching children along the edges of the circle practicing dance moves that fit precisely with the drum rhythms, and the children watching the adults and imitating their movements and expressions. I observed children teaching themselves through each of the activities and combinations during play, at community events, and in school settings. Children also learned music through more formal methods, including direct instruction during school. In addition to demonstrating the phases of learning that an individual child experiences at different times when learning a new song, game, or dance, the diagram above also shows the multiple kinds of learning that occur during a given moment of a play experience, Sabar event, or song performance: some children are learning through listening, others through observing, a few through doing, and some are participating in the combined areas of the diagram. This is parallel to what occured among audiences at many musical events I attended in The Gambia: some musicians are performing drumming or dancing while others watch and listen, participating through clapping and verbal responses. Learning through Listening, Observing, and Doing — Children at Play “How did you learn ‘Kiribang’?” I asked Fatou, an 11-year-old girl. “Maa ko jangal suma bopp,” she replied, “I taught myself” (tr). The literal translation of “suma bopp,” or myself, is “my head.” “Kiribang” was by far the most popular game, played outside of school, that I observed in the summer of 2005. During my play session observations, children played “Kiribang” for 45 to 60 minutes before tiring of the game 104 and moving on to other games; after another hour of other games, they often returned to “Kiribang.” In learning “Kiribang,” children progressed from listening through observing to performing. Young children who could not yet play the game heard their older siblings (usually sisters, occasionally brothers) playing the game. Sounds of play could be heard over compound walls, and young children absorbed them while going about the other parts of their day or playing in other ways. “Kiribang” players often vocalized softly to themselves while playing to keep the rhythm going (uh-huh, mm-hm, etc), and rhythmically chanted “B, I wanna C,” “Goor jeg, Ayda Modu Mustafa” (man, woman, three names) or “Sabbu pur sangu” (soap for washing) at specified points during play (see Appendix E15). Older children who were waiting for their turn also had the opportunity to be immersed in the sounds and rhythms of “Kiribang”; their listening was Combined with observing the actions of their peers. Observation was frequently an intermediate step in the process I observed among children learning music informally. A young woman shared her understanding of this process: LK: I’m curious about when the children are very small, how do they learn “Play Akkara” or “Kiribang” or “Kii tank kiii tank kii”? Who is teaching them? SJ: No, their sisters used to play; they used to stand there and watch it. Like Afia, [when] Ndey is playing; Afia will stand and watch. (20 July 2005) After watching hours of “Kiribang,” Afia (age 19 months) was ready to try it. Her mother and I held the ends of the elastic, and Afia stepped carefully in and out of the elastic, back and forth. It was obvious that she had been watching the older girls and knew what she 105 was supposed to do. It will be years before she is physically able to perform the movements, but at this young age she is already preparing to play. One afternoon I observed two three-year-olds who jumped along side of the “Kiribang” game, practicing movements and trying to figure out what was going on. On another occasion, three seven-year-olds came and played when the other children were not around. One of them moved slowly, performing the moves accurately but stepping rather than jumping; this slower pace and modified movement was an intermediate learning step for her. Another of the seven-year-olds did not want to play, choosing instead to watch closely. The majority of “Kiribang” players were girls, but in some settings the boys wanted to try “Kiribang.” They spent less time observing and more time trying to learn the game through doing; laughter and limited success were results of this process. A few boys became expert players and played alongside the girls, but they were the exception. The final step in leaming to play “Kiribang” is doing it. Children practiced individually, such as Ndey, before joining with a play group. Her mother described Ndey’s learning process: AC: Before Ndey was able to do this “Kiribam,” she go to this flower [pot], I bought her elastic, she goes to this flower [pot] and ties one to this flower [pot], and one to this. She was trying to move from step to step, step to step. And then I go to my brother’s tailor shop, I find a rope, a cloth, I sew it very nice, I bring it for her. I saw one day she was using this tape [from a cassette]. I think, I will not stop her, because if I stop her, the age mates are playing, she will not know what 106 to do. Then I find that rope, that cloth, and I buy elastic .for her. So that is the way she was moving. LK: So she is training by herself? AC: Yes, you see those opposite flower [pots], she put it [between them]. LK: So she was watching the others, and trained by herself, and when she was ready... AC: Yes, she started [playing] at school. (1 August 2005) Children also learned through doing while playing with the group but with higher stakes. If a child made a mistake during group play, the group said “Fail!” and the child had to wait until her next turn to try again. She had to repeat the level she failed in order to move on to the next level. While waiting, she would observe all the other children taking their turns, watching carefully for proper execution of steps. A similar sequence of listening, observing, and doing was evident in all of the play sessions I observed, both on the playground at school and on neighborhood compounds. The game “Bopp” spread quickly from school to neighborhood (see Appendix E6). I first observed it at the school on July 18. The girls who knew how to play it were surrounded by dozens who did not; after listening and watching a few rounds, the new players began trying the movements (clapping, jumping, touching head, shoulders, waist, knees, toes) to the side, synchronizing their practice with those who were playing competitively. When a new player had done this several times, she took her place in the competitive play line. That afternoon I saw girls playing “Bopp” in the neighborhood, and within a week all of the primary school-aged girls in the neighborhood were playing it. “Bopp” became the new favorite game the last few weeks at school, 107 displacing “Play Akkara” as the most often played game at school. “Kiribang” continued to enjoy popularity outside of school, but teachers and administrators asked children not to play it at school. Children also learn to dance by listening, observing, and doing. Some of the listening and observing takes place at adult-centered music events (discussed below), but other dance learning occurs during play sessions. At one play observation the group of 20 children participated in an organized dance, similar to the adult Sabar. Two boys played the popular drum rhythms on buckets while the other children took turns dancing in the middle. While the older children danced, younger children looked on, sometimes practicing the movements from their place in the circle. Each child took a turn dancing; the youngest children bounced and jumped to the beat, while the older children practiced the jumping, turning, and twisting movements characteristic of Wolof dance. During another observation, I noticed a preschool-aged girl standing on a bench, intently watching the primary school-aged girls dancing. After they finished, she practiced the dance moves she had just seen them each do. This intent observation and imitation was recalled by a young woman when I asked her how she learned to dance: SJ: Yes, if you are young, and your sisters have party, you will go there and sit and watch them, how they are dancing. After, if you grow, you will see how your sisters dance, and after, you also, you can dance. You see how your sisters dance, you can dance. For me, when I was young, I used to follow my sisters, if they have party, I used to go with them and sit and watch them, how they used to dance. (20 July 2005) 108 Sometimes the observing and doing are simultaneous; other times they are separated by minutes, hours, or longer. During several observations at school and in homes, I observed younger girls trying to learn the clapping game “Suma Doomi Yeesu” (see Appendix E9). In this game, the four players alternate clapping hands with their partner above and below the hands of the other two people, then clap hands with the comers (persons to the left and right). A group of four younger girls could complete the introductory arm swing and first clap but faltered on the sequence of clapping with one’s partner above and below the other two players. The younger girls would try it, pause and watch the older girls playing a few feet away, then try it again. Each time they would progress a little further through the clapping routine. If there were more than four girls interested in playing, the players would shove one girl out each time the clapping fell apart (the one they perceived as causing the “fail”) and pull a new player in, similarly to how the older girls play the game. If only four girls were around, they would continue to play without substituting players. During another observation, four of the younger children pulled me over a few minutes after the group had finished playing “Ginte Walli Ma,” a game in which players stand in a circle and swing their arms to the beat while singing (see Appendix E12). Each time through the song, one player’s name is inserted, and, at the end of the verse, that player squats down. When all of the players are down, the entire process is repeated, with players taking turns standing up. The younger children called me over to observe their version of the game; they had learned the motions and could sing the first line of the song. 109 Learning through doing is also a teaching approach in some situations. Maryama and several of her friends knew a clapping game called “Kiribang” that was different than the popular jumping version, and Ndey wanted to learn. I asked Maryama to teach the clapping game to Ndey, and Maryama taught the clapping pattern (hold partner’s left hand, shake right hand with clenched palm as if shaking dice, clap right hands low, high, then middle) to Ndey by grabbing her hands and doing it. Each time Ndey made a mistake, Maryama started over. She did not offer verbal explanation for what to do (she was chanting the accompanying words) or slow down the clapping pattern. This was similar to the teaching process Riddell (1990) observed among children in Los Angeles, California learning and playing clapping games on the playground. As I observed children learning new games and songs, it occurred to me that the details of the repertoire were not the most important element to the children. Keeping the beat of the game and joining in with the community were more important than getting all of the words and pitches correct. If a child did not know all the words or the tune of a game, they were not excluded from joining in; through doing the game, they came to learn the text and tune. While learning through listening, observing, and doing is prevalent, children also learn music in more direct ways from one another. A primary school deputy headmaster explained to me how the children come to learn some traditional songs. She talked about how, as a young girl, she had learned traditional songs and stories from her grandparents in the evenings; now with more families owning their own homes and living separately from extended family, she said, children are no longer learning traditional songs this way. 110 LK: So are children learning the songs some other way [other than from their extended families], or they’re not learning the traditional songs? F C: Yes, they are learning the traditional songs in school. For example, if from my home I learn two songs, from your home you learn two songs, when we have Games [a period during the school day supervised by the teacher], I will sing the two songs that I learned at home; you also will sing the two songs that you learned at home. That is how the children will come to learn many, many songs: through one another. (8 June 2005) This was confirmed for me by many children who reported where they learned certain songs and games, including English songs, popular songs, and new games. In the case of “Yuppi Ya Ya (I Remember When I Was a School Boy),” one group of children reported to me that they learned the song during play at school from other students (not their teachers). I visited one fourth grade classroom in which the teacher explained my research to the children and instructed them to go home, ask their aunts and mothers and grandmothers to teach them “local songs,” and come back to share them with the class next week. While playing games, sometimes older children help younger children learn the right way to play verbally (giving directions) or physically (moving player’s hands so they are in the proper position to participate in a clapping game). The children teach one another through immersion; they do not break the song, dance, or game movements down into manageable pieces and teach younger children piece by piece. Sometimes older children provide “scaffolding” for younger children to learn; for instance, older children 111 sing songs that accompany games or dances and allow younger children to participate through movement if they are not yet ready to move and sing. On other occasions, older children push their younger siblings and neighbors out of the circle of play, leaving the beginners to watch and listen. If they want to join in, they have to perform accurately, as in the clapping game “Suma Doomi Yeesu.” As soon as a child misclaps, the group (players and those watching) proclaim “Fail!” (in English) and the player who has failed gets pushed out of the ring of play while another takes her place. This creates a strong motivation to learn the right moves and to perform accurately so that one has the opportunity to continue playing. When a child is excluded, he or she often begins to “jangal seen bopp” by practicing the motions outside the ring or with others who are not ready for the full level competitive performance. On several occasions during my observations of play at home, there were two groups of children playing clapping games: a group of older children (approximately age 10 and up) who had mastered the game and played competitively and a group of younger children (around 6- to 9-year-olds) who played nearby in order to learn how to do the clapping routines. The amount of direct teaching from child to child varied among home settings and school. On the school playground, children were typically grouped by age level and played games they already knew; direct teaching was minimal, and, if children wanted to learn a new game, they were limited to learning through listening and observing. During the “Games” period, this was different, with musical leader-students teaching a new game to a group of children. Direct teaching in home settings was more common when there was a small group of children (six or fewer) of mixed ages. In order to have enough 112 players, older children needed to teach the younger children how to play. When more children joined the group to play and there were enough players who already knew the game, younger players were forced to shift to learning on their own. The children had no reason to teach one another other than to facilitate play, so they taught as quickly as possible, preferring to play with the individuals who already knew the game. The learners were motivated to catch on quickly and join in so they got a chance to play; when someone made a mistake, the player remembered it and was not quick to make the same mistake, because it meant time out of the playing ring. Many of my observations about the learning process and performance practice of handclapping games, such as the importance of players observing before playing, older players’ reluctance to play with younger players who are not yet competent at a game, and the role of motivation in learning, were also found by Harwood (1992) in her study of Afiican—American girls’ clapping games. Repertoire and games are passed from one neighborhood or school to another. In May, I observed Christine, the 12-year-old daughter of German missionaries living in The Gambia, teaching the clapping game “Slide, Slide, Slide” (see Appendix E4) to Ndey, an 8-year-old Gambian. Christine was visiting Ndey’s compound for the day but lived in a town 25 kilometers away. “Slide, Slide, Slide” is a clapping game that has been played for many years in The Gambia; as with most games, the popularity waxes and wanes. In May, “Slide” was new to Ndey, and when I played it with her she said “I only know up to one!” During the game, players clap the back, then fi'ont of each other’s hands, then clap their own hands once together and say one; repeat the process (back- front-clap) two times and say two, continuing with increasing repetitions up to ten. In 113 June, I played “Slide” with Ndey and she could make it to four or five before she missed a clap; by August, her tongue clenched between her teeth and a look of fierce concentration on her face, Ndey could complete all ten verses of the clapping game. Three of the four factors contributing to success are evident in this discussion of children’s music learning in play situations. Children experience a rich musical environment in home settings, both while they are playing a variety of music games, and during other parts of their days, when they hear family members singing, listen to recorded music, and hear the call of the muezzin. They are also expected to be musical; musical play is not restricted to only some children who enjoy music or have parents who enjoy music. All of the children I observed participated in singing, dancing, playing music games, and drumming; some chose to participate more often than others, but when asked to sing, dance, or drum, children joined in. Many of the musical games created a strong motivation to learn, since continued participation in a game relied on success in completing movements. Learning through Listening, Observing, and Doing in the Community Children experience singing, drumming, and dancing, central elements of many parts of daily life in The Gambia, during adult-centered musical events as well as through play. Children learn these skills at Sabars and Zimbas, ceremonies such as weddings and naming ceremonies, and at their places of worship. They also learn, directly and indirectly, from adults in their homes and compounds. In addition, children learn musical repertoire and skills through media, including television, audio- and video-recordings, and radio. 114 The sequence of learning through listening, observing, and doing was evident at every adult-centered musical event I attended. Babies in mothers’ arms or on sisters’ backs heard the drumming rhythms that will become second nature as they grow. One mother held her toddler and patted her sides to the beat of the drumming during a Sabar. Primary-school-aged children heard the rhythms and murmured the vocables along with the drumming, demonstrating their knowledge of the rhythms. Throughout the event children were absorbing the rhythms, timbre, dances, and social customs of their culture. I saw children staring at the Zimba dancers and carefully copying each dance movement from the sidelines, learning through a combination of observing and doing. When they danced along the sidelines, there was little pressure from the community to perform; children had the freedom to experiment with moves and practice coordinating their movements with the drum rhythms. Children had the choice to dance in the middle when they felt confident, showcasing their skills and receiving personal attention from the drummers who respond and modify their patterns to the dancers. At one Sabar, the dancing of two young children, each approximately five years old, delighted the crowd. The children carefully executed the dance moves corresponding to the drumming rhythms; they clearly knew the rhythms and had planned their movements. The children who live on compounds of drumming families receive an even deeper immersion in the drum rhythms, as they hear their relatives practicing and creating new drumming “tracks.” These children are also enculturated into the process of building and repairing the drums through watching their fathers and uncles carve pegs, soak and shave goat skins, and weave ropes around drums. The drummers learned the art of drum 115 making by watching their fathers and grandfathers, and their sons are learning it by watching them. These same boys learn to drum by listening to and watching their relatives, progressing fi'om play-drumming on coffee tables or coffee cans to playing on buckets to playing at Sabars and Zimbas. At several events I attended, young teenagers filled in for adult drummers who wanted a break near the end of the performance. At one Zimba, the lead adult drummers allowed a troupe of teenagers to play for the opening songs before the older drummers took over. The boys are so immersed in the rhythms that they are able to join in without having formal instruction on the drumming or rhythms. This process stands in sharp contrast to that of my husband, a Western musician. While in The Gambia, he took drumming lessons from professional drummers, and labored over learning the drum beats and hand strikes. Music learning can also occur among peers during rites of passage. One mother I interviewed discussed music learning during circumcision rituals: LK: Have you noticed anything about how children learn songs and games from one another or from adults? AJ : From one another, that’s only at school, and at least traditional circumcisions. You know, when children are circumcised, at the evening, age group always come and sings for them. So that one is continuous singing, every day, before they go out. That’s the first place they learn the singing, circumcision. They sing happy songs for them. (3 August 2005) Children also teach themselves by listening to and observing media, including radio, cassettes, television, and videos. While watching a video of one Zimba 116 performance, a 3-year-old nephew of the drummers fixed his gaze on the screen and carefully imitated the motions of the drummers on a plastic ball. His 6-year-old cousin focused her attention on the women dancing, watching and trying the dance moves. I At school and in homes, many of the songs children sang for me were learned from popular artists. Just like their American counterparts, who can sing along with dozens of popular songs, the Gambian children sang songs by popular Gambian and Senegalese artists, such as Black Acoustic, Youssou N’Dour, and N’dongo L6. Alieu Khan, a reporter for The Daily Observer in The Gambia, writes of Black Acoustic’s rise to popularity with the release of “Under 17,” a song dedicated to Gambia’s Under-17 soccer team during the Africa Cup finals held in The Gambia: When this infectious single hit the national TV and few radios, the group was able to generate a mass of new followers as they crossed over to a whole new audience. Almost all the young children in the Greater Banjul Area enjoy listening and singing along whenever the Under-17 song is played. Their popularity is growing by the day and many people have stored the popular Under- 17 song as a ringng tone in their cell phones (Khan, 2005). I heard teenagers singing “Under 17” as they walked home from school; 12-year— old boys sang it with arms around one another’s shoulders on the playground; first grade classes sang it for me, looping back to the beginning to skip the more complicated spoken section that follows the chorus; 8-year-old girls sang it one at a time when I invited them to sing songs for me. The children improvised with the words when they could not understand the English or Wolof of the original, or they skipped the sections that were too difficult. 117 In examining how children learn music in the community, three of the four factors for success are again evident. Children participate in a rich musical environment in the wider community as they attend Sabars and Zimbas, worship with their families at religious services, and hear recorded music. The expectation to be musical is seen at Sabars and Zimbas; this social event carries an expectation of dancing, if not as young children, then later as teenagers and adults. Children are motivated to learn to dance as they see their older family members dancing. They also see how dancing is admired and applauded by the community, contributing to the motivation. Learning at School Another arena for music learning of children in Baatiikunda is school. Children learn music from their teachers during class singing times; a drama team trains in dancing and singing, acting as cultural representatives of the school; and children learn games and songs informally from one another during “games” periods or on the playground. Music pedagogy within the classroom is marked by repetition and practicing small segments of music, while informal music learning follows the learning process described above in the section on learning through music play and tends to work with repertoire more holistically. Students’ learning in other subjects in the classroom is marked by listening to information and repeating it back to the teacher; this contributes to Gambian children’s ability to learn informally through listening, observing, and doing, because they are accustomed to hearing and remembering long texts and tunes. This is not necessarily an effective way to learn other subjects, as evidenced by the struggles students have with reading and math; it does help students in their music learning on their own, though. It is 118 also a successful way for children to learn passages of the Koran and prayers, which they study at Koranic schools. With a pupil to teacher ratio of 55 to 1, successful students in lower basic schools in The Gambia learn to “teach themselves” as a matter of academic survival. There is a shortage of materials and lack of individual attention in most classrooms, and teachers present lessons and concepts from the blackboard. One grammar lesson on plurals that I observed consisted of the teacher pointing to words on the blackboard and asking the students whether they were singular or plural. Students shouted out answers that were not always correct to the teacher’s repeated questions. Much of the teaching is done through asking students to repeat what the teacher says. Students are so accustomed to this, in fact, that when I read them the book Hush! A Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho (1996) they echoed the entire book page by page as I read it. When learning a new rhyme in first grade, students imitate each line the teacher says, joining in quickly. The students often pronounce the English words unclearly or incorrectly because they have not had enough time listening or observing before they begin doing the rhyme. Because listening and repetition is a dominant mode of instruction, Gambian children become accomplished at imitating long segments of text or tunes. Young children memorize Muslim prayers and the National Pledge of The Gambia (95 words; see Appendix E2), which is longer than the American Pledge of Allegiance (31 words). One mother spoke to me about the way Gambian children excel at this type of learning: LK: How do you think they learn it? 119 AC: Sometimes their ears are very quick to catch words, and their brain. Like if 1 am singing, for them they just put on all their mind on me and my actions, the way I am moving. If you are teaching in a small class, and you tell the children “Come and do what I was doing,” you will see your actions, the person will do the same action. If they are dancing, the others are checking the way she lift up the foot and the hand and the way they make the body. They look at all those things among themselves. And even if you can’t, then you are able to do it. (1 August 2005) This ability to listen, observe, and imitate, upon which Gambian children rely to learn in school, helps them to learn through listening, observing, and doing in informal settings as well. The teaching processes teachers described to me in presenting songs in their classrooms or choir rehearsals focused on repetition and correct pronunciation of English text. As discussed in Chapter 4, the amount of music included within individual classrooms depends on each teacher’s training and interests. One teacher who is nationally recognized for his work as a composer and director of children’s choirs is Mr. Landing S. F. A. Jaaju of Karnpassa, The Gambia (several hours by car from Baatiikunda). Mr. J aaju teaches at Karnpassa Lower Basic School and directs their choir. He and the choir were recently honored by being asked to sing at a “Meet-the-People stop” of His Excellency President Yahya A. J. J. J ammeh in their village. The choir has also been invited to perform at cultural events throughout the country. J aaju has been composing songs regularly since 1986. He writes songs in English as well as in several of 120 the local languages. Due to his popularity in the country and in order to recognize his creative work, 1 have permission to use J aaju’s name in reporting this research. J aaju’s choir sings the songs he composes, dealing with themes of national unity, societal progress, and building a better future. He described the teaching process he uses in choir rehearsals: LJ : I teach the tune and the words together. Sometimes I ask them to hum. Then, obviously they have got interested. The interest is now built. And I can line by line introduce the song. I repeat. Repeat. Repetition. Repetition. And encouragement. Because sometimes, children find it very very difficult to pronounce certain words. So I say look at me, in-de-pend-ence. If a child who hasn’t got that vocabulary, and hasn’t got any pre-knowledge about those things, if you want to teach them certain words, you have to bend down to their level and then they can get you the way they want it. It’s not difficult like that. They’ll get it. ...I am of the Opinion that these children can be able to speak or sing this song in English, no matter what the word I use, they can sing it, if it is put in singing form, they can sing it. Because the tune will carry them. (2 June 2005) Landing J aaju is exceptional in his compositional output and work with his choir, but many other teachers in Gambian schools also include music in their teaching and work with choirs or drama teams. At Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, the timetables call for a half hour of music each week in each class, Grades 1 to 6; Grades 1 to 3 also have periods assigned to rhymes and games. This schedule represents an ideal and not the reality, based on my observations at the school from 18 May to 29 July, 2005. One teacher expressed it this way: “Yes, we do have songs, but that is not always. Because we 121 have more work on Math and English and Science than on Rhymes and Songs, actually” (AJ, 8 June 2005). Some teachers did schedule singing for every Friday morning. A fifth grade teacher invited me to attend one of these Friday sessions. During the one hour singing period, the class sang six English songs and three songs in local languages. The teacher focused a majority of his instruction on correcting English lyrics of songs when students sang the words incorrectly or unclearly. He also stopped several times to correct their singing technique with comments like “Now you see, it’s music. You don’t have to sing like this [he bends over like some of the students who were slouching]; you have to sing with enjoyment, eh?” and “Some of you are singing like old man or woman voices, like very old people. [He demonstrates with a gravelly voice]. Don’t sing like that” (TC 1 July 2005). The teacher also stopped several times to correct note problems, demonstrating the correct pitches with his voice and hands. None of the songs introduced in this session were completely new to the students, so I was not able to observe an initial learning process. Students’ pronunciation improved following the teacher’s instruction, but they continued to sing incorrect pitches that the teacher tried to correct. The music learning of the drama team took place during a focused training period, but encompassed local language songs and dancing, placing an emphasis on a whole musical performance rather than repetition and accuracy of English pronunciation. A fourth grade teacher was in charge of the drama team, but several musicians fi'om the community took charge of training the team in dancing and singing. When preparing for a performance, the drama team trained at the courtyard of the Red Cross building, a community location. The Red Cross provided emergency medical aid for soccer games 122 and other events. The teacher in charge of the team explained the need for focused rehearsal: Then we train them at a place where it is isolated, so we will not be disturbed by passers by and by other people who are curious to know what we are doing with them at that place. We do have practice every Saturday and Sunday from 5:00 up to half past 6:00, then we allow them to go home, because some of them live far away. They walk about 2 kilometers or 3 kilometers to come to the place where we have these practices for the drama performance. (AJ, 8 June 2005) In addition to teaching the songs and dances at the training session, the musicians who taught the drama team members continued instruction during the performance we observed, when they would call the team over during transitions to remind them what was coming next or issue instructions during the performance. The drama team provided another sort of education to the school community through their performances. The program we observed was based on the theme of a Gambian ceremony, and the team represented the cultural ceremony as well as presented Mandinka songs and dances, sharing this cultural information with the students watching the program. The games sessions are another time when children can learn music, either fiom the teacher or one another. Music learning during games sessions is more informal, similar to learning during play on the playground. During the games session I observed, the teacher began the first game, “Ginte Walli Ma,” which most of the students already knew. She then split the boys and girls into separate circles. One or two student leaders took over, starting songs and games and organizing the children in the circle. This 123 continued for about 45 minutes before the children tired of it. The teacher intervened occasionally to suggest a different game in the boys’ circle or to bolster their singing, but the games session was largely student directed. Music learning at school is divided into formal leaming within the classroom, often of English songs, marked by repeated practice of lyrics. On the playground and in games sessions, children learn more informally, through listening, observing, and doing. For many subjects in the classroom, children are required to listen and repeat information back; while this does not always result in effective learning for those subject areas, it does help children develop a strong capacity to hear and remember texts and tunes, contributing to their ability to learn outside of the classroom through listening and observing. In observing how children learn inside and outside of the classroom at school, all four factors contributing to the ability to learn through listening, observing, and doing are present. The rich musical environment, while not necessarily available inside the classroom, is created by special performances of the drama team, outside concerts by groups like the Army Band (discussed in Chapter 4), and the musical play during games sessions and on the playground. Children are expected to be musical in order to participate in class singing, games sessions, playground play, and as audience members at concerts. The motivation to learn music in order to participate in playground play and games sessions is similar to that described in the first section, as continued participation relies on competence. Finally, the listening and imitation children do in the classroom aids them in developing listening and memory skills that help them in informal music learning. 124 “Deriuy Ja‘ngal Seen Bopp They Teach Themselves In this chapter I have described the music teaching and learning I observed among children in Baatiikunda during play in their homes, as they participated in adult-centered musical events, and in various arenas at school. In all of these locations children learn music through a combination of direct instruction and immersion or “teaching themselves”; the immersion is more frequent in home and community settings and results in more accurate musical transmission and performances. As children listen to, observe, and try different forms of music making, they move through a leaming continuum. Leaming informally allows children to progress at their own speed through the continuum; it also provides opportunities for learning to be extended over a long period of time. Four factors assist children in learning using this sequence: a rich musical environment, expectation to be musical, motivation to learn, and the teaching style in Gambian secular and religious education, which trains students to listen to and repeat texts and times. Children are surrounded by music: mothers singing to them, neighbors playing, relatives drumming, teenagers listening to popular music, religious leaders praying and singing. Music is a vital part of daily life, as discussed in the next chapter, and, as a result, is pervasive in day-to-day life. Children are expected to be musical in their play, through learning English and counting, during religious observance, and in recreation. Music is not something set apart only for a select few; there are specialized musicians, but the audience joins in musical performances in clapping, dancing, and singing. Motivation to learn is also fostered during musical play. Because children 125 typically get a turn to play when they are performing accurately, there is a high motivation to learn the appropriate movements and words in order to maximize playing time. This motivation extends to dance settings in which children take a turn dancing in the middle; this opportunity to spotlight their skills provides motivation to work at developing their skills in between turns in the middle. One of the main modes of teaching and learning inside Gambian classrooms consists of the teacher saying or writing facts or ideas and students repeating the teacher. Practicing these skills leads students to develop good listening and memory skills that aid them in learning music. In the vignette that opened this chapter, the toddler Lamin enjoys a rich musical environment, hearing his mother sing, his uncles play drums, and his neighbors play music games. It is expected that Lamin will be a professional drummer, joining his uncles in their trade, and so Lamin is encouraged to begin learning to drum very early; even at 19 months, he is practicing drumming movements, praised and assisted by his mother. He is motivated to learn to drum, dance, and participate in musical life, as it provides a connection for him with his family and community. The other children on his compound are motivated in playing their music games by a desire to stay in the game or win the game, if it is a competitive one. When Lamin begins formal education, the practice he has in the classroom at hearing and repeating will help develop his listening and memory skills, assisting him in learning music; his neighbors are already developing these skills and putting them into practice as they learn music from one another. 126 CHAPTER VI “NUNGI NOSS (THEY ARE ENJOYING)”: THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN CHILDREN’S LIVES The school balafon musician, sitting at his instrument, leads a group of about I 75 nursery school students in singing a Balanta language song about the balafon. The students, wearing brown uniforms with the emblem of their school proudly displayed, sing joyfully and take turns dancing during the song. Later the musician explains the meaning of the lyrics in English: The melody of the balafon, the sound of the balafon, I can not sleep. The singer-man, the balafon singer man, I can not sleep because of the sound. The moment I hear the sound of the balafon, I wake up. They enjoy it very well. This song captures a common theme in Gambian music making: enjoyment. The lyrics speak of the enjoyment and invigoration that come from the sound of the balafon. During another portion of the performance, the teacher leading the singing pauses to ask the children: "Are you happy? ” “YES! " the children shout in response. Again, the teacher asks them: “Are you happy? ” The children ’s emphatic answer is “YES! ” “Ndax yaangi noss? ” asked one woman at a Sabar event: "Are you enjoying?” "Nungi noss! " laughed a mother as she observed children playing Kiribang, "They are 127 enjoying. ” A girl, telling me about her involvement in singing and dancing, said simply D “We enjoy ourselves ” — “Nungi noss. ’ As seen in the examples above, enjoyment was a key theme in the meaning children and adults took from music making. People also used music for understanding one another’s cultures, entertainment, education, and communication. In this chapter, I will present observations of the meaning and use of music in the above ways, in addition to discussing some of the meanings of dance and of lyrics of several songs. I have chosen to include comments and observations from adults about the role of music in their lives as well as from children, since children’s and adult’s music making share many common themes and meanings. Enjoyment in music making comes in part from the opportunity to participate, the compelling nature of music, and the chance for children to exert agency within music making; this fits closely with the use of music for entertainment, which also includes aspects of passing the time while waiting, forgetting one’s troubles, and entertaining others for purposes of tourism, recognition, and monetary compensation. Music is also used for education, including religious and social education as well as in-school learning, and communication of cultural, religious, and historical knowledge. In all of these ways, music helps children to better understand and affirm their place in their family, community, and school; to acquire the knowledge necessary for participation in their culture, from religious traditions to courting rituals; and to join in an enjoyable and prevalent part of cultural expression: music making. 128 Joy and Excitement Children’s enjoyment of music making was demonstrated in school, home, and community settings. Enjoyment was a major theme of meaning in music making evident in play, community, and school settings. Children enjoyed music because of the opportunities it brought for participation and interaction and expressed their enjoyment through participation; the compelling nature of the music added to children’s enjoyment; the opportunity to exert agency contributed to the enjoyment, as well. I observed children’s enjoyment on their faces, in their voices, and through their body language during musical play. Most girls I interviewed identified Kiribang as their favorite game. When asked what they liked about it, many of them said simply, “Defa neex” (Wof: It is nice). One girl expanded her answer, which my research assistant translated: “She said, it’s like, if you are playing football, the joy that you have playing football, it is the same joy with Piribum.” (IG, 27 July 2005) I commented on this joy to one parent: LK: Yes, I found that the children here enjoy music very much. AC: They are enjoying it! If you want to call them, you just started singing, and they just come. (1 August 2005) The enjoyment of children’s music making is not limited to the children. One group of adults, watching the children of their compound dancing and singing, smiled and laughed with enjoyment. One woman joined in the dance, modeling the movements for the younger children. At a Sabar, the children join in joyfully clapping and dancing, both in the middle of the circle and on the sidelines. They watch everything and absorb the sounds. I noticed 129 this and reflected on the link between music and joy: music is enjoyable for the children and brings joy to themselves and to others. Landing J arju (see Chapter 5) spoke about the effect of music within the school community: LK: And when we were [walking] on the road, did you tell us also that music helps the students to be excited about school, to be happy? LJ : Yes, yes. Sometimes somebody who loves music, a teacher who is music- oriented, once is absent from the school on a particular day, the whole school is disturbed. Because one, they will feel his absence. Not because he is better than all the other teachers, educationally, no, but because of the humor they can get from him, they can not find from any source. (2 June 2005) The headmistress of BLBS was similarly aware of the effect of music on the learning enviromnent, viewing music as a teaching aid that contributes both to students’ learning and motivation: Because I tell them, children learn, music is very important. It relaxes them, and at the same time during the relaxation, they learn a lot. We can’t just be tied down to book learning, books books books all the time. We have to relax and enjoy. And music plays a very vital role in this. (FD, 8 June 2005) Enjoyment of music was evident during a first grade games session I observed, in which the first noticeable lull in activity occurred 45 minutes into the observation. Up until that time, children moved from one game to another, sometimes playing a game for several minutes, sometimes for only a minute. They were primarily self-directed and student-led in their play, and nearly all of the children were engaged in the activities 130 nearly all of the time. Concentration and participation for that length of time (45 minutes) with first graders indicates a high level of enjoyment and satisfaction in the activity. A teacher spoke of the students’ own enjoyment through participation: LK: Do you think your students enjoy singing and drama and music? AJ : Yes, they enjoy it very well. They enjoy it. They like singing, they like doing this drama. Whenever you call them, they are always active. Even late in the evenings, if you call them to perform this drama, they come. From 7:00 up to 8:00 or 9:00, they come. (8 June 2005) The joy and excitement of musical participation was also evident during a drama troupe performance at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School; in addition to enjoying the music through participation, the children enjoyed the music because it was compelling to them. As the drummers started warming up, it seemed as though they were calling the audience through their drumming patterns. Answering the call, more and more children came, and they danced by themselves here and there around the school yard. There was such a feeling of joy and excitement in the air. Later one of the school deputies commented to me, “Yes, it has impact on people, on the life of the people. This [drama performance] really motivates the children to come out. . .children would come out, and you see how happy they are, how they dance. They really appreciate [it]” (MJ, 13 June 2005). There was a similar charge of excitement in the air at the Army Band Concert at the school on 10 June 2005, as children gathered to sing, dance, clap, and enjoy the band’s music. This compelling nature of music was also discussed by the headmistress of BLBS: “It goes through your soul, not only the heart. Lisa, as I was saying, music knows no barrier. All: male, female, black, white, we all enjoy music. Exactly” (FD, 8 June 2005). 131 Music’s capacity to touch people emotionally and spiritually contributes to their enjoyment of music. The opportunity to exert agency also underlies joy within music making. When students sang songs for me in their classes at BLBS, enjoyment was evident in their facial expressions and body movements as well as their voices; when they chose or controlled the songs (providing the call of a call and response song, for example), their enjoyment was greater. Several times, I observed a higher level of engagement with local language songs than with English songs. I noticed the children’s faces light up when they sang the songs they chose and loved. They kept singing them on their way out the door after class was finished. For example, one day I went to the school to observe the morning assembly, but it was cancelled due to rain. I stepped into a fifth grade class I had observed several other times. As their teacher was not yet there, the deputy headmaster gave me permission to sing with the students. First I asked them to recite the National Pledge and sing the National Anthem, what I had been hoping to observe at the assembly. Then I requested a few of the English-language songs their teacher had taught them two weeks earlier during the singing time. When we got through these songs, we shifted to the children choosing songs, and I noticed a striking difference in the engagement level. Children crawled over their desks to come to the front of the classroom and lead part of a call and response or dance; almost every child in the room was smiling broadly. Many students drummed on their desks or clapped along with the singing. One girl, a class leader and strong musician, collapsed back into her seat, laughing, after she took her turn dancing (15 July 2005) 132 The theme of enjoyment as central to the meaning of children’s music making is seen in home, community, and school settings. The joy and excitement created by the opportunity to participate, the compelling nature of the music, and the power to make choices and control the music making contributed to this enjoyment. Music is for Everyone: ”It Entertains, Educates, and Communicates " Music is for all people in The Gambia, not only the jalis or gewels or other specially trained people. As one teacher expressed it, “Music is not for only those who are [specialized] musicians, music is for every good person. It entertains, educates, and communicates” (TC, 5 July 2005). He re-emphasized this belief when I questioned him as to whether all children are musical: “All of them can either sing, or dance, or clap. It is important to some in one way. All have musical ability — it entertains, informs, educates, and communicates.” I will use these the three categories of music as entertainment, education, and communication to organize the observations below about the roles of music in Gambians’ lives. Music entertains. Music as entertainment is linked to enjoyment: the musicians enjoying what they are doing, the audience enjoying what they are hearing and observing. Entertainment also serves to help children to pass time while waiting, enable people to forget their troubles, and it functions as an aspect of tourism, a major industry in The Gambia. Musical play can be entertaining for the children who are playing and it can help to pass the time. Girls often played “Play Akkara” or clapping games while waiting for the assembly to start, waiting for class to start, waiting for their teachers to arrive, waiting 133 for the ball to come their way in soccer, or waiting for their turn at “Kiribang.” Playing was a way to pass the time while waiting. As we were waiting in the departure lounge of Banjul International Airport when our flight out of the country was delayed, several Gambian children played clapping games and “Bopp” to pass the time while adults paced or worried or complained about the delay. While it entertains, music can help people to forget their troubles. One day at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, after observing the children singing, dancing, and playing, I commented on how impressed I was with the musicianship of Gambian children. One of the school deputies responded by agreeing that the children sing and dance very well, but went on to say “that is their problem.” She talked about how even if someone is crying, the next minute they will be singing and dancing and feeling better. While it may seem that finding comfort from music is a good thing, perhaps this woman was suggesting that forgetting one’s troubles may lead to passively accepting them rather than working to better one’s situation. In this case, music is acting as an escape. On a different day, the same deputy commented, “You can see for yourself that Gambian children, Afiican children, are very musical. They like dancing! They’ll dance anywhere.” On this occasion, her tone of voice and facial expressions indicated a more positive view of the role of music in children’s lives. The school headmistress expressed a similar attitude toward the use of music to relax and forget one’s troubles: Well well well, just as I was saying: music is life, music is love. [She laughs]. Music, yes, it helps to relax, no matter how much pulled down you are with, 134 perhaps problems: you’re going to hear music and you forget everything and your mind becomes open and you are there. (FD, 8 June 2005) Music as entertainment is used in The Gambia to enhance tourism. A poster introducing “The New Image of Gambian Tourism” had a picture of the sun, a bird, a palm tree, a woman’s figure, and a drum. Along one side it said “The Gambia,” and along the bottom, “Your haven in Afiica.” Postcards proclaiming “Authentic — The Gambia” feature pictures of drummers and dancers. Many of the resort hotels employ drummers and other musicians to entertain guests in restaurants and on the beach. Tourists can take djembe lessons from drummers who walk the beach looking for customers; more extensive musical training is available at several schools established to teach tourists Gambian music. In this way, tourists can work on understanding the culture of The Gambia as they enjoy their vacation. Children participate in music as tourism through festivals and competitions held at resort hotels as well as by performing for tourists at schools or in neighborhoods. For example, the drama team at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School is accustomed to performing at official functions and for visitors (tourists) who come to the school. The drama team of Baatiikunda Lower Basic School received recognition and support from the president of The Gambia when performing for him. As the drama team coach discussed their performances for the president, he alluded to the joy the musical performance brought to the audience, including the president: Last year, at the 22nd July celebration, we had a performance in the presence of His Excellency the President, Dr. Alhaji A. J. J. J ammeh, who was very happy with the drama group, with their performance, and he was so happy, he gave us a 135 tip of 10,000 dalasis, because he was very very happy on that particular day. After a month or two, his Excellency went to visit schools. He went to Bundung Lower Basic School. All the schools in Region 1 were also called to be there, to welcome His Excellency the President. Our drama group went to Bundung Lower Basic School and then performed also in the presence of all the people at that place. It was crowded; there were lots of people over there, and His Excellency, the President, was also there. So he was also very happy on that day. (AJ, 8 June 2005) The drama group at the school functions in cultural celebrations, as described here by their coach. In return, the children receive small monetary gifts and appreciation from the audience: The drama group is still functioning. Whenever we have special occasions we ask them to come to the school to perform on Fridays. On X-mas days, they do perform here; on feast days, like Tabaski, they do perform here in the presence of all the children in the school. So whatever we derive from the crowd, from money or kind, we give it to the children, so that they become happy and continue with their practices. (AJ, 8 June 2005) Music educates. In addition to learning to understand and value other cultures, children also learn a wide range of subjects through music: math, English, health, character and behavior traits, political views, patriotism, and religion. Children also can learn coordination, cooperation, competitive skills, and achieve pride and confidence through music. 136 Many of the teachers I interviewed spoke of how they use music in their classrooms as a teaching aid. Landing J aaju spoke of using music to teach mathematical skills, such as counting with the chant “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” or the alphabet with the alphabet song. J aaju explained: You will discover that those who are going to sing it will be able to master it before those [who don’t]. Because even if the child is at home, they are singing it. ...The child keeps on saying these things, and then it’s already recorded stuff in the child’s brain. You will say “A, oh here is A.” B is B. He records it together. Learning and memorization go together. (2 June 2005) He also used music as a motivational tool, asking the children to sing a song to encourage them at the beginning of the school day or as a break during studies. The first grade teachers used English nursery rhymes to teach their students English, the official language spoken in The Gambia and the language used in the primary schools. In the case of “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” the teachers and students tacked on a line in Mandinka with a syncopated rhythm and fun-to-pronounce words, meaning “a big fat hen.” The nursery school teachers I talked to were aware of the power of music to influence students’ perceptions and opinions as well as learn basic English and counting. One nursery school teacher uses the song “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother” to teach his students how to behave at home: Father mother, why we taught them on that: because children now are playing outside, they are not doing nothing at home. One. That’s a disadvantage to them. Because a student should be very decent. A student should be lenient to our 137 parents. If you are playful in home, if you go to school, you will be very playful, if you are not controlled. That’s why they come here, we taught them, this a story, this a sample to you. If you go, you check your mother and father, what they are doing at home, and you check yourself, what you are doing at home. That’s why we need “Father, mother, sister, brother, father mother work all day, sister brother like to play. See them standing near each other.” You are always seeing them standing near each other, but after you see children playing. Okay, the mother and father are working. So that’s why we advise them, if you go home, don’t play. When you see your mother and father they are working, go and help them. Because here is a country whereby we must help each other. Because our occupation is farming. (SM, 12 July 2005) This teacher believed that song lyrics have the potential to affect the attitudes and actions of his young students. Other nursery school songs aimed at instruction include “Clean, Clean, Clean Your Teeth”; a rhyme about malaria, its causes and prevention; and numerous counting songs and rhymes. HIV /AIDS is not as large an epidemic in The Gambia as in other areas of Africa, but it is of great concern to Gambians. During a Protestant worship service in which the youth led portions of the service through singing and reading, the youth presented a drama about a young man who finds out he is HIV positive. The church members shun him at first, then realize their sin and embrace him again. The youth were all wearing T- shirts that said “Know your HIV status” and “Get tested today.” People laughed during the skit, because the youth were parodying their church service and the church members, but I was struck with the seriousness of it. One way to deal with a serious topic is through 138 humor. Another way people deal with the t0pic is through songs: children learn songs in school about HIV/AIDS prevention. A fifth grade teacher explained that singing is a “learning method for HIV programs” (TC, 5 July 2005). Children learn songs in local languages that teach the “ABC prevention: Abstain, Be Faithful, or Condoms.” One of the school deputies shared that children also participate in writing the songs: “And then also times when he had those [health programs] - tuberculosis, meningitis, malaria — children write songs and we sing songs to educate the elderly people. All those things” (MJ, 13 June 2005). Patriotic, religious, and behavior education occur during the assemblies that take place on Mondays and Fridays. Assemblies begin with Muslim prayers led by one of the teachers; the gathering then recites the National Pledge and sings that National Anthem. The principal or deputy gives announcements, and then students sing a marching song as they return to their classrooms and begin their day: “We’re going to our classes. . .with paper and pencil. . .and do what we are told. For learning is better than silver and gold.” The assemblies are not geared toward music learning, as the students who know the songs sing them and the others try to listen. This is difficult, however, with 1800 students in an open area with no microphones. The students near the front of the assembly (fourth to sixth graders) participated, but the younger students at the back just stood and waited. Through reciting the National Pledge and singing the National Anthem, children learn some of the values of the government. Other songs praise the president, bringing name recognition. The song “Gambia, Sufiu Reew” fosters patriotism. In addition to teaching facts or concepts, music can also be a means for learning coordination. The boys I saw chanting and marching around the neighborhood were 139 learning to move as a group. “Play Akkara” and “Kiribang,” along with other music games, required a high level of coordination, and players attained more as they progressed through the levels. These games also contribute to learning to dance, as some of the dance motions contain “Play Akkara”-like jumps or “Kiribang” patterns. Aspects of competition also are learned through musical play and performance. Many of the children’s music games featured competition, most notably “Kiribang” and “Play Akkara.” These games gave the girls an opportunity to enjoy competing with one another or outdoing their own previous personal best, and most of them enjoyed the challenge. In most situations, when playing a competitive game, the children I observed competed whole-heartedly. They were careful to watch one another and quick to call “Fail!” if someone made a mistake. The rules were important to them, and, if someone was not playing by the rules, the group often stopped playing due to fi'ustration. Other musical play emphasized cooperation, such as the dancing and some of the clapping games. Gambian children live in close quarters with their extended family and neighbors; learning to get along is essential. According to Maranz (1993), one of the metathemes of the worldview of people from The Gambia and Senegal is “personal, transcendent peace” (p. 61), which includes being at peace with family, friends, and neighbors. This emphasis on peace is demonstrated in musical play that focuses on coopeartion rather than competition. Musical performances, such as the drama team’s performance, emphasized cooperation through the dance routines and singing. Performing can be a source of pride and confidence for children. Mr. J aaju described the self-actualization that occurs when a child sings a song for the class: 140 Yes, it helps them to actualize themselves. Because if a child is satisfied, doing certain things, music is inclusive. Now if a child is able to sing a song of any nature, whatever song the child can. You say, “Can you sing it?” “YES!” The hand is straight up in the air. And then, the next moment is “Come!” The child will walk majestically towards where he or she is to stand, and will do it just as she has learned it. So thereby that satisfaction is in her, she has canied out a full song. Because of that, music means a lot to the child. (LJ, 2 June 2005) Students who performed songs in one fourth grade class received affectionate cuffs on the side of the head and the words “Bravo! Thank you!” from their teacher. Music communicates. Gambians I interviewed referred to the role of music in communicating about tradition, culture, and religion, both to one another and with God; communicating about and with ancestors; and communicating about one’s cultural heritage, including understanding and valuing cultures. In these ways, music plays an integral role in transmitting and participating in many of the valued aspects of culture. Music ties tradition and culture to religion and is a vital aspect of all three. According to one of the teachers I interviewed: Yes, they are traditional songs, because we like to do everything traditionally because we believe in our tradition. We believe in culture. We believe in our religion. All these three [go] together —— tradition, culture, and religion. Since our great-grand-grandfathers, they do perform whenever they have problems. If there is no rain, they call people, they beat drums, people dance, people give out charity, people cook food, people come round to eat the food, and then pray to 141 God for rain to come. So that is a traditional thing that all Black people do from time to time, yes. (AJ, 8 June 2005) Music is also tied to history. The vital connections with one’s ancestors and the resulting effects on behavior are described here by one of the school deputies: In Africa here, everybody knows that in Africa, we use music to portray and to tell people a lot. Now like history, if you go to these local festivals, naming ceremonies, festivals, wedding ceremonies, you’ll hear people singing, praising people, praising their ancestors, through music. Maybe long time ago, here, writing was a problem. Maybe Egypt, where civilization started, with them they started writing at a very early time. But for us, you see that our historians use music to tell us what happened in the past, who your ancestors were, your morals. Your ancestors were very good people, they did this, they did that, so you are not expected to behave in ways that your ancestors would not be happy to hear, or even the people around now would not be happy to hear you did this, something that is very bad. Now, compared to your family background, they’ve been very good people. You see, they sing all these things so they can teach you how to behave in society. Your ancestors — what they have done in this world, what you are to copy from them. So you see, music has been here millions and millions of years ago. Because for us, writing, this formal education was not around, except in Egypt. Our people used to use music, up til now. ...Then [during a naming ceremony] the historian will come and say, “You, Nima, your grandparent was very hard working, very honest, very sincere. Now we expect you to be like him.’ So any time you want to do something bad, you remember your grandfather who 142 was very very very good. So that is the essence of such. Then you will see that the people who are around, they will be very happy, so that is why they will give money. (FC, 8 June 2005) Music is a way of identifying with one’s ethnic or cultural group. A teacher pointed out that “Africans love music — there is no cultural group without music” (TC, 5 July 2005). When asked to sing songs, many children chose a song from their own cultural group in their mother tongue. Understanding and valuing cultures is important to people in The Gambia, as shown in this conversation with Landing J aaju. He highlights the belief that understanding other cultures leads to valuing of those cultures: Because here (in The Gambia), people are very open to one another, children go to one place or another, they are freer. I hope — this is only a speculation —— I think they are freer here than there (in America), and you can see one tribe learning two or three different languages, and so on. So with that, having to know one’s tribe. I know your language, I can speak your language, I can speak her language, I can speak my language. Putting the three languages together, and three cultures together, I will do better than somebody who knows one. (LJ, 2 June 2005) He went on to talk about the importance of knowing one another’s languages: Yes. We accept one another through languages, because we understand one another. Whatever language. Be it English or French or German or J ola or Espafiol or what. . .as long as we are able to understand one another, we accept one another. And if we accept one another, eventually love comes in. We respect one another, we accept one another. 143 This emphasis on learning languages was echoed by a woman who explained her language acquisition in the context of a conversation about understanding song lyrics in languages other than one’s mother tongue: LK: And when a Mandinka child is singing a song in Wolof, or a Wolof in Mandinka or J ola, do you think that they are understanding the words, or they are just singing it? AJ : Most school children, they can speak many local languages. But for those that aren’t going to school, it’s very hard. For me, I learned Wolof at school, and Mandinka. I am Serahuli, but they adopt me, I am adopted in F ulas. So I can speak Fula, Mandinka, Wolof, and Jola also, I learned it from school. LK: Did you learn it from the other children, or from your teacher? AJ : No, from the other children; like, after school. During break. We are sharing everything; you can move with any child, anywhere. “Can I use your cup? — Yeah. Can I go out with you?” So someone will be a Fula, some a Jola; if you are speaking to me and you know I am Serahuli, you will use my language. And if I meet you, I will speak to you. (AJ, 3 August 2005) In Baatiikunda, children learned to understand cultures other than their own through music as well as by learning their languages. Through sharing music, Gambians learn one another’s songs, traditions, and cultures. One teacher at BLBS demonstrated this belief by responding to my question at the close of his interview, “Is there any way that I could help while I am here, in teaching individual children, or anything you would like?” He replied: 144 Yes, here we would like to have, let’s say, songs from people like you, from Irish people, from American people, from British people, to be able to pass your culture to the African way of life, so we can have a taste of white man’s cultural and traditional and religious ways of life, comparing it to the African ways of life, especially the Gambian way of life, we would be very happy. You can call upon us on any time. You can fix your days, if you want to come here [any days], you are welcome. Songs, rhymes, and your culture, tradition. [It] is very important. (AJ, 8 June 2005) This teacher was suggesting that one way for his students to know “about” me and my culture was for them to learn our music. This is an interesting way to think about knowing, that a culture’s music can help individuals more fully know and understand the people of that culture. The children, too, were aware of the cultural knowledge shared in music. At the conclusion of one interview with six fourth graders, after I had asked them questions about their favorite songs and games, music at home, school, community, and places of worship, and why they enjoy various kinds of music, I thanked them for their time and prepared to take them back to their classroom. One of the students stopped me and said “Would you teach us a song?” There was a sense of exchange here; they had shared many of their songs with me, and it was only right that I shared one with them. There was also a sense of compliment in their request: they were interested in me as a person and wanted to connect with me by hearing what kind of songs I like. Baatiikunda, like most of the communities in its area, is marked by ethnic diversity. This coming together of cultures occurs in neighborhoods, on compounds, and 14S even within families. One of the school deputies compared the musical culture of Baatiikunda to that of a town up-country where he previously lived: Yes, there is a vast difference. Because here, one on the side of music, I think you have difference in the cultures. The place I was was dominantly Fula society. Here is a different case. You have mixed cultures. So here you have a different set of people, and as a result, the musical cultures are more blended, and is richer. Because as you can see here, we had Jolas, Fulas, Balanta, we are all participating. (MJ, 13 June 2005) The blending of musical cultures occurs for the children when they learn songs and dances from neighboring ethnic groups; some musicians, such as Alpha J allow and his band, Three Brothers, focus on cross-cultural compositions (Koops, 2006). Meaning of Dancing Most of the music making I observed in Baatiikunda linked singing, chanting, or playing instruments with movement. In children’s games, the movement consisted of clapping, hopping, jumping, and running. When including dance in their play, one individual often danced in the middle of a circle, while others clapped, sang, and moved from the outside of the circle; their dance movements imitated those of adults. Dancing is a means of self-expression and interaction with others in many settings in The Gambia. Women dance druing the praise and worship singing time during Christian worship. Fans of the Gambia’s Under—1 7 Soccer Team danced in the stands as they cheered their team; the team danced in joy and celebration as they stood on the podium after receiving their championship medals from President Yahya J ammeh. Dancing is the main activity at a 146 Sabar or Zimba, and is common at weddings and naming ceremonies as well. The different ethnic groups of The Gambia have distinctive dancing styles; members of one group can also learn to dance in the style of the other groups, as did the members of the Baatiikunda Lower Basic School drama team; the children came from different ethnic backgrounds but all learned to do the Mandinka dances for their drama program. Dancing and movement are vital to music making in The Gambia. On a few occasions, I asked children to sing a song associated with a dance, without doing the dance, because I was trying to learn the text or tune. This was a strange and difficult request for the children, and they would usually end up dancing, anyway. I also saw this link during singing time at school; when singing English songs, children sat and sang passively, but when they sang local language songs, they stood up and danced. Some of the children’s dancing includes movements that seem to a Westemer to be sexual in nature (pelvic thrusts, bumps, and gyrations). Their movements mimic the adults’ dances, which contain many such movements. I interviewed several parents about the meaning of the dance, trying to discern whether the children associated their movements with sexuality. One mother replied “No, they just copy what they see” (AJ, 1 August 2005). Another said “Some, they understand it, but some do not” (AC, 1 August 2005). This interpretation of the sexual nature of some children’s dance is similar to observations by Gaunt (1997a; 1997b) about the expression of sexuality by African- American girls through music and movement. During a feedback interview, I showed video of children’s music play and dancing to a group of children (the ones in the video) and their mothers. The mothers laughed and smiled during the dancing and did not seem to be upset by the movements 147 their children were doing. Similarly, at the school, the teachers and principal seemed appreciative of the drama team members’ dancing and not embarrassed or concerned about the pelvic movements. This could indicate that they do not view the movements as tied to sexuality, or that this is an acceptable and appropriate part of children’s movement expression. However, not all parents approve of this dancing. A mother commented, “Some parents don’t want their children to do it. Like me, if my daughter was doing it, I would say no. Because of the times” (AC, 1 August 2005). Another mother discussed the issue: LK: So when I’ve seen the children, and some of their movements seem to be very adult behavior... AJ: Yeah, even my own kids can dance all type of music. The Wolof dance, is what these children are [doing], they can sing, singing, dancing, bending their waist, turning the eyes — you know, that is very adult. I normally forbid her, but you know, I don’t stay with her continuously, so when I am away, she do all type of (movement), but when she saw me coming, she would stop. But other people also like to dance. LK: Do you think that most parents would stop their children if they see them dancing that way? AJ: Maybe. Some parents don’t know what is bad and good for the children, they just leave them in the environment where they are, what they see, what they do. But my own, I don’t like it. I like my children to be more with books, and maybe musics that will teach them something, but not just sing blindly and copy from somebody. (AJ, 3 August 2005) 148 This difference between parental response could be due in part to religious values; the two mothers who expressed disapproval about the dancing were Christians, and the mothers who did not seem troubled by it were Muslim. It could also reflect differences in parenting styles and values found in any culture. As seen in the discussion above, people within a culture interpret movements in different ways, even as people outside the culture try to understand the movements from their perspective. For some Gambians, the dance movements may not be associated with sexuality; for others, they may be, but are an accepted part of social life; still others may see the movements as inappropriate for children. Meaning of Lyrics In this chapter I have explored the meanings and uses of music in the lives of Gambian children and adults, including enjoyment, entertainment, education, and communication. An analysis of the lyrics of several of the children’s songs illustrates and reflects these meanings and uses. Many of the examples fit into multiple categories. The meaning of the chants used in different levels of “Kiribang” (see Appendix E15) do not fall into a single category, but when talking to children, it seemed that they simply enjoyed chanting the words of the levels, regardless of meaning. Many of the chants feature names: “Goor, jeng, Ayda Modu Mustafa” (Ayda, Modu, and Mustafa are men’s names; goor means man, jeng means woman); “Vivian N’Dour, bay ko mu joy” (Vivian N’Dour is a Senegalese musician; bay ko mu joy means leave her to cry); Pa Bouba Diop (the name of a Senegalese soccer star who now plays for Fulham Football Club in England). The players chant “Saabu pur sangu” (soap for washing) when they are 149 playing two on two and one of the girls has failed a level; while the other player makes up that level for her, they chant “saabu pur sangu.” Perhaps this indicates that the stronger player is “cleaning up” the failed attempt by the other player. Another level includes the chant “B, I wanna C” or “B, and C” or “B B C,” which might refer to the British Broadcasting Company, a radio station many Gambians tune in to in order to get their news. When I asked which part of Kiribang they enjoyed most, children responded as follows: “Vivan, because it’s nice, and when you play it, you enjoy it (tr)”; “Goor jeng, because when you are singing, it’s nice in your tongue (tr)”; and “Géor jeng, because the song is nice.” Enjoyment was also key, surprisingly, when children sang and danced to several songs with serious lyrics. “Soonaa Maryama,” one of the most popular Mandinka songs, concerns the bitter experience gained by a child who refuses to obey her parents (see Appendix E19). A fifth grade teacher translated the lyrics this way: Soonaa Maryama is a name. A child refuses to work for the father and mother and said she is going fishing. The parent says, “I remember when you were small, on my back — a small child, the time I carried on my back.” The sun nearly killed me. (TC, 26 July 2005) Another song, Mbaa Nyaling W0, is about a child who misses his mother (see Appendix E20). During the song, the story unfolds: the king has killed the child’s mother because she broke a jar, and now the child is seeking revenge. Despite the seriousness of the lyrics of the songs, children sang songs like these and others joyfully and danced exuberantly. It could be that they have heard the songs so often that the content is no longer sobering or 150 sad; some children may not understand the words, if the song is in a language other than their mother tongue. Another possibility is that children are exerting agency through the way they perform the songs; although “Soonaa Maryama” is warning children to obey their parents, children continue to dance and play light-heartedly, possibly acting out their control over the play situation. Many of the songs and games I observed functioned as entertainment; one example is the dance song “Bakary Sipa” (see Appendix 21). Eight-year—old Ndey and a research assistant translated the words for me, explaining that this is a teasing song, because Bakary is a man’s name, but a man does not wear a skirt: Bakary sipa, be i bala (Mnk: Bakary ’s skirt is on you) Sipa sipa, be i bala (Skirt skirt is on you) During the dance that accompanies this song, the player dancing in the middle gestures toward the “skirt.” Landing J aaju writes lyrics about social and political issues, and his songs are an example of how music educates children. “Vision 2020” concerns the progress the president was making on projects like free education for girls, support to farmers, and care for persons with disabilities; “Woonooraal” implores the people of Cassamance (Senegal) to turn from their civil war and look to the future; “The New Gambia” decries corruption and calls for honesty in government; “Poverty is the Worst Calamity” lists common causes and effects of poverty; “Let Us Love our Dear Motherland” calls persons from all sectors of Gambian society to unity and appreciation of their country. These themes of social awareness and activism are also found in his song “You are All the 151 Future Leaders of The Gambia.” The response “You are all the future leaders of The Gambia” follows each of the following lines: Oh little children, listen to me, You are all the future leaders of T he Gambia. Oh Gambian children, listen to me, Don ’t you know that knowledge is power Oh Gambian children, seek knowledge! Study hard, and be yourselves! Let your books be your friends! Honor and respect your parents and teachers, Learn from the mistakes of your neighbors and ponder Don ’t jeopardize the fate of your nation Let’s love one another and be cautious Please go back to history and learn, look at Africa Education and knowledge are though as both weapons You are all the future leaders of The Gambia. J aaju explained that in this song he is advising the children of The Gambia, appealing to them to change their attitudes. This song expresses the firm belief that education is an answer to The Gambia’s problems, a belief many Gambians share with J aaju. He explained: So you see, the weapons — knowledge and education, just like lamps, just like weapons. You are educated, you are highly educated, how do you end up doing? You use your education to better your way of living until the day you die. You see 152 how best you are going to use your education to get the best out of life. So as far as I am concerned about this one, I am seeing education as any weapon one can use. I can use my education to be a very political person, a very responsible person. I can use my education to bring chaos in the community and things like that. And on the other hand, also, I can use my education, the little I know, to bring peace among people, love among people, help among people, and things like that. And then I can change my way of living through the knowledge I have, through the education I have. (LJ, 2 June 2005) The headmistress of BLBS also spoke of the belief that education will help to solve problems in The Gambia: “Education is everything we have here, without it, we are nowhere. Because Africa is behind the rest of the world; I think it’s our duty to scale up whatever we are doing so that at least we arrive. Yes” (FD, 8 June 2005). The next song also fits into the category of music educates: “Papa J end Na Xar” teaches children about the preparations for Tabaski, a Muslim holiday. It is a circle- sashay game with movements similar to “Ring Around a Rosy” (see Appendix E22). For the ending, instead of squatting down, players freeze; after a moment they dash to a location that serves as “home free,” such as a tree or gate. The goal is to get there first. While sashaying in the circle, players chant in Wolof: Papa je'nda na xar (Wof: Papa buys a ram) Elle'g la T abaski (Tomorrow is T abaski) Elle'g lariu ko ray (Tomorrow they kill it) Ku ye'ngatu yé'ngatu dee (Whoever moves will die) 153 The children enjoy the moving and freezing in this game. Tabaski is a Muslim holiday, and this song represents a form of religious education, as children are reminded of what occurs for this feast. A song I heard from several classes and individual at BLBS communicates the importance of family and homeland. A fifth grade teacher taught his students the song “Home Again” (see Appendix E23): I leave my mother, I leave my father, I leave them far away! When shall I see my native land, I shall never forget my home. Home again, home again! Home again, home again! When shall I see my native land, I shall never forget my home. He learned it from his second grade teacher in 1974 and said he thought another teacher wrote it. He explained the meaning to his class as he reviewed the song with them during a Friday morning singing time: This song, you normally sing it when you are homesick. You know what is homesick? [He writes the word “homesick” on the black board]. I am homesick... you missed your people. Long time. You can just sing this song, and it gives you courage until you see your mother, your father, and all the people at home. (TC, 1 July 2005) Another woman, a grandmother and former teacher, told me she and her friends sang “Home Again” when they left their homes and walked to boarding school. Music also communicates cultural knowledge. The clapping chant “Raymbele” deals with relationships with boys and refers to courting rituals in The Gambia. I heard 154 several versions of the lyrics. The popular version sung by children in the neighborhood was: Raymbele, Raymbele, Raymbele Abdujamano, jamano, jamano (Wof: Abdu ’3 generation) Man tasse ag berm boy, benn boy, benn boy (I meet with a boy) Mu ne ma, “Nob naa la, nob naa la, nob naa la. ” (He says, "I love you. ") Ma ne ko, “Nob-u ma la, nob-u ma la, nob-u ma la. " (I say, "I don ’t love you. ”) Mu jénd parie guru, parie guru, parie guru (He buys a basket of kola nuts) Mu jox ko suma tanta, suma tanta, suma tanta (He gives them to my aunty) Surna tanta seddo k0, seddo k0, seddo ko (She distributes them) Mu je'nd panu sukar, panu sukar, panu sukar (He buys a big container of sugar) Mu jox ko suma tanta, suma tanta, suma tanta (He gives it to my aunty) Suma tanta seddo ko, seddo k0, seddo ko (She distributes it) Ku nje'kka taxaw, sa boppi maam (Wof: Who first stops, his grandmother ’s head: an insult) Mengfoloo loota, a mama kurn baa. (Mnk: Who first stops, his grandmother 's head). (see Appendix E24) In this chant, the boy follows the Gambian tradition of bringing kola nuts and sugar as gifts for his lady’s family, but the girl keeps the upper hand by saying “I don’t love you.” While there is currently a push for girls’ education in The Gambia, historically girls have had fewer educational opportunities and been expected to obey first their parents and then their husbands. This clapping game could be a way for girls to retain power in their imaginary relationships. 155 Other songs communicated cultural knowledge that contained instructions or advice to children. In one such song, “Bul fontoo sa yaay,” the main speaker of the song is a mother instructing her child, with the last two lines a response from the child (see Appendix E25). The Wolof lyrics are: Bulfontoo sa yaay, (Wof' Don 't upset your mother) Adduna tere joy. (The world forbids crying) Ma fekka suma doom, (1 meet my child) Mu se'gga dijooy. (She is bending down and crying) Man suma yaram daw na. (1 'm touched; literally, My blood has moved) Ma ne ko, “Lu xew? ” (I ask her, “What happened? ”) Mu ne ma, “Yaay boy, dugal ma iskool (She tells me, “Mommy, send me to school. ") Ba su é'lle'gee,ma nekk doctor. (So that I can become a doctor tomorrow) A first grade teacher explained the song this way: It says, don’t play with [or upset] your mother, because the mother brings you to life, so try hard and tell your mother, teach you to go to school, so tomorrow you could get any job, either teacher, doctor, lawyer, any job you want. (FB, 20 June 2005) When children sing this song, they substitute other English words for doctor in the last line: teacher, lawyer, and other occupations. When I asked children, apart from this song, what they wanted to do when they grew up, they responded with a variety of professions: doctor, lawyer, office worker, nurse, teacher, solider, police officer, minister. A final example shows how music communicates about culture, helping children 156 to learn to understand and value other cultures. The verses of the song “God is Good,” repeat the phrase “Our God is good” in many different languages (see Appendix E26). I heard this song during an observation of a fifth grade singing period, from fourth graders I interviewed at school, and from children who lived in our neighborhood. I also heard a similar song at a Protestant church in Baatiikunda. As the fifth grade teacher led his students through the song in class, they sang in English, Wolof, Mandinka, French, and J ola; he then paused and asked the students for the translation in another language, Serahuli. At the close of the song he exclaimed “Wonderful! Clap for yourselves, man!” By repeating the verses in many different languages, the song acknowledges some of the many languages spoken in The Gambia, connecting the people who speak these languages together in the affirmation that their God (“Allah” or “Yalla” in the local langagues) is good. ”Nungi noss We Enjoy Ourselves While enjoyment is one of the central meanings of music in children’s and adult’s lives, music is also used for entertainment, education, and communication. Enjoyment forms a sort of “umbrella” of meaning over the uses of entertainment, education, and communication: these important elements of enculturation are canied out through enjoyable activities. Children play as they learn religious knowledge in “Papa J end Na Xar,” for example; they dance along as they sing religious songs like “God is Good.” Entertainment is tied to the theme of enjoyment, as it relies on audiences enjoying music in order to function well within tourism and for recognition in the community. In order for music to help people pass the time and forget their troubles, enjoyable texts, 157 tunes, and movements are also important. Enjoyment is also linked to using music as a tool for education; educators recognized and articulated the power of music to interest children in topics and help them remember and continue singing about issues like AIDS prevention. In the area of communication through music, enjoyment is also evident in music making as children and adults participate in worship services, engage in musical activities at ceremonies, and pass along cultural knowledge and understanding. This chapter has reviewed the role of music in the lives of Gambians, particularly children, exploring the cultural meaning behind some forms of music making and particular songs. In the next chapter I will turn from the results of the ethnography of Gambian children’s music making to the implications for American music education, exploring ways to use the results from this study to develop a culturally informed approach to music pedagogy. 158 CHAPTER VII IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The previous three chapters have examined Gambian children’s music making, their musical learning processes, and some of the meanings and roles of music in Gambian society. In this chapter I will suggest implications for American music education based on the data collected for this study. I will begin by considering common threads between Gambian children’s music and American children’s music. Based on these common threads, as well as the results of this study, I have identified three pathways for teachers to use in applying the knowledge of the practice of Gambian children’s music within American elementary music classrooms and with pre-service teachers. I will argue that improving the teaching methodology of music from a particular musical practice by including the teaching process used in that practice, studying music within its cultural context, and helping students to connect with musical practices and musicians has the potential to lead to a culturally informed approach to teaching music, effectively combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience. As seen in the discussion below, there are both micro- and macro-implications for this work. The micro-implications are detailed suggestions for teaching Gambian music to American children. Larger implications are also suggested for teaching world music in general, as well as in reevaluating the amount of social and cultural context included in teaching any kind of music, including music from the Western canon. Another possibility for larger implications is the contribution of this work to African music educators, many 159 of whom are investigating similar issues of the disconnect between school music and muSic outside of school within their settings (Dzansi, 2004; Nzewi, 1999; Oehrle, 1991). Common Threads Identifying similarities between Gambian children’s music and American children’s music affords the opportunity to note potential areas for classroom study or further research. While many similarities could be drawn between the two musical practices, I will discuss three here. For each similarity I will describe the parallels between the two musical cultures and suggest implications for teaching and research. This section concludes with the development of three pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy based on the issues arising from this discussion of common threads. The Disconnect of Music Inside and Outside the Classroom The first similarity between children’s music in The Gambia and children’s music in America is the disconnect between music in the school classroom and outside of it. In The Gambia, children enjoy a rich musical environment in the community, with music being a daily part of play, chores, and entertainment; they hear music as they walk down the street, attend Zimbas, and listen to their parents’ musical expressions. The majority of this music is drawn from Gambian cultures; a small part is imported recorded music from Europe and America. Within the primary school classroom, however, the majority of music is English folksongs and rhymes. As I observed the children singing inside the classroom, I noticed them slouching and singing the English songs with reduced energy; 160 on occasions when the teacher invited them to sing a “local song,” their vocal energy was increased and they clapped and danced along to the singing. As discussed in Chapter 1, there is also a disconnect between musical repertoire and experiences inside and outside of the music classroom in many American schools. This disconnect is cited as one of the possible reasons for declining participation in music in some areas (Kratus, 2005). Noting the similar disconnect between school music and outside musical life between the two cultures, music educators should address how to make music education in the school more relevant for students. This might mean different things for the different cultures: for Gambians, it might mean bringing more local songs and music into the classroom, in order to help students learn more about their own cultural heritage and that of others. In America, it might be addressed by providing more options for students in performing ensembles, as is already being done in some schools that offer mariachi bands, rock bands, and West African drumming ensembles in addition to band, choir, and orchestra. Educators can also learn from observing the situation in one another’s settings: Gambian teachers may be inspired, energized, or encouraged from seeing the push in American music education to value “music for music’s sake” and teach it as an independent subject, not tied only to other types of curricular learning; American teachers could note the influence of the rich musical environment and expectation to be musical that permeates Gambian culture and begin to bring similar ideas to their own communities, as discussed in Vignette D later in this chapter. 161 Children ’s Agency in Music Making A second area of intersection is the importance of the playground as a cultural space in which children exert agency. This was seen in The Gambia as children exerted their power to make decisions about repertoire, use of language, and movement on the playground and during play on their home compounds; throughout this play, children also demonstrated an attitude of empowerment that contrasted with their attitude in the classroom or with adults. This phenomenon is corroborated by studies of children’s playground culture in the United States. Menill-Mirsky (1988), in her study of children’s playground games in Los Angeles, concluded that “in the shared experience of musical play there is power and commitment, from a group generally perceived as powerless, non-competitive, and inferior (childlike)” (p. 217). This agency is shown in leadership, musical complexity, and development of repertoire within musical play. Gaunt (1997a; 1997b) and Riddell (1990) also note the role of agency in children’s informal music play. Campbell (1998), studying children’s music play and culture, suggests that “childlore,” the collection of children’s “jeers, jokes, rhymes, riddles, rhythms, chants, songs, and singing games” (p. 65) found on the playground, school bus, and in the cafeteria, provides children with a shared vocabulary with which to react to or reflect on oppression or frustration they experience due to adult control. Researchers in Ghana, too, have noted the importance of the playground to children’s musical development (Addo, 1996; Dzansi, 2004). This similarity highlights the importance for music educators and researchers of becoming more aware of the musical behaviors of students on the playground. The playground is one place to which educators interested in incorporating more of children’s 162 own music, suggested above, could look. By recognizing playground songs and chants as a musical practice, teachers could use this musical material, well known to children, to explore elements of melody, rhythm, movement, and improvisation. Teachers could also locate and share playground games of children from other regions, allowing children to compare and contrast the games, as well as to learn the new repertoire; it is possible that the games children enjoy could be added to their playground repertoire at recess. While educators explore incorporating children’s playground music in the classroom, care must be taken to respect children’s agency within this musical form. In the music classroom, respecting children’s agency could be shown through asking children to teach the music games to the teacher and the other children who are not familiar with the repertoire; through asking the children what kinds of new games they would like to learn; through allowing, or even encouraging, the children to adapt lyrics and music of games to better fit their musical and social interests; and through asking children to lead and monitor the games, rather than the teacher providing leadership. Similarities in Repertoire and Use of Repertoire A third common thread is repertoire shared between Gambian children’s music and American children’s music, as well as similar techniques of adapting repertoire. These shared aspects offer an interesting look at similarities between musical cultures, raise questions about how music games originate and are transmitted through time and space, and provide an opportunity to investigate how history and culture shape and alter specific repertoire. These are issues that provide an opportunity for students and teachers 163 to investigate the wider social and cultural context of a musical culture, starting with the repertoire and expanding to other musical, cultural, and social influences. The similar repertoire I found between Gambia and American children’s play includes many of the clapping chants and ring games, as well as Kiribang (known as Chinese Jump Rope in regions of the United States). In Menill-Mirsky’s (1988) collection of children’s music games from Los Angeles, “I Went to a Chinese Restaurant,” “Slide,” “Little Sally Walker,” and “Ring Around the Rosy” seem to be similar to games I experienced in The Gambia; “Down by the banks,” “Educate your mind,” and “Concentration” are likely similar to the Gambian versions “Dance on my lawn,” “School, Education,” and “Competition.” Riddell’s (1990) collection also includes “Slide” and “Little Sally Walker,” with many variations listed for “Little Sally Walker”; these are related to games of the same name I observed in The Gambia. A closer look at one example, the clapping game “Slide,” shows that the Gambian version is slightly different than the American version reported in Riddell’s (1990) study. Both versions progress through ten levels, with the number of times “Back, both, clap” (B section) is repeated being equal to the numbered level that players are on (see Appendix E4). Riddell’s main version shows players clapping the first part of the pattern (A section), “Right, together” the number of times of the ntunbered level the players are on, followed by “Left, together” that same number of times; in The Gambia, players always clap “Right, together, left, together” just one time before moving on to the “Back, both, clap” section. Also, Riddell states that there is no text for this game, but that players may whisper the counting to help one another stay together. In The Gambia, players typically chant “uh-huh, uh-huh” during the A section and chant the numbers on the 164 “Clap” of the B section (see Appendix E4). This rhythmic chanting is similar to chanting I heard from mothers while playing with their babies or encouraging older children to move to a drumming rhythm. Chanting the numbers as part of standard play, rather than just a teaching tool, might be in part because players are proud of their knowledge of the English numbers. Players used English when playing this game, not Mandinka or Wolof; when I tried playing it and saying the Mandinka or Wolof numbers, the other players laughed with surprise. Kiribang was the most popular musical game played outside of school while I was in Baatiikunda in Summer, 2005. After describing “Kiribang” to several of my fiiends, they pointed out its similarity to the games they played while growing up in the 19803. A friend from college wrote, “Sounds like what the girls are playing is what we called ‘Chinese jumprope’ in school--it was popular in New Mexico when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade” (personal correspondence, 4 August 2005). Another friend from Germany reflected: And next time we meet we might play kiribam (that is Gummihu‘pfen in German) together. Cool to see that European and African kids share the same hobbies for theirfree afternoons (we used to be extremely persevering with that game too — but only the girls). I usually never got over the “hip” level. :-) (Personal correspondence, 3 August 2005). Chinese Jump Rope is a jumping game played with a long, stretchy, circular rope; the basic jumping game has many variations, including “American Ropes,” “Three Ropes,” and "Triangles” (Johnson, 1997). Amazon.com identifies Chinese Jump Rope as 165 a “retro game” and sells jump ropes with accompanying manuals, as well as the activity book “Chinese Jump Rope,” a part of the Klutz series (Johnson, 1997). Chinese Jump Rope may be making an American comeback, at least among physical education teachers. In a session scheduled for the 2006 National Convention and Exposition of The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), teachers have the opportunity to learn the basics of Chinese Jump Rope (Crouching Tiger Hidden RE. Equipment - Chinese Jump Rope Secrets, n.d.). The Gambian version of Chinese Jump Rope, which children said came from Senegal, featured many of the aspects of the game described in publications above. The named levels, which contained references to Senegalese and Gambian popular culture, were surprisingly uniform in several different communities that I observed; the game had been transmitted with little variation during the time I observed. Children took pride in being able to accomplish all of the levels, and they were also able to verbally tell me the various levels that a player has to progress through. In addition to sharing repertoire, children in The Gambia and America share the tendency to modify lyrics, altering their meaning. Atkinson (1967) noted that girls modified songs and games to include violence, relationships with boys, and other “taboo” topics not supposed to be thought about or enjoyed by girls. The girls took songs learned at school or from siblings and changed words to be “edgier” and more relevant to their worlds. Many of the songs, chants, and games I observed existed in multiple versions in The Gambia; some alterations seemed to be the result of combining languages, such as: 166 Three three dom see Ah sama letter du ma ansa (answer) Bay ba leka dom si You will pick in pick it up (sic) And take it in your pocket. This game, played in a circle, is similar to the English game “I Wrote a Letter to My Love.” In another case, a girl tried to make a substitution in order to make sense of a song, but a friend corrected her. One little girl sang: “When I went to the mburu (Wof: bread) shop. . .,” and her friend stopped her, “No, not mburu, it’s the booze shop.” Both girls came from Muslim families, for whom alcohol is strictly forbidden. I am unsure of whether the girls understood the meaning of “booze.” One implication of this similarity of repertoire and modification of repertoire is the opportunity it provides for teachers on both sides of the Atlantic to explore the similarities and differences of children’s play with their students. In teaching my elementary students, I found them to be interested in hearing about how children in The Gambia play and what they like to do. This is a natural way for students to connect with another culture; forming relationships between students and musical practices or musicians is one of the pathways to culturally informed music making discussed below. Another approach teachers can take in looking at repertoire is to question with their students where music or music games originate and how they travel. This could be done in conjunction with the study of a musical genre such as jazz, which began in America, but has roots in West Afiican musical practices. During the twentieth century, jazz, like many popular music genres from the Americas, became popular in many 167 regions of Africa, with African bands imitating American bands. Later, elements of the jazz style were incorporated into local styles and genres, creating musical fusions (Collins, 1987, 1992; Coplan, 1985). While children’s games are not as well-documented as jazz, Merrill-Mirsky (1988), Riddell (1990), Harwood (1992), and Gaunt (1997b) provide historical background as well as musical analyses of many playground games. These studies, along with others listed in their bibliographies, could be used to suggest answers to the origins of some of the games. Students may note the similarity of issues involved, as many of the playground games are of African-American origin (Menill- Mirsky, 1988), influenced by West African musical aesthetics, and thus embraced by West African children. A final opportunity in looking at similarities of repertoire and repertoire use is to study how children adapt the games, question why they make adaptations, and look at how the adaptations reflect larger issues of cultural and historical context. Based on the amount of information available, this could be a classroom project or a formal research project. For instance, to what do the phrases of the various levels of Gambian Kiribang refer? What differences of the Gambian version of “Slide,” compared to Riddell’s (1990) version, reflect Gambian musical influences or aesthetics? Three Pathways to Culturally Informed Music Pedagogy The three common threads discussed above suggest a number of implications for teaching that could lead to developing culturally informed music pedagogy. Based on these commonalities, I have identified three pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy. The first two common threads, the disconnect between informal musical play 168 and transmission and formal music education, and awareness and respect for children’s agency in musical play, can be combined to address the first pathway: improving teaching methodology of world music practices. The third area of overlap between Gambian and American children’s music, the similarities in repertoire and use of repertoire, yields the second and third pathways: exploring musical cultures and music in people’s lives, and developing relationships between students, musical practices, and music makers. These three pathways are also informed by the themes from my results in Chapters 4 through 6. The following vignettes are fictitious and designed for the purpose of illustrating how the material gathered in this ethnography can be used in elementary general music education in American classrooms. The vignettes suggest specific ways for teachers to use the three pathways to design culturally informed musical experiences for their students. For each of the three pathways, there are two vignettes; after each vignette is a brief discussion, and a broader discussion follows each group of vignettes to suggest other possibilities for the application of these ideas to teaching practice. Pathway One: Improving Teaching Methodology Vignette A — Teaching “Soonaa Maryama. " Mrs. A is teaching a unit to her third grade classes on ”songsfrom childhood, " including repertoire from several cultures that gives voice to children ’s hopes, dreams, fears, or struggles. Her curricular goal for the unit is for the children to learn to sing the songs with supported singing tone; the songs are in a variety of tonalities and meters. A 169 further expressive goal is for the children to learn a little about the stories of the children who sing the songs, in order to better understand and perform the music. 9 One of the songs Mrs. A chooses is “Soonaa Maryama, ’ a popular children ’s folk song from The Gambia (see Appendix E19). She begins by providing many opportunities for her students to hear the melody and Mandinka lyrics over the course of several weeks: she plays recordings of “Soonaa Maryama " as students enter the classroom at the beginning of lessons, creates movement activities to do while listening, and puts a recording of the piece, along with other Gambian music, in the school library for children to check out and take home. Next, Mrs. A introduces the students to The Gambia by reading “Boundless Grace, " a picture book about an African-American girl who travels to The Gambia to visit her father and his family. Showing additional pictures of The Gambia to students from trade books and the Internet, Mrs. A invites the students to wonder aloud about life in The Gambia. “I wonder what they eat there?, ” “I wonder what children do for fun .7, ” “I wonder what school is like? " some of the children say. “Listen to this song, " says Mrs. A, ”and tell me how you think the child who is singing these words is feeling. " She sings “Soonaa Maryama ” in Mandinka, and listens as the class responds: "tired, ” "sad, " "confused, ” "happy. ” Then Mrs. A shows the class a large paper with the Mandinka and English words written. A student volunteer reads the English words for the class. “Think about this question, then talk to your neighbor: What can we learn about the children or The Gambia fi'om these words? " asks Mrs. A. The children are quiet, then whisper to their neighbors. They talk about things like the weather (the sun is hot), 170 relationships with parents (children are expected to obey and admonished If they do not), small children are carried on their parents ’ back. “Watch the children on the video sing ‘Soonaa Maryama. ’ What is their mood like? ” asks Mrs. A, and plays a clip of children from Baatiikunda enthusiastically singing “Soonaa Maryama ” and dancing. “Happy! ” ”Excited! ” yell the children. “Hmmmm, ” says Mrs. A, “so they 're not singing this to remind each other to obey their parents? ” ”No! ” says the class. “Why do you think they sing it this way? ” asks Mrs. A. One student, after reflecting, responds: “They want to show the adults they should have their free time. ” Another says, “I think they ’re teasing the adults by singing a serious song in a fun way. ” The next time the class comes for music, Mrs. A continues to teach "Soonaa Maryama. ” She invites the class to stand in a circle and clap to the beats while she sings “Soonaa Maryama. ” The second and third time through, she copies the dance movements of the children from the video, jumping or stomping on the main beats of the song and brushing her arms back from the waist. The class listens, watches, and claps. “Who would like to dance in the middle? ” asks Mrs. A. Several children raise their hands, and Mrs. A calls one to the middle. Mrs. A continues to sing the song, and the class claps. Several children begin humming along. Those who wish to dance in the middle take turns in the spotlight. The next day, during a rainy indoor recess, Mrs. A invites five of the third graders to come to the music room. She teaches them the Mandinka lyrics for “Soonaa Maryama ” and they practice singing the song. As they walk out, she hears them humming the tune. 171 When the class returns for music, Mrs. A displays the lyrics sheet while the class stands in the circle. T he five children who learned the song the previous day do the singing for the class instead of Mrs. A, and most of the other children join in during some sections of the song, while still participating in the clapping and dancing. They pause and Mrs. A asks them to repeat the Mandinka words slowly after her, then the class continues, with more students taking their turn in the middle. In the coming weeks Mrs. A asks the class to sing “Soonaa Maryama ” several more times, often at the end of class or during a transition to a new activity. By the end of the unit, most third graders can confidently sing “Soonaa Maryama " and tell a little of the story behind the song. In this vignette, Mrs. A used knowledge of the learning process of Gambian children, audio- and video-recordings, and information about cultural background to teach the Gambian song “Soonaa Maryama.” This knowledge and the resulting teaching techniques enabled her students to have a culturally informed musical experience. When teaching “Soonaa Maryama” musically to the class, Mrs. A followed the listen-observe-do model of teaching evident in Gambian children’s music culture. Students had the opportunity to listen to the music, observe the teacher singing and dancing, and then begin trying it on their own when ready. Mrs. A also enlisted the help of several students to teach their peers, capitalizing on the motivational factor of leaming from peers rather than adults. By asking the students to stand in a circle and clap while one person was in the middle, Mrs. A recreated the performance situation typical for “Soonaa Maryama” on the playground or on a compound. This active participation of 172 those in the circle is common at many musical events, a connection Mrs. A could highlight in a later lesson. In the first phase of this process, Mrs. A provided multiple opportunities for the children to listen to the song before asking them to try to sing it. Building a listening vocabulary is essential to teaching any musical practice (Gordon, 1997) and particularly important when introducing a new musical practice to students. In doing this, Mrs. A was allowing her students to experience the song through listening, which is also the first way that children in The Gambia encounter the song. Students continued to listen to the song, but also observed the accompanying movements, as Mrs. A’s teaching progressed. This is similar to the experience of Gambian children who stand on the edge of a circle and watch older siblings playing a game or performing a dance before trying it themselves. Gambian children also have the opportunity to observe dance when attending adult centered musical events. Mrs. A’s students first observed Gambian children performing the dance on video, then continued to observe as Mrs. A performed the dance. Some students then progressed to the “doing” portion of the process, while others continued to observe their fellow students. By the end of the vignette, all of the students have reached the “doing” stage, either through singing, dancing, or both. Mrs. A’s use of background information on The Gambia and exploration of the meaning of the lyrics fits into the second pathway to culturally informed music pedagogy, exploring musical cultures and the role of music in people’s lives. By sharing contextual information on The Gambia with the class, Mrs. A sacrificed several minutes of “music time” in order to help the students understand the cultural context of the song. Because 173 teaching music from a culturally informed perspective requires extra time spent in sharing cultural context, a music teacher may have to eliminate other activities from their music lesson, which may be a reason for this teaching process to be rejected or criticized by some teachers. However, such time is necessary in order to provide students with the combination of theory and experience desired in culturally informed music pedagogy. In exploring the meaning of the words, Mrs. A guided the children in thinking about the difference between the tone of the words and the way that Gambian children sing the song, but allowed students to arrive at their own conclusions. This is appropriate, since we do not have data on how Gambian children themselves interpret the song; perhaps American children can connect with the song and its interpretation even better than music teachers, because they can relate from children’s perspectives. This discussion also helped the children to think about issues of children’s agency in Gambian music making while providing the opportunity for the students to experience agency in their own interpretations. Vignette B — “Kii tank kii tank, kii kan la? ” on the playground. Realizing that valuable musical skills can be rehearsed through games learned in music class and then enjoyed outside of class, Mr. B decides to teach his students several games from The Gambia, each of which highlights a different musical skill. One of the games he teaches to each class of fourth graders is “Kii tank kii tank, kii kan la? ” (Appendix C16), and he encourages them to play it on the playground. Reports arrive later that a group of girls played it at their slumber party over the weekend, and several second graders arrive in music class, asking to learn the game, having seen their older 174 brothers and sisters playing it. Mr. B also notices a few groups playing it on the playground. While roaming the playground during recess duty, Mr. B observes that most children play in groups divided by age and gender. He teaches a group of fourth-grade boys the game “Papa Je'nd Na Xar ” (Appendix E22). The boys enjoy pulling each other around the circle as they sashay, and conscientiously observe the freeze at the end of the song. They struggle with the Wolof words, but gradually catch on as Mr. B continues chanting while they play. Moving on, Mr. B meets up with a group of second-grade girls playing clapping games. They ask him to teach them a new game from The Gambia, and he teaches them “Es T iga T iga ” (Appendix E27). The formation is similar to a game the girls know, "Down by the Banks. ” They learn the repetitive words quickly and do not notice when Mr. B walks away. The next week when Mr. B heads out for recess duty, he notices several more groups playing the games he showed the children on the playground last week The games seem to be more popular than “Kii tank kii tank, ” which he taught in the music classroom. "Kii tank kii tank” has faded away; “Papa Jé'nd Na Xar" is being played by several groups of boys as well as several groups of girls; “Es T iga T iga ” is limited to girls ’ play. As he listens, Mr. B notices that the Wolof words he taught have been modified by each group to a mixture of English, Wolof and nonsense words. In this example, Mr. B addressed the disconnect between music in and out of the classroom by bringing children’s play music into his music class, as well as by teaching 175 repertoire to children outside of music class. In doing so, he noticed that games learned on the playground from other children seemed to be more compelling than those learned from the teacher in the classroom. He later hypothesized that this was due to the motivational interest of learning from peers, as he judged the games to be of similar musical and activity interest. This reflects my research findings of the role of agency in children’s music: children express and exert their power in playground musical play, demonstrating leadership and choice in musical activities. Just as Gambian children on the playground choose which activities to participate in and rise through the ranks of observer to performer to leader, Mr. B’s students chose which games they wanted to play and shared them with others as desired. Mr. B’s observation about motivational interest also corresponds with my research finding that children are motivated to learn quickly and perform correctly when playing games, in order to continue their turns in the circle. Another aspect of children’s agency in play Mr. B experienced are the changes that occur when a teacher gives up control of a musical event and the children make it their own. While some teachers may argue that the games are not “authentic” because the children are not pronouncing and transmitting the words correctly, Mr. B chose to appreciate the students’ interest in the games and their ability to recreate the original rhythm, not worrying about the discrepancies of lyrics. Mr. B’s observations about adapting lyrics here are similar to the way Gambian children adopt and adapt English language games. For example, a portion of the lyrics of “Three Three Domsee” are similar to the English “I Wrote a Letter to My Love,” and the performance instructions are the same (see Appendix E13). Some of the young adults and older children I talked to sang most of the song in English, with only a few modifications; 176 the younger children’s versions had more modifications of the lyrics, sometimes substituting words in other languages, sometimes substituting nonsense words or sounds in the place of words. By modifying the lyrics, the younger children were able to sing the song and play the game, not worrying about performing the English correctly or having the song lyrics make sense, as this was not important to their enjoyment of the game. Other lyrical modifications, such as in “Sally Walker” (see Appendix E3), reflect English usage similar to common spoken English in The Gambia; in this way children are adapting repertoire to fit more closely with their spoken culture and to make sense to them. In adapting lyrics or other aspects of games, children are showing their power to control the repertoire and performance and fit it to their own preferences or needs. When reflecting on the teaching experience, Mr. B noted that not all of the students experienced the two games he taught to several groups on the playground, while all of the students in fourth grade did learn the song he taught in music class. He realized that it takes longer for games to spread on the playground, and other children will only learn them if the students find them of sufficient interest to keep playing them. Mr. B decided to continue experimenting with various approaches to introducing new games, as well as to look for ways to encourage the children on the playground to play the games. Possibilities for Pathway One. These two vignettes illustrate how teachers can use their awareness of the disconnect between children’s infOrmal music making and formal music education and their understanding of the importance of children’s agency in music making in order to improve their teaching methodology. Both teachers chose to use repertoire from children’s play, helping to reconnect musical practices inside and outside of the music 177 classroom as students took the songs learned in class and played them outside of class. They also used the musical learning processes typical of Gambian children’s music learning, corroborated by other studies of children’s musical transmission (Merrill- Mirsky, 1988; Riddell, 1990; Harwood, 1992): Mrs. A’s use of listen-observe-do, and Mr. B’s application of children learning from one another, helped their students to take advantage of learning the music through a process natural to children. The teachers’ knowledge of children’s agency in music making also enhanced their teaching in these vignettes. Mrs. A’s discussion of the meaning of the words of “Soonaa Maryama” with her students, allowing them to explore the difference between literal meaning of the words and implied meaning in performance, gave her students a chance to think about how children use music in their lives, fitting in with agency as well as the second pathway to culturally informed music pedagogy, exploring music in relation to culture. Mr. B’s openness to allowing children to control and change the music on the playground respected the students’ musical agency and extended their experience of Gambian children’s music. Also, both teachers involved students in the teaching process, which acknowledged their power to effectively teach others and gave them control in deciding how, when, and what to teach. These vignettes apply themes fi'om Chapter 4, children’s agency in music making, and Chapter 5, children teaching themselves and the listen-observe—do teaching process. The main theme of Chapter 6, the importance of enjoyment in music making, is addressed more directly in several other vignettes. The teachers in Vignettes A and B used specific examples, repertoire, and data fi‘om Chapters 4 and 5 as a theoretical frame for the musical experiences they planned for their students. 178 There are many more possibilities for the application of this pathway within culturally informed music pedagogy, both using data from this study and applying it to situations teaching music other than Gambian children’s music, and in using data from other ethnographies of children’s music to improve the teaching methodology of musical practices specific to that ethnography and beyond. The vignettes and suggestions above, along with the implications suggested in the “Common Threads” section of this chapter, all point toward specific ways to change teaching methodology in order to teach music in a more culturally informed way. When following this pathway, teachers choose to increase and apply their knowledge of the musical learning process of children in other musical practices, acknowledge and respect the role of children’s agency in music making, and look for ways to use these understandings both in teaching music of specific cultures as well as in teaching all music. Based on this discussion, I have three general recommendations for changes to American teaching methodology and practice. Because my experience is in elementary general teaching, I will provide examples applicable to that setting, but these recommendations could be adapted for use at other levels. First, as teachers, we should apply knowledge of how children learn music informally, from one another, to how we teach them in the music classroom. Second, we should seek to adjust teaching methodology and classroom routines to allow for more student control over teaching process, repertoire choice, and use and arrangement of repertoire. Finally, as teachers, we should seek to be flexible in our teaching methodologies, using the framework or methodology of our choice (Dalcroze, Kodaly, Music Learning Theory, Orff, a combination of the above, etc.), but find ways to adapt our teaching techniques and 179 presentation of instruction. Many teachers may already be following these recommendations in how they teach; others may need to adjust their teaching approach in order to meet these suggestions. The results from this research, which align with other research on children’s playground music pedagogy, suggest that children learn new repertoire through a process of listening, observing, and doing; these three activities can occur in different ways, and are combined at times in the leaming process. The learning process can last from minutes to years for repertoire, musical skills, and movement skills. For teachers, these results imply that care should be taken in providing numerous opportunities for students to listen to and observe many kinds of music and musical practices prior to performing them. This could be accomplished through using recordings from the practice being studied for listening and movement activities; occasionally pairing classes of younger children with older children to provide and opportunity for the younger students to observe the older students performing the music; or by providing a varying timeline for students in mastering activities, so that those students who are ready to move to the “doing” stage may move ahead, while those who are still listening and observing wait until the next day or week. This recommendation also supports the idea of using an activity and piece of repertoire repeatedly over several weeks of instruction, and maybe even over several years and grade levels, in order for students to experience it through listening, observing, and doing during an extended period of time; this allows for children to progress through the process at different speeds, as well as to have multiple exposures to the music. A second general application of this pathway is in making room for student agency in the music classroom. By acknowledging the power children hold in teaching, 180 adapting, creating, and leading music in informal settings, music teachers can show respect to their students, as well as put that power to use in enhancing student motivation and building musical leadership. For instance, in applying the finding that Gambian children exhibit enhanced musicianship in situations in which they have greater control (or agency), a teacher could work to establish settings in and out of the music classroom in which children, rather than the teacher, have control over the music making process. During a unit on recorders, children could choose which songs they would like to leam and whether they would like to practice by themselves or in small groups, rather than the entire class practicing “Ode to Joy” simultaneously. For a fifth grade concert for parents, students could help to select the repertoire and plan the order of the concert, as well as write program notes or verbal introductions to songs. The music teacher could help classroom teachers set up “music centers” as one of the options in a “centers-based” classroom, where first graders could create music on keyboards (with headphones), write lyrics for songs they would like to later compose, and listen to a variety of music. Learning more about the music our students listen to and perform outside of class, and bringing that music into the classroom, is another way to show respect for children’s agency in music making. Respecting students’ agency and bringing music into the classroom from outside, such as games and popular music, requires a balancing act on the part of teachers. As Merrill-Mirsky’s (1988) questions (discussed on p. 41 above) suggest, when adults study and teach a genre of music owned by children, there is a possibility that the genre will lose its power and interest for children. Careful thought and further study is necessary to 181 explore how to better connect children’s musical experiences outside and inside the classroom, with special attention to making space for their agency within music making. A third area of application is flexibility in teaching methodology. Many elementary general teachers use one of the major teaching methodologies or theories as the core of their instruction, others combine two or more, and some work from music textbooks or from their own experience. In all of these cases, flexibility is important in the details of how songs are introduced, how much of an activity is taught in each lesson, how many times to return to the activity, and how much depth to give an activity. For example, for a teacher who typically does one or two activities in a half-hour lesson, going from introduction to teaching the music to adding accompaniment, and beginning with new activities in subsequent classes, flexibility is needed in gradually introducing musical pieces and practices and providing repeated exposures. Teachers who tend to have a strong locus of control in the classroom and always provide the musical leadership for activities and performances will need flexibility in introducing more student input and control in the classroom. Altering our standard methodology to embrace culturally informed music pedagogy requires flexibility in all of these ways, as well as in areas discussed in the other two pathways below. Pathway Two: Exploring Musical Cultures and the Role of Music in People’s Lives Vignette C — Telling the story of music in children ’s lives in The Gambia. Mr. C, throughout a unit on Gambian music, has sought to introduce his students to a broad spectrum of Gambian music. In addition to listening to music from The Gambia, both instrumental and vocal, adult ’5 and children ’s music, Mr. C’s students 182 have learned four Gambian children ’s music games, two songs with dances, the National Anthem of The Gambia, and several Wolof greeting phrases. Students have also had the opportunity to look at, touch, and explore the sounds of several Gambian instruments, including djembe and sabar drums, balafons, a small kora, and a variety of shakers; they listen to recordings and watch videos of Gambian musicians playing these instruments. In addition to this focus on repertoire, Mr. C has worked to highlight the various ways in which Gambian children encounter and use music in their daily lives. The students watch videos of Gambian children playing games, participating in Sabars and Zimbas (Wolof drumming events with dance), and singing in their classrooms at school. After viewing the videos, Mr. C leads the class in processing what they saw, paying special attention to how children in the video are showing leadership, expressing emotions, interacting with each other or adults, adapting the lyrics of the games, demonstrating knowledge, or finding enjoyment in the musical activities. Although he does not take time to read the full books in class, Mr. C introduces a number of picture books and trade books about The Gambia (see Appendix G) to the students and tells them where they can find them in the library. Mr. C also shares short stories with the class in conjunction with the repertoire they learn, such as telling how the National Anthem is sung by children at an all-school assembly of several thousand students on Monday and Friday mornings, or how “Papa Jé'nd Na Xar ” (see Appendix E22) refers to families preparing to celebrated the Muslim holiday T abaski. At the end of the unit, as part of an interdisciplinary project, Mr. C teams with the classroom and art teachers to help the fifth-grade students plan, write, and illustrate a picture book about what they have learned. To help the students connect one experience 183 to their own lives, he tells them the story of the African Under-1 7 Soccer Championships that took place in May, 2005 in The Gambia. Although The Gambia, the smallest country represented, was not the favorite to win, they overcame the other teams and won the championship. Mr. C describes the musical behaviors of the crowds in the stadium, the people on the streets, and the songs that were written and sung in celebration. Then he asks his American students about music at the sporting events they have attended or watched. His students talk about hearing the National Anthem at the start of games, an organist playing musical cheers between plays at a minor league baseball game, the pep band encouraging the team and audience at a high school basketball game, and the music that is part of routines for figure skating and gymnastic competitions. Mr. C asks them to think of more ideas that do not on the surface deal so directly with music. After a pause, one student mentions the rhythmic stomping and clapping the spectators do at volleyball games. Another student says, “What about the cheerleaders? Their chants and claps go together. " One student who competes in gymnastics says “When I do the routine on the bars or beam, there ’s no music playing, but I move to a beat in my head. ” Satisfied that the students are thinking more broadly about musical behaviors, Mr. C moves on to asking the class to brainstorm a list of the ways music plays a role in Gambian children ’s lives. He encourages the students to reflect on things they have learned throughout the unit, but also to go back to the videos they have watched and the books Mr. C set out in the library. When they have created a list, the students split into small groups and choose a topic to write about. Before they begin writing, Mr. C talks with the students about how 184 this is our impression of music in children ’s lives, but to better understand the topic we would all need to go and live in The Gambia for months or years. He suggests sending a copy to their pen pals at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School with a letter asking which parts are accurate and which parts need to be adjusted. Later in the week, the classroom teacher includes in his language arts instruction a lesson on avoiding stereotypes and assumptions in writing, with an assignment in which students identify stereotypes and assumptions, in order to help them avoid these in their own writing. Then, with the help of their classroom teacher, each team writes a paragraph about an aspect of music in children 's lives. As part of art class, the team creates a colored pencil drawing of the event or situation, basing their art on the pictures and videos they have seen of The Gambia. The finished project is displayed in the library, read to younger classes, and a copy is sent to Baatiikunda Lower Basic School. In this project, Mr. C takes several educational risks. When asking students to synthesize material, if they are not provided with enough information and facts, their summaries can turn to stereotypes or assumptions. Mr. C tries to counter this danger by providing as much information as possible, both in his lessons throughout the unit and in additional information in the general classroom and available in the library. His discussion with the students about realizing the limitations of their knowledge and need to check information with pen pals in Baatiikunda, as well as the classroom teacher’s work to avoid stereotypes and assumptions, are steps taken to minimize this risk. 185 Another risk is that the students will oversimplify complex situations. By allowing the children to draw conclusions from and interpret the material, Mr. C is aware of the potential for the students to misunderstand or misinterpret the musical situation. The possible gain in the students’ understanding of the role of music in Gambian children’s lives outweighs this concern, however. Mr. C encourages the students to think of many different ways of looking at situations in order to help avoid oversimplification. Mr. C consciously chose not to ask the students to create a compare-and-contrast book about music in their own lives and in Gambian children’s lives. While he began the project by asking students to identify with music in sporting events in their own lives, he suspected that a compare/contrast exercise would lead students to focus too much on the differences and set up and “us and them” feeling. He did notice that, after the project, the fifth graders made comments about music in various moments of their own lives and showed a more critical approach to the ways they used and enjoyed music. The unit project in this vignette, and Mr. C’s attention to preparing the students for the project through highlighting the role of music in Gambian children’s lives, fits in to the second pathway for culturally informed music pedagogy, exploring musical cultures and the role of music in people’s lives. As well as learning to perform a number of pieces from the musical practice of Gambian children’s music, Mr. C provided several ways for his students to learn about the broader cultural context in which music making takes place in The Gambia: through videos, books, and information Mr. C drew from this ethnography of Gambian children’s music. 186 Vignette D — Reclaiming a rich musical environment. As Ms. D reads and hears about children is music in The Gambia, she is struck by the importance of a rich musical environment in which all people are expected to be musical. She is saddened by the deterioration of the musical environment in her own school and its surrounding neighborhoods, and sets out on a school-wide, year-long campaign to improve the musical environment. She begins by looking for aspects of the Gambian musical environment that she could adopt or adapt for her school. Singing at school assemblies, encouraging musical play on the playground, creating a school drama team, bringing in local adult musicians, having a recording studio that plays music as people walk by on the street, using chants and songs in the general classroom, hosting popular music concerts for the community at the school, and frequent community events in which music is central are all potential parts of her program. Ms. D notes that enjoyment is a key theme in Gambian children ’s music making and embraces that as the core goal and guiding principle for her project. Ms. D enlists the help of a group of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to form the “Lincoln School Musicians ’ Project. " Together they plan a series of school-day routines and traditions, events, and workshops to help bring music and enjoyment back to their students and community. They apply for and receive a “mini- grant” through their state department of education, providing $35 00 to fund events and initiatives. Ms. D, with the help of the technology teacher, sets up a ”recording studio ” in a closet of the lunchroom. Stajfed by fifth graders, the recording studio plays music for lunchtime enjoyment each day, chosen from the collection of CDs, purchased with grant 187 money, for the school 's lending library. The recording studio also has equipment for young musicians who wish to make their own CDs, and Ms. D coordinates recording sessions for students who wish to do so. Ms. D invites fourth and fifth graders to join a “Lincoln Music Team, ” which will meet to practice during lunch recess once a week and serve as musical ambassadors to the school and community. Thirty students join the music team; in addition to preparing for performances at school events, they serve as a wider student base for Ms. D to poll for ideas and feedback. Each morning at Lincoln School, the principal and several students broadcast announcements over the school sound system, including reciting the pledge of allegiance. The “Lincoln School Musicians ' Project ” suggests adding the singing of a patriotic song during the morning announcements; the song changes each month and Ms. D teaches each month 's song in music class prior to the start of the new month. Another routine is for the entire school to sing several songs together when gathered for an assembly; the newly formed “Lincoln Music Team " hosts these sing—alongs. The principal remarked appreciatively that the sing-alongs were a great way to help students settle in and focus prior to an assembly. The musical programs typically put on by the students throughout the year are redesigned this year to involve community musicians, including members of a local salsa band @arents of several students), an accordion player (a student 's grandmother), and several recorder players specializing in Renaissance music (neighbors to the school). These musicians agree to come in and work with the students prior to the performances on shared repertoire. The students are delighted with the opportunity to work with the 188 musicians and appreciative of the chance to learn music from a variety of musical practices. Guest musicians from a variety of genres also give concerts during the school day, as well as in the evening. Proceeds from ticket sales at the evening concerts go towards a scholarship fund for students who wish to take private instrumental lessons. A series of workshops is planned to reach a variety of audiences. For one workshop, a group of fourth and fifth grade girls teach younger girls clapping games and chants. Another workshop, hosted by several parents, invites parents of infants and toddlers to come and learn songs and games for use with young children. Ms. D conducts several workshops for classroom teachers with songs and chants suitable for use in their classrooms, as well as suggestions on integrating music into their curricula. In her teaching in the music classroom, Ms. D focuses on the theme of enjoyment, as her students build skills in singing, instrument playing, movement, and music listening. Whenever possible, she uses a game or playful activity to teach a concept or skill, aware that these games are sometimes carried home or out to the playground for continued practice. Listening selections are chosen in part from the students ’ list of favorite recordings, often highlighting the same musical techniques or features found in Ms. D ’s former music listening repertoire. This ambitious approach to improving the musical environment of a school and community led to musical growth for the students, but was clearly not easy or without cost. Receiving support of the administrator and core groups of parents and teachers was key to this program ’s success. Not all students, parents, and teachers found this to be a worthwhile endeavor, however, and Ms. D and the planning committee faced resistance. 189 It was particularly difficult to convince certain classroom teachers to attend the assemblies that were concerts of guest musicians; the principal ’s backing of the project helped, and at times Ms. D “traded ” the music time of a class if the classroom teacher was too upset about missing “curricular ” time. Overall, the planning committee declared the project a success and voted to continue as many of the projects as possible. In this vignette, Ms. D does not directly teach Gambian music or talk about The Gambia with her students, and yet her study of the musical practice of Gambian children’s music had a profound impact on her teaching of music in Lincoln School. She took several of the underlying foundations of Gambian children’s music making, including the rich musical environment and emphasis on enjoyment of music making, and developed a program to bolster the music education in her own school based on these foundations. The aspects of Gambian music environment Ms. D identified at the beginning of the vignette were a helpful start to her planning, and she modified and expanded the ideas based on her own setting and resources. For example, Ms. D’s idea for the “Lincoln Music Team” was based on the information about the drama team at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School. Rather than choosing students from families known to be professional musicians, as the drama team leader did in Baatiikunda, Ms. D asked for volunteers for the Lincoln Music Team, in part because an emphasis of her desire to improve the musical environment was to help all students view themselves as musicians; she did not want to set up a situation in which some students were left out. Also, there was not a recognized group of families of professional musicians in her community, as there were 190 in Baatiikunda (the jalis or gewels). Another example from The Gambia was the way in which Baatiikunda Lower Basic School hosted popular music concerts for the community as a fund-raising opportunity; Ms. D saw this as a means for reaching out to the community around the school, bringing in people besides students and their parents, and helping the school serve as a musical center for the community. While she did not have the resources to bring in well-known or professional groups, the community bands she was able to find still drew a large crowd, and added to the excitement building within the community in general for the developing musical environment. This vignette is an example of the second pathway to culturally informed music pedagogy, showing how study and awareness of musical practices can influence music education in ways that go beyond learning new repertoire or playing instruments from other musical practices. By examining the deeper beliefs, values, and systems of music making in musical cultures around the globe, we can refine and renew our methods, philosophies, and curricula as music educators. Possibilities for Pathway Two. In the vignettes demonstrating the second pathway, how teachers can explore musical cultures and the role of music in people’s lives, the two teachers adopted vastly different approaches. The first teacher focused on helping his students to explore and understand the role of music in Gambian children’s lives. The second teacher identified elements of Gambia’s rich musical environment that could be transferred and adapted for her setting, representing a deeper level of cultural exchange than repertoire or teaching techniques. 191 The possibilities for this second pathway, introduced in the discussion of the common thread of similarities between Gambian and American repertoire and repertoire use, are expanded in these vignettes. In addition to looking at how music travels and changes across times and places, and how adaptations of repertoire reflect elements of Gambian culture and musical aesthetics, teachers can encourage students to “think like ethnomusicologists” as they explore what music means in the lives of children or adults in another musical culture, which is what Mr. C attempted to do with his students. Also, students and teachers can identify aspects of a musical culture they appreciate or admire, and work to bring those aspects into their own musical environment, as Ms. D and the “Lincoln School Musicians’ Project” team did in their school. This pathway can also be woven into instruction in smaller ways, such as the inclusion of brief historical background and basic contextual information about songs that Ms. A demonstrated in the first vignette of this chapter. To teach within this pathway, teachers need a foundation of theoretical information about repertoire and teaching process, such as the data found in Chapters 4 and 5 of this study, in order to know what kinds of music making are done and how music is passed along within a culture. In addition, information about the wider cultural context into which that music making fits, why people engage in specific types of music making, and conversations about what music means to them, such as I presented in Chapter 6, are essential to teaching in the second pathway. In the vignettes above, Mr. C drew from details about how music entertains, educates, and communicates in Gambian culture as he helped his students to explore these possibilities; Ms. D focused on the importance of enjoyment of music making in designing elements of the project that 192 would help the students, parents, and larger school community to enjoy participation in a variety of aspects of music making. There are many more possibilities for applications within this category, such as examination of issues like censorship and adult control of children’s music and games, children’s choice of repertoire, and children’s involvement in adult musical events. In each case, a scenario from Gambia could be described and discussed, followed by a comparison to similar issues in students’ lives, as suggested in the paragraphs below. This could lead to a deeper understanding both of the American students’ musical lives and appreciation for the Gambian children’s situation. Kiribang, the Gambian version of Chinese Jump Rope, was the most popular game in Baatiikunda in Summer, 2005, but during the months I was there I heard of more and more teachers, administrators, and parents expressing disapproval in the game, saying it was immodest (the jumping motions sometimes caused girls’ underwear to show) and distracting from schoolwork or household expectations. In spite of the adult disapproval, or perhaps because of it, the game grew in popularity and players increased their skill and endurance in playing the game. American students could watch video of Kiribang, hear the details about the situation, and hear in the words of some players why they enjoy the game (see Chapter 6). Then, students could debate verbally or write in journals whether they think the school made a good choice in banning Kiribang. From there, the teacher could ask students to think about types of music or activities that are banned in their own school, talk about why this occurs, and whether they think it is appropriate. This discussion, in addition to looking at the role of Kiribang in Gambian children’s lives, could include discussion of children’s agency (both Gambian children 193 and American children) and how or why some things may be appropriate in some parts of _ life (at home, in the community) and not in others (at school). Another possibility for teaching within this pathway is exploration of children’s choice of repertoire. Based on the discussions of repertoire in Chapter 6, a class could explore ideas about why Gambian children choose to sing and play using many English games and how and why they adapt these games. This could lead to the students thinking about how and why they choose the music they do to listen to or play with on the playground, and how they would describe their musical tastes and preferences. A class could also explore questions of how they would change the repertoire chosen to be studied and performed in the music classroom at school, and how their choices of repertoire reflect what is important in their lives. In The Gambia, children attend and participate in adults centered musical events, beginning by being held in their mother’s arms or on their backs, then standing on the sidelines to listen and observe, beginning to try imitating the dances they see older children and adults doing, and finally taking their turn in the circle. A class of American students could watch a video of a Sabar or Zimba, observe these things occurring, and then think about the musical events their parents attend. Do children have the opporttmity to attend these events alongside their parents, learning and then taking part in the events? The difference between cultures in this scenario may make the question more difficult to answer for some children. Other children, whose parents participate in rock bands, community choirs or orchestras, or church choirs, may be able to discuss their involvement. Perhaps one child remembers, as a toddler, attending band rehearsals with her father, an electric guitarist; now the child is taking guitar lessons and eager to form 194 her own band. The class could go on to discuss the benefits or drawbacks to having children attend and participate in musical events geared toward adults. The above three brief examples, in addition to the vignettes, suggest ways in which the results from this dissertation could be used to teach music from a culturally informed perspective, with attention to the role of music in people’s lives and the role of music in culture. Information from other ethnographies could be used in similar ways to help children explore and understand cultural context and the role of music in people’s lives in other musical practices, as well. Beyond specific examples of teaching with this pathway, teachers interested in including cultural context and awareness of the role of music in people’s lives could consider the following three general recommendations: recognize that all music has a cultural context and meanings to people; acknowledge that music can mean different things to different groups of people or individuals within a group; and view music as a human activity, rather than a sonic event, recognizing the importance of the musician and the cultural context, as well as the sounds. By recognizing that all music has cultural context, teachers can remove part of the barrier between “world music” and the music that is typically studied in their classrooms. Every piece we listen to and play and sing in our classrooms came from a specific time and place in history, and including a one or two sentence reference to the context of each piece helps students to understand from where and when the music they experience at school comes. This focus also helps students and teacher to think about what the music they sometimes takes for granted means in their lives. For instance, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was composed by Francis Scott Key while he watched an American fort being 195 attacked by British ships in 1814 (Taylor, 2000). Why was Key so thrilled to see the “broad stripes and bright stars” still waving? What moments in the students’ lives have they witnessed a similar excitement around the American flag, either in person or in the media? Why do people play the National Anthem at the beginning of sporting events? Taking a minute to share this reflection with students helps them better understand the National Anthem, as well as think about how it is used in our lives today. When a teacher acknowledges that music has multiple and different meanings within cultures, it opens discussion for students, realizing that there is not one right answer, just as there is not one true version of a piece of music. Music may mean different things for children in comparison with adults, or for individuals who have had certain life experiences compared to those who have not, or for members of different ethnic groups. Realizing and exploring this multiplicity of meanings helps us realize the richness and intricacy of musical meaning in people’s lives, and also helps us guard against over— generalizations and stereotypes when exploring cultural context of music making. In exploring these differences with a class, this theme could also help students understand why people enjoy different types of music and help them to be open to experiencing new types of music, with an eye toward understanding why some people enjoy it. A third general recommendation stemming from the discussion of the second pathway is to view music as an activity that humans do, rather than viewing. it as an object. This fits in with Elliott’s (1995) praxial approach to music education, and shifts part of the focus of music study from musical sounds to the musicians who produce the sounds and the process of making music. This shifting of viewpoint helps teacher and 196 students to approach the topics above, including cultural context and role and meaning of music in people’s lives. By thinking of music as something people do, it becomes important to understand which people do it and why. This is at the heart of pathway two, understanding music in relation to cultural context. Pathway Three: Developing Relationships between Students, Musical Practices, and Music Makers Vignette E — Children '5 music exchange with Baatiikunda Lower Basic School. Mr. E '5 second grade class has just completed a unit on Gambian children’s music games. They have found The Gambia on a map, learned Wolof greetings, dressed in Gambian clothing, played a balafon and kora, watched videos of children in Baatiikunda, and learned [0 children ’s music songs and games using the listen-observe- do learning process. For a follow-up project, Mr. E asks his students to help plan a video to send back to Baatiikunda Lower Basic School. “What are our favorite songs? Why do we like them? ” The class begins to shout out their favorite songs, and Mr. E lists them on the white board. “Why do you like that song, ” he asks, pointing to one. “I like the beat, ” responds one student. “How about this one? ” Mr. E asks about another. “The movements that go along with it are fun...and hard, ” says another student. “Let ’s compare and contrast our favorite songs with some of the Gambian songs we ’ve learned, ” says Mr. E. Based on the repertoire they have studied, the videos they have watched, and contextual information Mr. E has shared during the unit, along with their knowledge of their own favorites, the students look for similarities and diflerences 197 between the two musical practices. The students note the following similarities: both lists of songs contain many pieces that are active, either with game movements or dances; both have songs that are about a wide variety of topics, "not just baby stufl: " as one student points out; and both contain a range of activities, some easier, and some harder. Diferences include language, performance style, and rhythmic complexity. The Gambian children’s music is in Mandinka, Wolof or English, while the American students ’ repertoire is all English; half of the Gambian selections are chanted rhythmically, rather than sung, while all but one of the American selections are sung; and the Gambian selections tend to include more complex rhythms, such as syncopations and hemiola patterns, while the American selections are based on simpler patterns. “Which songs shall we teach to our friends in Baatiikunda? ” This time the students talk about why they think the Gambian children might enjoy one song or another, based on the discussion of similarities and diflerences. They choose the chanted piece, recognizing the possibility that Gambian children would appreciate that; they also ask the teacher to help them think of the other chants they have learned, so they can consider adding one of those. As they think about the rhythmic complexity, one student remembers a song, not on the list, that contains similar syncopated patterns, and suggests adding it. Another student remembers a song the class learned in first grade in Spanish and votes to send that, to show that they are learning languages besides English. They also choose to send their version of the game “I Wrote a Letter to My Love, ” similar to the Gambian version “Three Three Domsi " they learned. "I think they ’11 enjoy seeing the similarities and differences, too, ” notes one student. 198 Based on their discussion, the class chooses five selections from their list of favorite songs. The next consideration is how to perform them on the video. For each song, the class chooses whether to do movements, play an accompanying game, or play instruments with the songs. With help from their classroom teacher, the students continue to consider their choices by journaling about why they like the songs they chose, what they like about them, or what they remember about learning them. Their teacher helps to choose several students to share their reflections on the video for each song. The day of the taping arrives. Students are thoughtfully dressed in clothing that is important to each individual: some are wearing dressy clothes, others are wearing their favorite sports jerseys, and some are wearing sweatshirts that identify their state or region. The class joyfully performs for the video, with verbal introductions or explanations and musical performances. The second graders enjoy watching their video before it is sent to Baatiikunda. One student suggests, ”Let ’s send them a present, too! ” The students consider what they could send: a xylophone is too big; a recorder can not be played by many students at once. They settle on sending several of their favorite recordings: Mussorgky 's “Pictures at an Exhibition ” and “World Playground, ” a CD by the Putumayo World Music Label. Mr. E sends the material to Mr. J at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School, one of the teachers most interested in music. Several months later the students receive a bundle of letters from Mr. J ’3 students. The letters respond to the video, discussing what the students appreciated about the music and what their favorite sections were. The students also thank the second graders for the recordings. 199 The relationships developed during this project grow in coming years as the students correspond with their pen pals in The Gambia. During third grade they ask Mr. E if they may make another video to send. He gladly complies, and several months later the students are delighted to receive an audiotape in return, with Gambian students ’ favorite songs. Mr. E’s students experienced the third pathway of culturally informed music pedagogy, first by developing a relationship with the musical practice of Gambian children’s music, which depended on Mr. E teaching using the first two pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy discussed above. From there, they moved on to develop relationships with Gambian music-makers, in this case, students at Baatiikunda Lower Basic School. While the exchange took patience and persistence, the students were able to enjoy a long-distance musical conversation of sorts with their Gambian colleagues. By asking the students to make choices about their favorite songs, and then interpret those choices in light of what they knew about Gambian children’s music, Mr. E was helping to guide the students in thinking about what is most important or valuable to themselves, then to quickly reevaluate their choices with regard to how another group might perceive them. This exercise helps the students to look both within themselves and to reach out, thinking about how their preferences might connect with children from another culture. In this vignette, Mr. E also demonstrates an understanding of the importance of agency within the music classroom. He provides an opportunity for his students to make 200 choices about repertoire and performance style. In addition to possibly helping student motivation and encouraging participation, giving students control over these decisions requires them to think more deeply about similarities and differences between repertoire and take responsibility for their learning and decisions. Adding a writing component, with assistance from the classroom teacher, gave the students the opportunity to think more deeply about the choices they made. In this way this project functions as a type of portfolio assessment for the class, in which they made choices about certain pieces of their work to include and reflected on why they made these choices (Goolsby, 1995; Linn & Miller, 2005). This serves as a supplement to other forms of assessment in Mr. E’s classroom. This vignette shows how the three teaching pathways are intertwined and build on one another: in order to develop a relationship with the musical practice and music makers, the students first had to have musical experiences that were informed and embraced by theoretical knowledge of the learning process, cultural context, and role of music in Gambian children’s lives. Those theory-informed experiences enabled the students to develop a knowledge of the musical practice, compare it to their own, and reach out to communicate with the music makers fiom the musical practice. In order to provide these experiences for his students, Mr. E relied on information from all three chapters of results of this ethnography: what children do musically, how they do it, and what it means to them. Vignette F — Pre-Service music educators’ research trip to The Gambia. Following a fall semester, undergraduate music education course on world music education, Professor F directs a four-week research trip to The Gambia for the students 201 who completed the fall course. This corresponds with the college’s academic calendar, which calls for students to take one intensive course during the month of January, between fall and spring semesters. During the fall semester, in addition to studying music education practices from several regions of the globe, students learn introductory research skills and learn some basics about Gambian culture, politics, and religion. They also read the results chapters of this dissertation, as well as other literature on the Gambia and Gambian music (see Appendix G), noting areas that they would like to explore further. Professor F models the three pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy throughout units on several musical practices, and also discusses the three pathways and what kind of ethnographic information is necessary in order to teach through these pathways. Students arrive in The Gambia in late December and are provided with an orientation at the American Embassy in Fajara. Professor F and the students stay at a hostel in Bakau, part of the tourist district. From there they travel daily to Baatiikunda Lower Basic School during the morning and to a local Youth Center in the afternoon. Students assist classroom teachers with tasks, teaching, and tutoring as requested by the teacher, including twenty minutes of English-language songs and chant instruction designed to help teach concepts aligning with the Gambian curriculum. In the afternoon, students interact with Gambian youth and children, playing sports as well as music games, tutoring some students in basic subjects, and learning music games from others. In preparation for the research trip, each student developed a mini-research project designed to collect information that would be used to help teach a lesson in one or more of the teaching pathways described in this chapter. Research questions include: 202 “What creative processes are evident, and what type of compositions arise, when 10- year—olds in Baatiikunda are provided with a balafon with which to compose a piece? “ What is the cultural background surrounding the game ‘Papa Je'nd Na Xar? and “How do Gambian teenagers reflect on their musical experiences as children? ” These research questions stem from the information students have previously studied about music making in The Gambia and are further shaped by their experiences in the field. Research permissions are acquired from the National Council for Arts and Culture and the Region One Education office; informed assent and consent is also acquired from research participants and their parents. Students collect data for their projects while completing the other activities outlined above. Only audiotaped data is collected, in order to minimize the obtrusiveness of equipment and simplify transcription. In addition to interacting with children, young adults, and teenagers, the American students attend adult-centered musical events and become acquainted with adult musicians, participating in “jam sessions” with some and learning basic instrumental skills from others. Each student brought along two or three cassettes of his or her favorite music from America, and Gambian musicians appreciate listening to the cassettes and receiving them as gifts when the students leave. They play for the students their favorite listening music in turn; the students purchase some of the recordings in the local market. Some of the students interview the adult musicians, asking questions about how they learned their musical trade. Students and professor meet several times a week to process their experiences and talk about things that surprise, alarm, impress, or worry them about what they are experiencing. Many students are shocked by the poverty they see, yet inspired by the 203 generosity and hospitality of the Gambian people with whom they work. Others are amazed at the music ability and achievement of both children and adults. Some are intrigued by the ways in which music surrounds many aspects of Gambian life, including work, travel, and play. At the end of the four weeks the groups gathers for verbal presentations on initial findings from each students ’ research project; back in the States, students work on transcribing and coding data and writing up their findings during the Spring semester. Several students give presentations on their findings; several others submit articles to the state music educators ’ journal about their experience. All of the students develop lesson plans using the information they gathered to teach a lesson to an age group of their choice. In addition to teaching these lessons as part of their field placements, the students publish the lesson plans on a website designed for sharing ideas about culturally informed music pedagogy. This vignette is inspired in part from my own experience as a pre-service music educator. I spent three weeks in The Gambia prior to my student teaching semester, visiting six homes and observing children playing music games. The opportunity to observe and participate in a musical practice other than my own was helpful in uncovering assumptions I had about children and music making. These assumptions developed from observing and working with a limited range of children in Michigan; by seeing the children in The Gambia, I realized that children are capable of more complicated musical behaviors than I had assumed. The experience also opened my eyes to assumptions I held about learning music and the role of music in people’s lives; the 204 questions that began to be opened on that trip in 1999 are the same questions I have investigated in this dissertation. This vignette is also informed by my dissertation research, in that it relied on the students acquiring knowledge about Gambian children’s music before designing their research questions, as well as developing projects that fit in with the three pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy. In the vignette, students prepared for the research trip in several ways: by completing a course on world music education, studying Gambian music, developing research questions, and selecting their favorite music to bring along to share with local musicians. Their time in The Gambia was planned in a general sense, but the schedule left room for flexibility and surprises. The trip, while firnctioning as a research trip, also had a strong element of service, as students were expected to help teachers as requested. Many students may also have chosen to help the children, young adults, and musicians they met by giving small gifts of clothing, contributions to school fees, and other gifts. This research trip enabled the American pre-service music teachers to develop connections with Gambian musicians, both children and adults. It also helped them to experience a slice of Gambian musical life. By developing relationships with Gambians, the Americans began to view music learning and music making in slightly different ways; these subtle realizations will affect their teaching in the years to come. Being in another place also helped the students, as it helped me, to identify and examine their assumptions, reshaping their beliefs to acknowledge the wider world of music making they encountered in The Gambia. 205 Possibilities for Pathway Three. These vignettes suggest just a few of the many possibilities for the third pathway to culturally informed music pedagogy, developing relationships between students, musical practices, and musicians. In both vignettes, the teachers began by helping their students to establish a connection with the musical practice of Gambian music, and then assisted their students in reaching out to connect with music makers. For Mr. E’s students, the connection began by looking at the common thread of similarities between Gambian and American repertoire. The resulting connection with music makers was long distance and mediated by the teachers, as well as the communication devices (letters and recordings); for Professor F’s students, the connection made with Gambian musicians was much deeper, as they met in person, shared experiences, and helped one another. In both vignettes, the teachers relied on information from all three chapters of the results of this dissertation, dealing with what kinds of music making are done by children in The Gambia, how music is taught and learned, and the role music plays in children’s lives. The necessity of having this broad knowledge of the musical practice is one reason for this category, developing relationships with musical practices and music makers, to serve as the third pathway; it depends on students having had experiences in the first two pathways, as well. By having theory-rich experiences of Gambian repertoire and teaching process, along with the accompanying musical culture, American students will be drawn into relationship with the musical practice, and if given the opportunity, with the musicians. This final pathway to culturally informed music pedagogy offers a host of big and small opportunities for students to connect with musical practices and musicians. For 206 teachers interested in pursuing these opportunities for students, I have three general recommendations. First, provide a diverse listening diet for students, introducing them to a wide range of musical practices. Second, think broadly about how connections can be made. Finally, involve others in helping students to make connections. Introducing students to a wide range of musical practices through listening can be accomplished in many ways, fitting in with a teacher’s particular teaching methodology and style. A teacher may consider outlining a five year plan for students in a first through fifth grade elementary school, ensuring that several different musical practices (including a range of historical and cultural practices) are presented each year. Some practices may be treated with in-depth units, while others are experienced through three weeks of listening lessons. Given this variety, teachers need to think broadly about the kinds of connections that can occur. Not all students will be drawn to the same practices. Some may be particularly intrigued with Irish traditional music, for example, and choose to attend performances or join a performing ensemble. Others may be drawn to Renaissance court music, starting with their recorder unit in fourth grade and moving to listening to recordings of Renaissance music and performing with an Early Music Ensemble. In helping students to make connections with these musical practices, teachers could consider recordings, books, and websites, as well as local musicians who perform the type of music in which the students are interested. While students can not make a connection with the composers of Renaissance music, they could connect with musicians who specialize in the performance of this music. Students can connect with music makers in areas geographically distant through e-mail, letters, and exchanging recordings. 207 Finally, in seeking to foster connections between students and musical practices or musicians, teachers can enlist the help of parents, classroom teachers, and community musicians. Parents may be delighted to receive a note saying “I noticed your daughter is greatly interested in the Indian sitar music we have been studying. A well known sitar player is performing a concert soon, and here are details in case you are able to attend,” or “Your son seems to have a special understanding and appreciation of jazz music. With the holidays coming soon, I thought you might like a few recommendations for CDs he would enjoy” (and list suggestions). This involves parents in their children’s musical development and extends the children’s musical experience outside of the music classroom. General classroom teachers, too, can serve as partners in making musical connections; many are willing to have their students write letters to pen pals as part of language arts lessons on writing correspondence, and a music teacher could provide the classroom teacher with the name and address of a school from a region whose music the students have been studying. Community musicians can both serve as connectors and suggest other ways that students can become more involved in musical practices of interest. Developing a Culturally Informed Approach to Music Pedagogy Improving teaching methodology, exploring musical practices and the role of music in people’s lives, and developing relationships with musicians and musical practices based on the study of musical practices from around the world are pathways to a culturally informed way of teaching music. This culturally informed approach to teaching music does not minimize the importance of learning appropriate technique, creative 208 musicianship skills, and expressive performance skills. Rather, it broadens current approaches to teaching music, helping students and teacher alike to consider and begin to understand the broader world of music making. Teaching music from a culturally informed perspective offers music teachers the opportunity to lead students in musical experiences framed in theoretical knowledge, bringing together theory and practice. This cultural awareness has the potential to help students understand music better, both of their own practice and of other musical practices; music as it is created, performed, and listened to; music as it weaves through human life and history. The three pathways identified in this chapter are informed both by the results of this dissertation and by the three areas of intersection between Gambian children’s music and Arnerican’s children’s music discussed in the beginning of this chapter. For each pathway, there are many ways in which teachers can relate specific musical practices to students, as well as general ideas for adapting methodology based on the ideas contained within the pathway. Teaching music using these pathways will not be a new or separate methodology of music teaching, but can be incorporated into many of the current teaching methodologies and practices. While the examples given in this chapter have focused on elementary school, these ideas could also be adapted and applied to secondary and post- secondary music instruction. In order to use these pathways and teach music from a culturally informed perspective, much more research on musical practices, including children’s musical practices, and the music learning process within these practices, is needed. Also, research needs to be presented in a way that is accessible to practicing teachers. Finally, the 209 availability of more recordings, both audio and video, of the musical practices studied are necessary to teaching using these pathways. 210 CHAPTER VIII SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Summary In—depth study of specific children’s music making practices has the potential to improve American music education by contributing to the development of a culturally informed approach to music pedagogy. Teaching music using a culturally informed approach, with consideration for the social and cultural contexts of the music being taught and learned, requires teachers to combine theoretical knowledge of a musical practice with practical musical experiences. This combination of theory and practice requires research on musical practices, including the teaching and learning processes within musical practices, as well as adjustments to teaching methodology and techniques. With the intent of developing an approach to pedagogy that accounts for cultural elements of specific musical practices, the purpose of this research was to construct an ethnography of the children’s music culture in a suburban community of The Gambia, West Afiica, which I called Baatiikunda (a pseudonym to protect anonymity of participants). The specific problems of this study were to observe and describe the forms, meanings, and cultural contexts of children’s music making, as well as the musical pedagogical processes evident among children in Baatiikunda, and to apply this information to the practice of teaching world musics in elementary general music settings. 211 During three months in the Baatiikunda area, I observed children playing and making music in home, school, and community settings; interviewed children and adults; attended adult-centered musical events; and learned to play many of the children’s music games. After establishing my presence in the community and becoming acquainted with the children and adults who participated in this study, I video- and audio-taped observations of play sessions and interviews. I used these recordings in feedback interviews with participants, in which they responded to recordings of themselves or other children playing and singing. I also used the recordings to transcribe interviews and expand notes on observations. Another main data source was fieldnotes taken after each observation or interview. I typed each fieldnote file from jottings as soon as possible after an observation or interview, usually the same day. In analyzing my data, I coded fieldnotes, interview transcripts, and videotape logs. I used a total of 83 codes; 35 were external codes that I compiled based on research literature and expectations from my past research, and 48 were internal codes that arose fiom the data. The data from this study fell into three main categories: what the children do musically (forms of music making and repertoire), how they learn it (teaching and learning processes), and why they do it (meaning and role of music in their lives). Each of these categories is described and discussed in a chapter of this dissertation. Conclusions Gambian children exert agency, or power, control and authority, through their musical activities. In settings in which children have a greater degree of control, such as 212 on the playground or during play sessions at home, children show their power through choice and use of language, movement, attitude, and decisions in songs, dances, games, and playing instruments. Children exhibit less agency inside the school classroom and at adult-controlled community musical events. I also found that children in The Gambia teach themselves music. They are able to do this through a sequence of listening, observing, and doing musical activities, including songs, dances, and playing instruments. This self-directed process is supported by the rich musical environment, a cultural expectation to be musical, and the motivation to learn that is built into many musical activities. Enjoyment is one of the central meanings of music in Gambian children’s lives, linked in part to the opportunities for participation, interaction, and exercise of agency within music making. Music is also used for cultural understanding, entertainment, education, and communication; enjoyment is linked to each of these functions. Common threads between what I observed of children’s music making in The Gambia and what has been documented of children’s music making in America highlight areas of intersection and can serve as a springboard for ideas on how to include the results of this study in American music classrooms. One striking similarity between children’s music in The Gambia and children’s music in America is the disconnect between music within the school classroom and outside of it. This disconnect hurts formal music education in terms of participation and relevance. By connecting with the music making children do outside of school, as well as their music listening, teachers may improve student participation, motivation, and leaming inside the music classroom. 213 Another common thread is the agency shown by children on the playground, corroborated by studies of children’s playground culture in the United States (Campbell, 1998; Gaunt, 1997a, 1997b; Merrill-Mirsky, 1988; Riddell, 1990). Recognizing the playground as a music teaching and learning setting, in which children feel a greater sense of ownership and power, teachers have the opportunity to observe the kinds of teaching, learning, and music making in which their students engage in informal settings. These observations can lead to providing increased opportunities in the music classroom for student leadership and control over musical experiences and repertoire, respecting students’ need and desire for agency within music making. There are many specific elements of repertoire that cross over between Gambian children’s music and American children’s music, including several of the clapping chants and Kiribang (known as Chinese Jump Rope in regions of the United States). Another similarity is the tendency of children in both cultures to adapt play repertoire to fit their needs, interests, and aesthetics. Exploring this common thread in a music classroom could lead to exploration of the similarities and differences between Gambian and American children’s music repertoire and use of repertoire, study of how music games originate and travel around the globe, and investigation of how children’s alterations and adaptations reflect what is happening in their culture and their world. Based on these common threads, as well as the results of the dissertation, I have identified three teaching pathways that lead to culturally informed music pedagogy: improving the methodology used in teaching music from practices other than one’s own, exploring the cultural context of musical practices and the role of music in peoples’ lives, and developing relationships between students, musical practices, and music makers. 214 Teachers can improve teaching methodology of all musical practices by increasing and applying knowledge about the musical leaming processes of children in other musical cultures, acknowledging and respecting children’s agency in music making, and being flexible in weaving the changes required by these commitments into their existing teaching methodologies. Teachers can use children’s play repertoire, the musical learning process of listen-observe-do, and their openness to students’ interpretations and adaptations of repertoire in order to improve their teaching methodology. In exploring musical cultures and the role of music in people’s lives, teachers can focus on helping their students to learn about a specific musical culture, such as Gambian children’s music, and take time to consider with students what music might mean to the Gambian children and how it fits in to the bigger picture of their lives. Another path to follow in this category is to identify elements of a musical culture that are appealing, and perhaps missing in one’s own musical environment or culture, and develop a way to transfer these elements. For example, noting specific ways that Gambians nurture a musical environment, a music teacher could adopt similar strategies to improve the musical environment in a school or community. In applying this pathway, teachers should keep the following three considerations in mind: all music has cultural context, not just music we think of as “other”; meanings of music vary for different individuals and groups; and viewing music as a human activity, rather than sonic event, is helpful when considering how to teach using this pathway. Developing relationships between students, musical practices, and musicians can range from a pen pal project in an elementary classroom to participation in local music ensembles to a research trip with college students to a distant country. Relationships 215 should be built on respect for another’s musical practice and desire to learn more. Teachers can help foster these relationships through introducing students to musical practices by listening, getting to know musicians, learning to perform representative pieces, communicating with musicians, and possibly traveling to the musical culture to experience musical life there first hand. These relationships not only help to expand students’ musical worlds, but they also contribute to understanding and appreciation of people and cultures. Suggestions for Future Research Teaching music from a culturally informed perspective requires a great deal of further research, both on specific musical practices and on applying research results from these studies to classroom teaching. Below I suggest areas for future research in both categories. Some ideas are specific to The Gambia, others apply to a variety of musical practices, and some address the application of the pathways in classroom teaching. The three areas of common threads discussed in Chapter 7 each contain possibilities for future research: how to make school music more relevant, how to better understand children’s agency in music making, and how repertoire originates, travels, and is influenced by history and culture when altered. These research projects could be undertaken in a wide range of settings, both in America and in other countries. This offers opportunities for comparisons and studies of how the music of America is related to the musical cultures that have influenced it. To address the disconnect between school music and music outside of school, research projects could be designed to evaluate the impact on student learning, 216 motivation, and participation when the music of the students, particularly popular music, is used in the classroom. Further research on the role of informal music learning in popular ensembles, such as garage bands, could also shed light on this topic. More studies are needed on the teaching methodology and musical transmission that occur on the playground, while maintaining respect for children’s expectation of and need for agency in this venue. This could be respected in the research process by involving children in research projects, asking them to help develop questions and methodology; by sharing research findings with children participants and asking for their feedback in confirming or editing the findings; and by taking the informed assent/consent procedures recommended by university internal review boards seriously with children, carefully informing them of research procedures and giving them the opportunity to participate or not. When looking at repertoire, continued investigation is needed of issues of musical transmission and change between and within cultures. More studies could be done collecting and analyzing children’s games in communities throughout the world, possibly looking for common bonds between those collections of repertoire. More information about when and how specific repertoire was introduced in various communities is another area for further research. Future research could also take a longitudinal perspective on children’s music play and track how musical skills and behavior develop and change among a cohort of children as they grow up. Investigating the ebb and flow of popularity of certain games, songs, and activities over time or among communities would also yield insights into children’s music preferences and use of music. 217 My research was limited by length of time (three months) and language (I could speak Wolof at a basic level but was not fluent; several other languages are also commonly spoken in The Gambia). Future research by someone fluent with the language and resident for a year or more could lead to deeper insights from the children into their views of music making and learning. Another potential area for further research is music making among teenagers and young adults. Their musical activities are different than those of their younger brothers and sisters and probably play different roles in their lives. Research could examine the interaction of local music with popular recorded music from other cultures, the role of music and musical activities in courtship and relationships, and the transmission among young adults of singing, dancing, drumming, and other culturally valued musical skills. Many of my insights into the musical learning process were drawn from observations of an extended family of Sabar drummers in The Gambia. Future research could focus solely on this type of learning community, observing and describing in more detail the transmission of musical knowledge and instrument-building knowledge, as well as cultural knowledge, from one generation to the next. In order to most effectively apply the pathways to culturally informed music pedagogy suggested in Chapter 7, researchers need to investigate how best to use the pathways, the benefits of teaching using these pathways, and how to train pre-service and in-service educators in the use of the pathways. These studies could take place in primary and secondary music classrooms, as well as with college music education majors and practicing teachers. 218 American music educators are seeking ways to teach all kinds of music more effectively, as well as to retain student interest in school music programs. One way to both improve teaching and connect with students is through the culturally informed approach to music pedagogy explored in this dissertation. This approach can help music educators teach world music more effectively, as well as all repertoire, by reconsidering the importance of combining theoretical knowledge of social and cultural contexts of music with practical musical experiences in the classroom. Many music educators are currently examining and exploring the importance of incorporating cultural context in music instruction. This dissertation, an ethnography of children’s music in The Gambia, is a small contribution to the body of research needed in order to teach music from a culturally informed perspective. 219 APPENDIX A INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. For Children: That is a very nice song! I like the singing, dancing, and clapping. May I ask you some questions about it? Who taught you this song? Will you say the words slowly? What do you like about this song? Do you ever play the drum, shaker, or flute with this song? Thank you for singing it for me! Lii woy bu neex 1001 la. B'e'ggé naa woy bi, pecc mi, ag taccu yi. Ndax menna am luma la ci laaj? Kan moo la jangal woy bii? Baalma, waxaat baat yi ndank? Lan nga beggé ci woy bi? Ndax di nga faral woy woy bi ag tégg, keseng-keseng, ag mbiip? J éréj éf ci woy bi nga ma woyal! 2. For Adults: Meaning and cultural context of specific music games What do you think the words “x” mean in the music game “y”? Is there a hidden meaning to this song? Historical background on specific music games Did you play this music game as a child? Who wrote this song? Do your grandparents know this song? Interviewee’s perception of the role of music in children’s lives 220 Do you think the children understand the words of the song? Why do you think the children like this song game? How often do you notice children singing game songs? Do you notice the children using music to lift their spirits, communicate with one another, or for other purposes? Demay gestu ci wallu misik-u xale ci Gambia fii ba August. Ndax men naa am lu ma la laaj ci misik-u xale? Lan nga foog ne loolu la “May ma mburu pane, mburu pane, mburu pane” tekki ci woy bi fruy wax “Lambera”? Ndax am na lu nébbu ci woy bi? Ndax doon nga woy woy bi binga nekkee xale? Kan moo fent woy bi? Ndax sa maam yi xam nafiu woy bi? Defe nga ne xale yi xam nafiu baat yi ci woy bi? Lu tax xale yi béggé woy bi? Ndax xale yi di nafiuy faral di woy ay woy yu and ag po lu bari? Ndax yakkar nga ne xale yi defiuy woy woy yu and ag po ngir bégal seen xol walla leneen? 3. For Teachers: Do you have music in your teaching often? How do you use music in your teaching? 221 Do your students enjoy music? What kinds of music do you use in your teaching? Lii ay laaj la pur jangalekat yi ci wallu naka lafiuy jet‘e'ndikoo woy ci seen jangale. Ndax di ngay faral di jéfendikoo woy ci sa jangale? Naka ngay j éfendikoo woy ci sa jangale? Ndax sa ndongo yi bégg nafiu woy? Ban xeet-u woy ngay jéfendikoo ci sa jangale? 222 OFFICE OF RESEARCH ETHICS AND STANDARDS W Coulee on W m III-a m 202 OIds Hall East tarsal). M 48824 517/355-2180 FAX; 517/432-4503 Web: mhmnrvswdr msuedu E-Mail: ucnhsamsuedu APPENDIX B UCRIHS APPROVAL LETTER MICHIGAN STATE Initial IRB U N I v E R s I T Y ' Application Mays,2oos Approval autism... Re: RB 8 05-262 Category: EXPEDITED 26. 2-7 WM: “4.2005 Exphfionbab: “313.2006 Tile: THE MUSICAL LEARNING PROCESS OF GAMBIAN CHILDREN: DEVELOPNG A CULTURAL APPROACH TO MUSIC PEDAGOGY mumcmeemammhmmsmwcausmaswmmmm project. Ianpleesedbadvlseyouhayoupmjecthabeenappmved. Theoonmlteehasfoundmatyouueseamhprojectbmpmprfiehdesign,pmtectstherightsmdwelfareot hummsubieas. “MMMWMMSUsFMWWmdMFmWHS CFR46md210FRPart50). Thepmtecfionofhumanwbjedshreseamhlsapamdshbbetweenmfla mdme'nvestigators. Webokbrwardbworkhgwihyouaswebommouresponsbfies. Rm: UCRHSWEWWMWMMM. Iyouarecontinmgmptojed, youmstmlmAppficadonlorleappicaflondmmemmbebrewnfion. lireptojectis www.mmmwnmmmcmun Revisions: UCRHSmdmawdrmgeshmmptbrbimofhedrange. Pleaseabmlm Wbrkwbbnbhmmdrmm. ldrargesuenmde‘hefimotmrewdplease Mmmflonbrkmmumw. Problems: Immmdmhgmecmdudofmm.wdrasmmfiebaedpmblans,m eventsormyproblemmatmayhaeasemeriskbmehumansubjects,notifyUCRHSpromptty. Formsare avalabletomponmeeeissues. PbasemheRmealfiedemybumthflrmHebmmumm emespondeoeewthCRHS. Goodbekhyoureseadr. lweembeotmasm,p|easecormusat517-355-21800rvhm1ai deRIt-Immsu .ug Tharkyoubryoureooperafion. .4444- Peter Vasienko, Ph .D. UCRIHS Chat c: Lisa Hrisman Koops 961 Bushy Lane East Lans'ng. MI 48823 223 ——-—- - ‘NA‘E. 9.?51'...” . u -- > APPENDIX C INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENTS Assent Form - Children The Musical Learning Process of Gambian Children: Developing a Cultural Approach to Music Pedagogy Lisa Koops, Researcher — May, 2005 - This research is about children’s music in The Gambia and is part of the researcher’s dissertation research at Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to construct an ethnography of the children's musical culture in The Gambia, in order to better teach Gambian music in America. The expected outcomes are a dissertation, educational presentations, and scholarly publications. You are being asked to participate in this research because you have knowledge about children’s music. For this study, you will be asked to meet with the researcher approximately six times,~for about an hour each time, to play and sing game songs together. The . researcher will ask you to teach her the game songs, and you will also be video recorded playing and singing the songs. The researcher requests your permission to store the recordings and images associated with this , study in the EVIA Digital Archive of Indiana University, to be used for educational purposes. You have the right to refuse this requestand choose not to participate in this study with no penalty. ' - - Neither your name nor identity will be used in reporting this research. Your privacy will be protectedto the maximum extent allowable by law. ' There are no incentives for participation. There are also no costs, and potential risks are minimal. Participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to participate at all, or you may refuse to answer certain questions. You may discontinue participation in this study at any time without penalty. ‘ ' -. Please sign below if you are willing to participate in this research. Child's Signature: Date: If you have any questions about this study, please contact the investigator: Lisa Koops . or Dr. Cynthia Crump Taggart Clo Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building '33 Kairaba Avenue Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koo li a)msu.edu taggartc@rmu.edu ' m 011 (517) 432-9678 If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact - anonymously, if you wish — Peter ‘ Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu. ' mail: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, usn ' ed$6541ngPPROVAL FOR ‘ . THIS protect EXPIRES: MAY 0 3 2005 . ammnmmu . uoummonro Aeovsoarerooonrwe 224 Consent Form - Parents of Child Participants in Study The Musical Learning Process of Gambian Children: Developing a Cultural Approach to Music Pedagogy Lisa Koops, Researcher May, 2005 This research is about children’s music in The Gambia and is part of the researcher’s dissertation research at Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to construct an ethnography of the children's musical culture in The Gambia, in order to better teach Gambian music in America. The expected outcomes are a dissertation, educational presentations, and scholarly publications. Your child is being asked to participate in this research because s/he has knowledge about children’s music. For this study, your child will be asked to meet with the researcher approximately six times, for about an hour each time, to play and sing game songs together. The researcher will ask your child to teach her the game songs, and your child will also be video ' recorded playing and singing the songs. The researcher requests your permission to store the recordings and images associated with this study in the EVIA Digital Archive of Indiana University, to be used for educational purposes. You have the right to refuse this request and choose not to participate in this study with no penalty. ' Neither your child’s name nor identity will be used in reporting this research. Your child’s privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. There are no incentives for participation. There are also no costs, and potential risks are minimal. Participation in this study is voluntary. Your child may choose not to participate at all, or your child may refuse to answer certain questions. Your child may discontinue participation in this study at any time without penalty. Please sign below if you are willing to allow your child to participate in this research. Child’s Name: Parent’s Signature: Date: If you have any questions about this study, please contact the investigator: Lisa Koops or Dr. Cynthia Cnunp Taggart C/o Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building 33 Kairaba Avenue Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koopslis@msu.edu taggartc@msu.edu an” Oil (517) 432-9678 If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact — anonymously, if you wish — Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular . mail: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A. UCRIHS APPROVAL FOR ms project expmss: MAY 0 3 2005 ‘ WRENEWALAPHJGTSTDN am run an Momma .- 225 Consent Form — Parents, Teachers, and Older Siblings of Children The Musical Learning Process of Gambian Children: Developing a Cultural Approach to Music Pedagogy Lisa Koops, Researcher May, 2005 This research is about children’s music in The Gambia and is part of the researcher’s dissertation research at Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to construct an ethnography of the children's musical culture in The Gambia, in order to better teach Gambian music in America. The expected outcomes are a dissertation, educational presentations, and scholarly publications. You are being asked to participate in this research because you have knowledge about children’s music. For this study, you will be asked to meet with the researcher one time for approximately one hour, to share information about the meaning and background of children’s game songs. The researcher will ask you to explain the meaning of songs, talk about the background of the songs, and assist in writing down the words. These conversations will be video or audio recorded. The tapes will be used for studying data and excerpts may be shared with music teachers to better explain the song games. The researcher requests your permission to store the recordings and images associated with this study in the EVIA Digital Archive of Indiana University, to be used for educational purposes. .You have the right to refuse this request and choose not to participate in this study with no penalty. Neither your name nor identity will be used in reporting this research. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. There are no incentives for participation. There are also no costs, and potential risks are minimal. Participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to participate at all, or you may refuse to answer certain questions. You may discontinue participation in this study at any time without penalty. ’ Please sign below if you are willing to participate in this research. Signature: Date: If you have any questions about this study, please contact the investigator: Lisa Koops or Dr. Cynthia Crump Taggart C/o Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building 33 Kairaba Avenue Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koopslis@m_§u.edu _ taggartc@msu. edu _ 011 (517) 432- 9678 ‘ If you have questions or concerns regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of this study, you may contact— anonymously, if you wish- Peter Vasilenko, Ph. D, Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) by phone. (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu. edu, m APPROVAL FOR mail: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, U. S. A. THIS pfOIOCI EXPIRES; MAY 0 3 2006 rrneuemupmcmon mom-1mm memcotmme 226 Gestu bi: “Naka la xale yi ci Gambia di jangee misik” Leeral Xale yi Lisa Koops May, 2005 Demay géstu ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia fii ba August. Lii mingi bokk ci sama géstu ngir am lijaasa (Ph.D.) ci daara bu fiuy wax Michigan State University. Li waral géstu bi mooy dajalee bépp xam xam ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia, ngir mén koo jangale bu baax ci Amerika. Li r‘iuy xaar ci géstu bi mooy lijaasa bu tudd Ph.D., waxtaan ci wall-u jangale, ag mool ay téere. Bégge na nga bokk ci sama géstu ndax am nga xam xam ci misik-u xale. Li ma bégge mooy fiu mén-a tase juroom berm yoon, lu tollu ci berm waxtu saa bu nekk, ngir and woy ay woy yu and ag po. Dinaa la laaj nga jangal ma woy yi and ag po, dinaa tamit jél la ci video sooy woy. - Béggé naa nga may ma ma defic li iiujél ci video yi ag band audio yi ci EVIA Digital Archive ci Indiana University, ngir nit iii mEn koo jéfe‘ndikoo ci wall-u jangale. Su la neexee nga bafi ma may li ma la fiaan, te bafia bokk ci gEStu bi te berm daan du 1a ci fekk Du ma jéfendikoo sa tur, sa sant, mbaa lenn lu mén a tax nit iii raflfiee la. Di naa topp lépp lu yoon digle ngir baiia xawwi sa sutura. Du ma la fay ngir 1i ma lay laaj, waaye doo si fiakk dara, te berm loraange du la ci fekk. Bokk ci géstu bi mingi aju ci mu neex la. Sula neexee nga bar‘i a bokk, walla nga ban a tontu yenn laaj yi. Sula neexee tamit mén nga ne bokkatulo ci géstu bi, te berm daan du la ci fekk. Su fekkee ne béggé nga bokk ci géstu bi, sifieel fti. Sifiaatiir-u xale bi: Bis: Soo amee berm laaj bu jém ci géstu bi, mén nga jokkoo ag: Lisa Koops walla Dr. Cynthia Crump Taggart C/o Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building 33 Kairaba Avenue Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koopslis@msu.edu taggartc@msu.edu 220 4392226 011 (517) 432-9678 800 amee berm laaj walla leneen loo xalaat ci axx-u ku bokk ci géstu bu mel nii, walla nga am lerm lu 1a naxxari ci lépp lu mu mEn a doon ci gestu bi, na nga jokkoo — ban a feeflal sa tur su la neexee — ag: Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) ci telefon: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517)432-4503, e-mail: ucrihs@msu.edu, walla nga yoone ko bataaxal ci: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansin M] 48824, 0.3.x. ms APPROVAL Foe _ _ . THIS protect EXPIRES: Ibra Sene moo tekki “leeral” bi Cl Wolof. ‘ MAY 0 3 2006 ' RENEWI l': um no" ABOVE DATE TO OON'I'ITATUE 227 Géstu bi: “Naka la xale yi ci Gambia di jangee misik” Leeral Waajur-u Xale yi Lisa Koops May, 2005 Demay géstu ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia fii ba August. Lii mingi bokk ci sama géstu ngir am lijaasa (Ph.D.) ci daara bu fiuy wax Michigan State University. Li waral géstu bi mooy dajalee bépp xam xam ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia, ngir men koo ja‘mgale bu baax ci Arnerika. Li r‘iuy xaar ci géstu bi mooy lijaasa bu tudd Ph.D., waxtaan ci wall-u jangale, ag moo] ay teere. Béggé naa sa doom bokk ci sama géstu ndax am na xam xam ci misik-u xale. Li ma béggé mooy fiu mén-a tase juroom berm yoon, lu tollu ci berm waxtu saa bu nekk, ngir and woy ay woy yu and ag po. Dinaa ko laaj mu jr‘mgal ma woy yi and ag po, dinaa tamit jél ko ci video suy woy. . Béggé naa sa doom may ma ma defic li flu jél ci video yi ag band audio yi ci EVIA Digital Archive ci Indiana University, ngir nit iii men koo jeiEndikoo ci wall-u jangale. Su ko neexee mu bait ma may Ii ma k0 fiaan, te bafia bokk ci géstu bi te berm daan du ko ci fekk. Du ma jetEndikoo tur am, sant am, mbaa lenn In men a tax nit fii rar'ifiee ko. Di naa topp lépp lu yoon digle ngir bafia xawwi sutura am. Du ma ko fay ngir li ma koy laaj, waaye du si fiakk dara, te berm loraange du ko ci fekk. Bokk ci géstu bi mingi aju ci mu neex ko. Su ko neexee mu bar'i a bokk, walla mu bafi a tontu yenn laaj yi. Su ko neexee tamit mén na ne bokkatulo ci géstu bi, te benn daan du ko ci fekk. Su fekkee béggé nga sa doom bokk ci géstu bi, sifieel fii. Tur-u xale bi: Sifiaatiir-u waajur-u xale bi: Bis: Soo amee benn laaj bu jém ci géstu bi, mén nga jokkoo ag: Lisa Koops walla Dr. Cynthia Crump Taggart C/o Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building 33 Kairaba Avenue ‘ Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koopslis@msu.edu taggartc@msu.edu 220 4392226 011 (517) 432-9678 800 amee berm laaj walla leneen loo xalaat ci axx-u ku bokk ci gEStu bu mel nii, walla nga am lennlulanaxxaricilépplumumenadoonci g65tubi,nangajokkoo-baflafeefial satursula neexee — ag: Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS)cite1efon: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-nmil: ucrih msu.edu, walla n a cone ko bataaxal ci: 202 Olds Hall, East Lansin , 4 824 . mg? g y . . g Wei-hits APPROVALFOR Ibra Sene moo tekki “leeral” bi ci Wolof. THIS project EXPIRES: MAY 0 3 2006 StaggeRENEWAL APPucmoN ABOVE mmmmtfi 228 Gésta bi: “Naka 1a xale yi ci Gambia di jangee misik” Leeral Waajur, Jangalekat, ag Mag n Xale Yi Lisa Koops May, 2005 Demay géstu ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia fti ba August. Lii mingi bokk ci sama gEStu ngir am lijaasa (Ph.D.) ci daara bu fiuy wax Michigan State University. Li waral géstu bi mooy dajalee bépp xam xam ci wall-u misik-u xale ci Gambia, ngir men koo jangale bu baax ci Amerika. Li fiuy xaar ci géstu bi mooy lijaasa bu tudd Ph.D., waxtaan ci wall-u jangale, ag moo] ay téere. Béggé naa nga bokk ci sama géstu ndax am nga xam xam ci misik-u xale. Li ma béggé mooy iiu men-a tase berm yoon, lu tollu ci benn waxtu, ngir waxtaan ci li woy yi tekki ag aada ag cosaan bi leen émb. Dinaa la laaj nga wax ma li woy yi teldci ag faramfacceel ma leen, te dimbali ma ma bind baat yi. Sufiu waxtaan dinaa ko jél ci video walla band audio. Band yi ag video yi géstukat yi dinafiu leen men a jélEndikoo. Dinaflu tamit men a jErifi jangalekat-u rnisik yi ci seen ligéey. Bégge na nga may ma ma defic li fiu jél ci video yi ag band audio yi ci EVIA Digital Archive ci Indiana University, ngir nit iii mén koo jéf‘e’ndikoo ci wall-u jangale. Su Ia neexee nga ban ma may li ma la fiaan, te bafia bokk ci gestu bi te benn daan du la ci fekk. Du ma jéiEndikoo sa tur, sa sant, mbaa lenn In men a tax nit iii rafifiee 1a. Di naa topp lépp lu yoon digle ngir bafia xawwi sa sutura. Du ma la fay ngir 1i ma lay laaj, waaye doo si fiakk dara, te berm loraange du la ci fekk. Bokk ci g’e‘stu bi mingi aju ci mu neex la. Sula neexee nga baii a bokk, walla nga bar'i a tontu yenn laaj yi. Sula neexee tamit men nga ne bokkatulo ci géstu bi, te berm daan du la ci fekk. Su fekkee ne béggé nga bokk ci géstu bi, sir'ieel iii. Sifiaatiir: _,2 -, Bis: - -. —t‘_ — -. - “I — — Soo amee berm laaj bu jém ci géstu bi, mén nga jokkoo ag: Lisa Koops walla Dr. Cynthia Crump Taggart Clo Dr. Robert Koops 209 Music Practice Building 33 Kairaba Avenue Michigan State University Fajara, The GAMBIA East Lansing, MI 48824 USA koopslis@msu.edu . taggartc@msu.edu 220 4392226 - 011 (517) 432-9678 800 amee berm‘laaj walla leneen loo xalaat ci axx-u ku bokk ci gestu bu mel nii, walla nga am' lennlulanaxxari cilépplumuménadoonci gESmbLnangajokkoo—bafiafeefial satursula neexee — ag Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) ci telefon: (517) 355-2180, fax: (517) 432-4503, e-mail: ucn'hs@msu.edu. walla nga yoone ko bataaxal ci: 202 Olds Hall. East MWAQIPPROVAL FOR 1 USA. . THIS project EXPIRES: Ibra Sene moo tekki “leeral” bi ci Wolof. - ' MAY 0 3 2005- AWVE DATE To M I M 229 a APPENDIX D RESEARCH PERMITS TH! GAMBIA NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND CULTURE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION DIVISION NATIONAL MUSEUM PREMISES mummcsnm BANJULTHE GAMBIA lfllUNEZOOS E P E M I T NUMBER: 45 DewSir/Madam, REF: APPLICATION FOR RESEARCH PERMIT OF 1“ JUNE 2005 smears. WEBOEOFMUSICINIHEUVESOFGWBHILDRENAND THEIR MUSICAL LEARNING PROCESS mbbmidumyouumappuvdlnsbemgivmforyoumwduarewehhTheGunbhmmduu withthefiillowingcondiiom: I. Myouhavewpiesofaflhpeqecadedudodtawritmmaerhkwlbaedmmmnbh, inhdhgmwrviewsmushaorieghistmy,whuflhfiimmmemwhhflieRFSEARCHAND DOCUMENTATION DIVISION before leaving this country. 2. meovideaflnkvfidafldmndnhpesafihewrhurmhhmhxmdmddm ofhfimrmmwhichmmyfwmbgrmgmdfaaiiedwahrafionofflnmmufil 3. Iamfinflwrtohfomywflntdwmmhlwbecopiedmuabelefiwhhmemm DOClWTAflONDWISIONweflbefonyouleawmiswmmyhOMmflbwfirmforwpyhg A eopyofyommchpapumuahobedeposieduucmANDWAmN DIVISIONattersubrnif-rgittoywriisfitution. 4. Aflmuuiflobjwtsmdarfiquesmfleaedhcmnecfimwihdwreseardimwpasfluougtfln RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION DIVISION and the MUSEUM AND MONUMENTS DIVISIONrespectivelybrcatificationbefixe nansportationoutsrde theeountry. 5. Memvhflefldnmdrnflahkdeposiedwiflmahcbsdmpimemdimhsfixm ymfiomdueofdepostunlesyougivewritenhsnuctbmtomecormary. 'I‘hisistoalbwyoutimeto completeyom'reaearehpaper. 230 “El 6. MGovumImLhowevaJesavesdwrigluwdbwbaufideGovummOfiicasmwmy nuaialswhichwillenablethemtocarryomflieiroficialduties. AnyGovermnentreportdraw'IIg fianmdahlsdeposiedbypfivflesdmlasmustmvaflnbsadmowbdgedwsmmeofma ’nfiir'mation. hmifiamhom,wmmydepodwdmawrhlbegivmmpublbofichkwukhgmapivaempxiy mtilthethree—yeutermhasexpired. 7. mmmawmermmmom winemafiomis'mzoos orpir'ngonthe- 3lSTAUGUST2005 HmMiWwwWMMMWNWAmNDm mddrethflGRAflONDEPARWTofanhishyofhfliordnuldbeirfixmed'nadvnceofthe emiyddeiirclearance. 7. Thisoficewishesyoueverysuminyourundertakirgs W (@6001? * DIRECTOR, NCAC T0 MISSIJSAIJNNEAKOOPS 33KairabaAvenue,Fajara, TheGambia, WestAfiiea EXI'ENSIONRBQUIREYES/NO EXPIRY DATE: ....................... POSITION: DATE: SIGNATURE: 231 Ref: R1/124/ ;(134) 31" May 2004 Ms Lisa Koops 33 Kairaba Avenue Fajara The Gambia ' Dear Madam, R :RE NDU MUSICAL SURVEYINRE I N NE Reference is made to your application as per the above caption. Please be informed that permission is granted for you to conduct the desired survey at Lower Basic School subject to the following conditions. That all records generated from the survey will be for educational purposes only. That records will not be subject to generate firnds privately. That a summary report including the names of all students that participated in the survey be submitted to the Regional Director through the Headmistress of the School. PN!‘ Wish you a successful survey and completion of study programme. Yours Sincerely m Famara O. Tabally Ag. PEG 1 Ce: Headmistress File. 232 APPENDIX E REPERTOIRE E1: “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” with Coda ............................................................ 234 E2: Gambian National Pledge and National Anthem Lyrics ............................... 235 E3: “Sally Walker” .............................................................................................. 236 E4: “Slide, Slide, Slide” Gambian and American versions ................................. 237 E5: “Play Akkara” ................................................................................................ 239 E6: “Bopp” ........................................................................................................... 240 E7: “When I Went” Lyrics ................................................................................... 241 E8: “My Grandmother” Lyrics ............................................................................ 242 E9: “Suma Doomi Yeesu” excerpt ...................................................................... 243 E10: “School, Education, Spell Your Name” ...................................................... 245 E1 1: “Competiton” ............................................................................................... 246 E12: “Ginte Walli Ma” ........................................................................................ 247 E13: “Three Three Domsee” ................................................................................ 248 E14: “Ten Zi” ....................................................................................................... 249 E15: “Kiribang” chant excerpts ........................................................................... 250 B16: “Kii tank kii tank” ................................ 251 E17: “Rap a Tap a Tap” ....................................................................................... 252 E18: “Maa New” Lyrics ....................................................................................... 253 E19: “Soonaa Maryama” ..................................................................................... 254 E20: “Mbaa Nyaling Wo” .................................................................................... 255 E21: “Bakary, Sipa” ............................................................................................. 256 E22: “Papa J end Na Xar” ..................................................................................... 257 E23: “Home Again” ............................................................................................. 258 E24: “Raymbele” excerpt .................................................................................... 259 E25: “Bul fontoo sa yaay” ................................................................................... 260 E26: “God is Good” ............................................................................................. 261 E27: “Es Tiga Tiga” ............................................................................................. 262 Note: These transcriptions are intended as illustrations of the discussion in the chapters of this dissertation. Full playing instructions, text, translations, and transliterations are not included here; the transcriptions are not intended to be used by classroom teachers for music activities. 233 Appendix E1: “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” with Coda Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (with Coda) as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Baa, baa, black sheep, have you a-ny wool? Yes, suh, yes, suh, three ba- gs full. Ah one for my mas-ter, ah one for my dame, ah one for the lit- tle boy who lives down the lane, who lives down the lane, baa baa, lives down the lane. 234 Appendix E2: Gambian National Pledge and National Anthem Lyrics National Pledge It is the combination of Government and people working together in unison and harmony, That still lead us to achieve the progress that we all desire. We must stand together as one people with one goal and move forward as one nation. For if we insist on pursuing our personal goals without keeping our collective objectives and responsibilities in mind, Then indeed we shall be divided, and divided we shall fall. Let us renew these promises we made to ourselves and to our Country at the time of independence as enshrined in our National Anthem (http://www.niica.0n.calgambia/Govemment.aspx, accessed October 4, 2005) National Anthem For The Gambia, our homeland we strive and work and pray, That all may live in unity, freedom and peace each day. Let justice guide our actions towards the common good, And join our diverse peoples to prove man 's brotherhood. We pledge our firm allegiance, our promise we renew; Keep us, great God of nations, to The Gambia ever true. (httpfid/mmv.africanculture.dk/gmbia/anthcm.htm, accessed October 4, 2005) 235 Appendix E3: “Sally Walker” Sally Walker as sung in The Gambia, 2005 )9 I I i L I Voice W ,1, I” ,, F, ,. ,1, , ; , , _,. - l fee', I fee', I fee', I fee', I fee', Oh, I fly the mom-ing star. Sis-ter, Tues-day, sa mo-ther, mis-ter 9 A x I J JL 1\ i a I I 1 a 1 fl 1 1 7L II I I\ I I A I I I I I 3 J W ‘I I II I I ‘ I {Io :1 ‘I l I ‘ I Q) ' J J J J ' _' J Wednes-day, sa mo - ther. Fly - the mom- mg star. J L L I I I JL 1 T I l x 1 1 I 1 I J!“ I I I I r I I I I I I I A J v I l I I T ‘1 I W ‘ I J J _J J J J _ . _ Sit-ting Sal - ly Wal - ker, Slt-tlng in the sun, J I I — j k A 1 JL I I . I k I I L l I I l 1 I I — I J!“ I I I I II I I II I f I I I A I I r1 ‘ I I I ‘ A I I j . ' J ' J J Sit-ting and fly, da fly, da co-co-nut tree. Fly to the n. I I x I] [L J L 1 I I I ‘1 'Il Jlfi I I j I I A 1 ‘II \‘II T I I I I ‘ I] Q) J — i J 4 west afld choose your best. 236 Appendix E4: “Slide, Slide, Slide” and comparison to American version Slide, Slide, Slide as performed in The Gambia, 2005 J=76 fi=fl6 A section Voice 4& r ’ 4 % Slide, slide, slide. Slide, slide, slide. M - hm, m-hm, - “a” ' *‘ W JL‘D T RT LT {mi-‘11 Bsection A B -; “Ber“ .,. ,1 Q __JD . D one. M - hm, m-hm, - - - - one, - MD _ _ D D D B F T R T L T B F T A B .13.. 1 1'3; a: ‘3 I]: x -i— 9N T x If \ E—C—‘x Er»: wv~l "PIC—‘x HY}. .. .. 1 1.1 4. 1 , D ‘ Q two, - - - - - - three. 1 , , l , l , D D D ‘D D D B F T B F T =Clap one’s own hands together R=Clap right hands with partner L=Clap left hands with partner B=Clap back of both hands with back of partner’s hands F=Clap front of both hands with front of partner’s hands 237 Riddell’s (1990) American version of "Slide" with increasing A section A section - first time B section I 1 1 l I 3 L l J l 2 Claps r r I 8 D D D 14 R T L T B F T A section - second time B 2 ’1 '1 l ’1 g 1 If ’1 l _}% l l l % l l 1 % g —t l—‘ _i i‘r V D D D D D T T L T L T B F T B F T A section - third time B etc ‘ Q RTRTRTLTLTLT BFTBFTBFT T=Clap one’s own hands together lR=Clap right hands with partner L=Clap lefi hands with partner , B=Clap back of both hands with back of partner’s hands F=Clap front of both hands with front of partner’s hands 238 Appendix E5: “Play Akkara” Play Akkara as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Claps g ',' D1 I J? 9]: ’1 r, g. — i—i Action 3 4 g g 1 g :. ~ D D Jump Jump Claps ’,‘ l l .,1 I 1 o; [I e > Action 4 ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ %' ~ D l D l D D Jump, stomp, jump, stomp, jump,stomp. 239 Appendix E6: “Bopp” Bopp as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Voice c F} IO i r 3 - { LT: - II One, two, three. Bopp-a. ”“6323: c ' ' 3' D F F I F "’ D F F " Claps (Head) Claps will: we): -l Mbagza. NdEa. Oom , ..ILll ,, .,,,l , .,4, l Dll'l Dll‘l DH' (Shoulders) Claps (Waist) Claps (Knee) Claps _i.,_}.,_i,,-” _ i l l Tank a. One, two, three. (Foot) Claps (to end) +Step +Step +Step On (Head), touch head; (Shoulders), touch shoulders; etc. 240 Appendix E7: “When I Went” Lyrics When, when, when I went to the booze shop To the booze shop, to the booze shop, When I went to the booze shop The gate man didn 't allow me. The gate man didn ’t allow me to go inside. Suko when I start to da-da him, To sing na when, to da-da him, Suka when I start to da-da him, I why touch langa langa, I why catch. (Clapping stops) Is stand like a statue is stand, no move, no laugh. (Players fieeze; the first one to laugh or move is out). Clapping pattern: Partner’s right hand; one’s own hands together; partner’s left hand; one’s own hands together 241 Appendix E8: “My Grandmother On Her Way” Lyrics My, my, my grandmother on her M (hands on hips) She don ’t know how to sal_ut_e, (salute with one hand at forehead) When the time of six o-glo_ck, (tap wrist as though tapping a wristwatch) She don ’t know how to brush Leg]; (pantomime brushing teeth) She don 't know how to comb _h_cy_r. (pantomime combing hair) Faster, faster! Mmm, mmm. mmm. (bounce hands on hips three times) Faster, faster! Mmm, mmm, mmm. (tap hand at forehead, saluting, three times) Faster, faster! Mmm, mmm. mmm. (tap wrist three times) Faster, faster! Mmm, mmm, mmm. (move finger at teeth three times) Faster, faster! Mmm, mmm, mmm. (comb hair three times) She say “Asta, Qn_e, " (bounce hands on hips one time) She say “Asta, M2. ” (tap hand at forehead, saluting, one time) She say “Asta, t_h_r_g2, ” (tap wrist one time) She say “Asta, fair, ” (move finger at teeth one time) She say "Asta, zve! " (comb hair one time) Movement during non-underlined sections is a three beat clap: left hand palm up, right hand palm down, clapped with partner; clap both hands forward with partner; clap one’s own hands together. Movement during underlined, sections: written in parentheses behind words. Tempo increases throughout. 242 Appendix E9: “Suma Doomi Yeesu” Excerpt Suma Doomi Yeesu (excerpt) as performed in The Gambia, 2005 VOICC c 1 1o 1 1o: '1 1 1 1 1 1% ’1 1 1 1 1 1_{ D l D l l l l U l v Su-ma, su-ma Su—maDoom-i Yee - su Far-thereast, to thewest i Movement! {3 A ’ ‘i ’i ’ ’ ’ ’1 I r t I t l t t l Out, in. T Pl/ VER T Pl/UNDER T P2 T P3 T My boy-fiiendtook me to the can-dy store He bought me ice cream, t r r rig r r ti r r r t * Pl/OVERT Pl/UNDERT T P3 T Pl/OVER T Pl/UNDERT Oil TU , 'ttrr"“gtrrtu he bought me cake took me home with a b \ vi. I l l J; 7 IV (D l-lyache , l 1 ,l g l ,1 In l l i l' l ' P2 '1' P3 T Pl/OVER T Pl/UNDER T P2 T P3 T 1 V See explanation on next page 243 “Suma Doomi Yeesu” explanation There are four players standing in a circle. The instructions below are written for “P0,” one of four players. Over, under, left, and right vary for each player. Players discuss who will go over and under just before starting. P1=player across from P0 P2=player to the right of P0 P3=player to the left of PO Out=join hands with partners, swing arms out (away from center of group) In=swing joined hands in P1/OVER=clap both hands with P1, over hands of P2 and P3 (during this movement, P2 and P3 are clapping hands down low) T=Clap one’s own hands together P1/UNDER=clap both hands with P1, under hands of P2 and P3 (during this movement, P2 and P3 are clapping hands up high) P2=clap both hands with P2 P3=clap both hands with P3 P1 P3 P2 P0 244 Appendix E10: “School, Education, Spell Your Name” Voice Movcmcnt/ Claps School, Education, Spell Your Name as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Hit» in?“ [ ‘ ._ L I I [fl Ififi ‘T I : I I ‘Vw l I I AL ' i CD c. T ..1 School, ed - u - ca-tion, A 1 1 i 1 Swing ciap ciap Swing at Spell your name: Each player spells her own name, she says the letter first, and the group repeats the letter twice. The example is the name Nyima. 245 Appendix El 1: “Competiton” Competition as performed in The Gambia, 2005 VOICC c 1 1 _ I 1 1 1 1 _ I r [1 _ #I . . ii Com-pe-tr-non, Are you rea-dy? If so, i -' l Movement/ 6 A r1 1 1I A 1 1 1 1I A 1 1 1 4: Swing Claps Swing Claps Etc. 1 1 - I 1 .1 _ I A _ J] l i l i F Let's go. Names of foods! I l l l i l 1 l l i l l l 1 l V 7 I V 7 I I A J J l l l l — l l l 1 - I 1 l 1 — r r r i 'LU'H " mil ChickenDomo-da Man goes Chi ckenyas-sa Ceeb-ujen. 111d A 111d A 71 F ___' F ___' F l r IJI A 1111:" 246 Appendix E12: “Ginte Walli Ma” Ginte Walli Ma as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Gin - te wal-li ma, gin-te wal-li ma, *Ny-ima \-/ . . .‘r/ . . Njie wal-lr ma, Ny-ima Njie wal-li ma, Di-naa la jee - ge ma, so! *Nyima Njie is the first player’s name; each player’s name is substituted as play progresses. 247 Appendix E13: “Three Three Domsee” Three Three Domsee as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Three three dom- see. Ah sa ma let-ter du ma an—sa. Bay bale-ka dom-see. You will pick in pick it up and take it in your poc - ket. 248 Appendix E14: “Ten Zi” Ten Zi as performed in The Gambia, 2005 VOICC e 1- 1"‘1 .f 1 I 10 1 1 :I 1 1 1 d Ten 21 seen kard, seen srx. See ma—ma-O-mel-la, pay 1 ’1 ’1 1’: JI 1 1 '1 1 ’1 ’1 {‘I‘é 1 1 1 1 9,1 1_il _.——i [_ h —i ._.—_ [. D 21 ko-ro 21. See pa-pa O-mel-la, pay z1 ko-ro 21. O 1 0411 011i11111 911i 1- [‘41 1o {‘11i l'D ”D' "l'D'J JU' zi, o za, 0 zi o zi o za. O dance 0, 0 dance 0, o ’1 1 r1 1 ’1- P1 1 1 i 1 _L—_l ' D l i Q ' dance 0 dance 0 dance 0. Su-ma one, ten zi. Su-ma ~ —\ 5‘ —\ ~ '\ ~ __‘ ‘V DF F two, ten zi. One, two, three, four, WWW * t * Wit " five, six, seven, eight, nine ten. 249 Appendix E15: “Kiribang” — examples of chants Kiribang - examples of chants as performed in The Gambia, 2005 J al gatti One “—011 11i1)0¢111i1)911 11i 1 }_i ' i” i” F " uu' 44% JJ‘l Jal-gat-ti one, jal-gat-ti two, jal-gat-ti three. B, I Wanna C [1 g ‘t 1 1 1 I [1 g _ B, I wan - na C Godr, jeng, A-y-da Mo-du Mu-sta-fa 1. 1A1 Tli'l 1 1 1 1 1 1 l Di D t_Jl Godr, jeng, A - y - da Mo - du Mu - sta - fa. Saabu pur sangu % 0,: ijT1 1 1 1 1 .1. CT1 1 1 1 a; 1 :I: D U l .44I U l .___l Saa - bu pur san- goo, saa - bu pur san- goo, saa - Ay-oo, so fi so fa 1 o 1"“ 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 :- l D l D I l l Ay - 00, so fi so fa. 250 Appendix E16: “Kii tank kii tank” Kii Tank, Kii Tank l-gs as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Call: Response: Kii tank, kiitank, kii kan la? San - neh la, San - neh la, Kongkongkong,wa—rase. Repeat once for each player, substituting their last name for "Sanneh." The caller chants a food word at each pair of hands. Call: Response: Di - naa fii gee - ne, doo fii gee - ne, Call: Response: di - naa fii gee - ne, doo fii gee - ne. 251 Appendix E17: “Rap a Tap a Tap Tap” Rap a Tap a Tap Tap as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Rap-pa-tap-pa tap tap on my shoul-der, rap-pa tap-pa tap tap on my shoul-der, Rap-pa tap-pa tap tap on my shoul-der Ah in da'al - le - giance. 252 Appendix E18: “Maa New” Lyrics C: Jal bi jalaano (Wof: they are making a pile) R: Nebbee (Wof: beans) C: Siki salino (Fuf) R: Nebbee (Wof: beans) All: Angale, indilfale (W of: bring it here) All: Amut tigale, indilfale (mixture of langagues) All: Tat tajiro tajit baba tajiro (Fuf) All: Ku majé'ndal mburu bota? (butter) (Wof: who is going to buy bread and butter?) C: Man (Wof: I) R: Yaay riite (Wof: You are the one who will chase people) *Hiders go and hide, seeker counts to 10 **C: Maa rie'w.’ (Wof: I come) **R: Déedéed! (Wof: No) "Repeat until response is Waaw, waaw (Wof: Yes, yes), then seeker goes and finds hiders C=Call, R=Response 253 Appendix E19: “Soonaa Maryama” Soonaa Maryama as sung in The Gambia, 2005 L58 Soc-naa Ma-ry-am - a wo Soc-naa Ma-ry-am. Din-ding-o ba-lan-ta_a baaning a faa ye Soo-naa Ma-ry-am. A ko_a betaa la koo-ree to, koo-ma-koo-ma Wo_yoo-daa la, SoonaaMa-ry-am. A mining—’- miningbam-bu wo SoonaaMa-ry-am. Ti - loo be naa m faa la Soc-naa Ma-ry-am. 254 Appendix E20: “Mbaa Nyaling Wo” M Baa Nyaling Wo as sung in The Gambia, 2005 4:54 .DJ M baa Nyaa- ling wo, Man-se ye_m baa faa le. A ye_a faa mang ne la, a ye ka-ba jii 1e bong. Ka-ba jii bon - go, moo si moo baa faa wo la. Ah. Ningm_mangfaa bii, man-5a be_m baa joo la. Ning m_mang faa bii man-sa be_m baa joo la. 255 Appendix E21: “Bakary Sipa” Bakary Sipa as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Can §%°%"""D‘rlt trilp'p'elk 3"} Ba _k-a_ry,si-pa Si pa si-pa Ba - Be i ba-la Be i ba-la it we.“ l - H __ Di , I DDI ka-ry, sr-pa Sr - pa sr-pa *' iDlFDF ** *W’tt l Be i ba-la Be i ba-la 256 Appendix E22: “Papa Jénd Na Xar” Papa J 'e'nd Na Xar as performed in The Gambia, 2005 Voicee‘fl‘J"IL"/7L"I _.L__il l LJ_ll Pa-pa jen-da na xar (xar!) El-IEg la Tab-as-ki (xar!) 11F’111 11i1111111)|| A I 'LLIJD’" El - leg lafi ko ray (ray!) Ku yen- ga-tu yen- ga-tu dee! 257 Appendix E23: “Home Again” Home Again as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice I leave my mo-ther. I leave my fa-ther. I leave them far aw- ay, When shall I see my na - tive land? I shall ne-ver for-get my home. Home a - gain, (home a- gain), home a-gain, (home a-gain), When shall I see my na-tive land? I shall ne - ver for - get my home. 258 Appendix E24: “Raymbele” Raymbele as performed in The Gambia, 2005 0:63 r——3—-. .-——3——. Raym-be-le. Raym-be le. Raym-be-le, raym-be-le, Cl - 0,1 l - 01F i l 1 1 l i ”5'4 JJJ' .w J J .1 .1 1 TTT TTT R T L T '3—31—1i11i11 111111: 1.1 111| lli“."_'i'_ i'_'l";l_i' raym-be-le. Ab-du ja-ma-no, ja-ma-no, ja-ma-mo. Man tas-se ag I m U U M ii .Iml 3 w .— 3 A , l A A 1 I l l l l l l A A V V V "_ i 4 t'L’l __M wit” benn-ah boy, benn-ah boy, benn-ah boy. Mu ne ma, "Nob naa la, nob naa la, I l ’1 1 l l J 111.11,] 11 1111l111171 ‘. FFF L_'_JILJH’LHI '_.n nobnaala." Mane ko, "Nob-ifmala,nob-u3mala, nob-u3mala:" Mujend-ah CIC. r—3‘——1 T=Clap one’s own hands together R=C lap right hands with partner L=Clap left hands with partner 259 Appendix E25: “Bul fontoo sa yaay” Bul Fontoo Sa Yaay as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voicc x, Bul fon-too sa yaay, bul fon-too sa yaay. Ad- \/ du-na te-re joy. Bul fon-too sa yaay. Ma fek-ka sa-ma doom, mu seg-ga di jooy. Man su-ma ya-ram daw na, ma ne ko "Lu xew?" V _ Mu ne ma, "Yaay boy, du-gal ma lSk-OOI \, ba su él - leg - ee, ma nekk- ah dok -tor. 260 Appendix E26: “God is Good” God is Good as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Oh, God is good, oh, God is good. Oh, God is good, oh, God 18 good. Repeat in other languages. 261 Appendix E27: “Es Tiga Tiga” Es TigaTiga as sung in The Gambia, 2005 Voice Es ti-ga ti-ga, ti-ga ti-ga weswes. Es ti-ga - tr-ga, ti-ga ti-ga weswes. Ba 10, ba 10 ba 10 ba 10. Kom-ma one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. 262 APPENDIX F REPERTOIRE IN ENGLISH HEARD IN FIVE FIRST GRADE CLASSES, 11 JULY 2005 Songs ABC’s Baa, Baa, Black Sheep BINGO Jingle Bells One Little Finger One Two Three, 1 Can See a Bee Teacher, Let Me Go Home This is the Way We Brush Our Teeth We are the Students of the LK School Yankee Doodle Yuppi Ya Ya Chants Clean, Clean, Clean Your Teeth Cows and Horses Walk on Four Legs Early to Bed, Early to Rise Fish, Fish Goosy Goosy Gander Humpty Dumpty I Have Two Hands Lorry Driver My Earrings One Banana, Number Two One, Two, Buckle My Shoe One, Two, Three Four Five Pussycat Rain, Rain, Go Away Ten Green Bottles Standing on the Wall Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (chanted, not sung) 263 APPENDIX G LITERATURE ABOUT THE GAMBIA Literature for Children Hoffman, M. (1995). Boundless Grace. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. Knight, M. B. (2000). Africa is not a country. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. Zimmerman, R. B. (1994). The Gambia. Chicago: Childrens Press, Inc. Literature for College Students Charry, E. (2000). Mande music: Traditional and modern music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Ebron, P. A. (2002). Performing Africa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Else, D. (1999). The Gambia & Senegal. Melbourne, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications. Koops, L. H. (2002). A collection of Gambian children's music games appropriate for use in the American elementary general music classroom (Master’s thesis, Michigan State University, 2002). Masters Abstracts International, 42(2), 390. Maranz, D. E. (1993). Peace is everything: World view of Muslims in the Senegambia. Dallas, Texas: International Museum of Cultures. National Centre for Arts and Culture. (2004). Ceremonies of The Gambia: Tradition in transition. Banjul, The Gambia: Author. 264 REFERENCES Addo, A. O. (1996). A multimedia analysis of selected Ghanaian children’s play songs. 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