On Musical Traditions of the World and Music Education: An Impossible Quest?¹

by Robert Mawuena Kwami

The plurality of the musics that inhabit the world, perhaps a consequence of ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity, suggests that the term “world music” is problematic. Indeed, other parallels, such as "world culture" or "world language" suggest, as I have argued elsewhere (Kwami, 1998), that the term "world musics" may be more apt. However, even its plural version still presents a problem - that of implicitly excluding the Western classical tradition, the dominant paradigm in formal music education. A temporary solution, a sort of sticking one's finder in the hole in a dyke, would be to define the subject matter as musics of all the world's people. This is the perspective that will be taken in the present discussion. Another, perhaps, more acceptable, solution is to adopt the term “musical traditions” in order to show the plurality and multiplicity with which we are dealing.

It is argued in this article that multiple perspectives operate in the apprehension of musics from different traditions. Furthermore, that a comprehensive programme of "musics" in schools and colleges needs to involve an application and demonstration of sometimes conflicting and divergent perspectives. Indeed, the issue of curriculum choice and content is one with which teachers have to contend, especially as, it seems, pressure on curriculum time may result in less time being apportioned for music making activities for most students in the formal curriculum. And, apart from "technological" and "aural-oral" musical "literacies", it seems important that students are taught to relate to musics using cyclical as well as linear temporal orientations. In doing so, it is important that cultural sensitivity is applied. We shall commence by briefly considering, as an example, musics that are available to most children in a country such as the United Kingdom.

Musics at Home, in the Community and Abroad

It is possible to categorise musics that we listen to into three broad bands: musics at home, in the community and abroad. These three bands, situations for encountering musics, also suggest three different angles. The first suggests an encounter on our own grounds, on our own terms, from our own cultural perspective, whatever that is defined to be. From the particular angle of the community, which includes formalised music education, multiple perspectives, as opposed to that identified from the first angle, are brought to bear. At this level, other music culture perspectives are juxtaposed, as it were on each other, with the consequence that multiple perspectives can coexist at the same time although individuals may extend their own perspectives on musics in the "community". The final context suggests the imposition of a personal culture perspective on the musics of other cultures, on musics whose origin is traced to a foreign or alien source, to a place that is "abroad". It would appear that as we can only be at one place at one time in a physical sense, when abroad, there may be only two main music cultural perspectives operating when we apprehend musics that we are relatively unfamiliar with - that is, our own, plus that in which the music is operating. However, this may be a simplified understanding of reality.

We can paint a scenario that involves what happens in our homes, at school and in the wider community. Teenagers and other children, at home, have their own musical worlds that consist of what they engage with on their own, with others through the media, the Internet, and so on. It would appear that children have a degree of choice in determining some of the musics they encounter in the wider community. But at school, a different aspect of the jigsaw is brought into place through the compulsory diet that they have little control or choice over, one that seems to be at odds with other aspects of their lives. To an extent, the musics that people encounter abroad, or musics from abroad need not be different from musics at home, perhaps, except for the fact that the encounter in the musics' original home is more likely to be on a live basis. It would seem that we are obsessed with the origin of some musics, particularly non-Western musics, and herein lies a problem. However, for some people such musics are not alien or foreign; rather, they may be additional musical cultures that they experience with which they are fully engaged, including even at home.

In the case of Britain, the fact that it is, like many other countries of the world, a multicultural society perhaps needs to be fully accepted within an educational system which is still too narrowly skewed towards a particular perspective. This will need to change if formalised music education is to do justice to the rich and diverse musical traditions that have found their home in Britain. When I went to Britain to read for a degree in music,² the situation was very different. Over a period of more than 25 years, I have experienced a changed climate within the wider community and, to an extent, in the educational system. However, I have found serious impediments in my attempts to promote the use of African musics in educational institutions during this period. These impediments are largely due to the tools of the Western classical music tradition that initially enabled me to communicate with those I was attempting to win over, students and their teachers, although of course the non-verbal musical discourse aspects seemed to always get through and win the day. However, the issue of the prospect of "different musics, different parameters" (Kwami, 2001b) is a veritable one that needs to be taken seriously.

Multiple Perspectives - "Different Musics, Different Parameters"

Each musical tradition or culture has its own conventions or ways of operating. The ways, conventions and sensibilities of one musical tradition or culture may sometimes conflict with those of another. But, as some of these different musical parameters are shared, it is important that a sensitive approach is adopted in the teaching of different musics. I shall illustrate some of the issues involved using conceptual and other tools which, in reality, may not be as clear-cut in practice.

The universality of musical practice among the peoples of the world does not imply that music is a universal language. Indeed, we have argued earlier that a pluralistic definition probably conveys a more realistic scenario of our subject matter. Although it is possible to transfer elements and features across musics, there could be a misrepresentation so far as the original intention, application or usage is concerned. Furthermore, whereas it may be valid to accept cultural transposition in its own right, there may be dangers in assuming that comparability necessarily exists from one context to another.

In the light of the observations made earlier, and borrowing Finnegan's (1987) terms, it may be valid to argue that some people operate in multiple musical "worlds" or "pathways" and, further, that such a perspective needs greater recognition in formalised music education. However, there may be tensions and problems caused by sometimes conflicting and divergent musical systems in the curriculum.

Elsewhere (Kwami, 2001a)³ I have considered linear and cyclical orientations in relation to time and space in music traditions and argued that it is important to acknowledge both perspectives when dealing with, and apprehending, musics from diverse cultures. Of course, one's own perspective does matter and, in the formalised music education system, this is likely to be the Western classical music tradition. On one level, regular structuring occurs on a linear plane. On the other level, we have musics with cycles as their main organising principle. Even in some instances, there may be "non-musical" or extra-musical factors. An attempt to understand such musics at the first level may be successful to a point. Skills acquired engaging with musics in a linear dimension may help people to get into the second order. But they may be prevented from getting a proper understanding about the sensibilities or getting to deeper levels of engagement in different types of cyclicality (Kwami, 2001a). In some traditions, performance is a prime determinant, with the main operative principles and processes being carried out through aural-oral means. Indeed, in addition to the temporal dimension, there are other relevant matters to consider such as the spatial placement of sounds and a more holistic, multidimensional orientation in which the role of such concepts as enculturation or socialisation becomes important.

I have also argued⁴ that it is problematic to assume that concepts of "beat" and "pulse", which are basic conceptual descriptors used in formal music teaching contexts, are not universally shared in the same way in all cultures. Indeed, too much emphasis on these two aspects may be impediments in acquiring musical proficiency and learning in some non-Western musics. Whereas it is normally the first and third "beats" that are accented in Western musics, in African traditions,⁵ as in Reggae, it is the equivalents of the "off-beats" that are stressed - in effect the "twos" and the "fourths". But, even here, it would be more accurate to say the stresses do not fall on nodal points. It is the "ands" of the "ones" and "twos" which are stressed so far as dance musics or styles are concerned since, it may be more accurate to state that we are dealing with structures that are better conceptualised in duple metric orientations (Anku, 1988). According to Arom (1991), the situation in African musics may be closer to the medieval scenario of tempus perfectum (triple) and imperfectum (duple). In Western musics, the orientation to the march and the dance is towards four whereas, in African traditions, complex scenarios exist, which can be interpreted from different perspectives.

Indeed, it could be argued that the Western dance/march concept or perspective has, as it were, "invaded" other musics with "on the beat" and "four in a bar" or "four in a cycle" pervading musical practice worldwide. In some non-Western musics, the sense of direction does not lie explicitly in what may be termed "the beat". Rather, a combination of rhythmic and melodic aspects determines how a piece progresses and is controlled. In some African musics, the so-called "beat" may be there as a silent sound, unarticulated element or fill. It may be there as a mnemonic device, something that is held communally, or in body movements and dance as an essential aspect of a successful holistic communal performance. For example, in the mnemonics of the Kpanlogo dance bell pattern, pepe-tipe-tipe-pe, the main pe sounds are heard against the muted or silent ti sounds. The latter are sometimes used as a facilitating device and often occur on what one would call the "beat" when analysed from a Western (classical) music perspective. In the case of the Agbadza/Atsiagbekor rattle pattern, pati-papa-tipa-tipa-tipa-ti, all the pa sounds are normally played on the higher bell of the double clapperless bell, with only the final ti being played on the lower bell.⁶

There are also multiple perspectives in which patterns are linearly visualised. For example, using western concepts, it is possible to conceive of divisions of a pattern or cycle into four, three, two and one. Secondly, although it might appear that patterns might be construed as consisting of asymmetrical parts, this does not seem to be the case when they are juxtaposed against holistic traditional conceptions which include the dance aspects. From such a perspective, a symmetrical division of the cycle into two equal halves is suggested.⁷ Also, Nketia (1974/1986) identifies different levels: slowest, slow, fast and fastest pulse, the last of which is the "density referent", the smallest unit of musical operation in a piece or performance. These multiple concepts of "beat" and "pulse" can also operate within a single part as well as across the parts in an ensemble, creating the effect of "beats within beats", and "cycles within cycles", as exemplified in the Agbadza dance.

The ways in which cyclicality operates in different musical traditions is such that it may be helpful to use the plural form of the term in describing the concept. The cyclicalities inherent in African, Indian and Indonesian musics are markedly different. Apart from the different types and styles of gamelan, there are interlocking patterns, related to a "melody" (balungan) or "theme", and the operation of larger scale structures, "cycles within cycles". In Indian classical music, one can highlight rhythmic cyclicality in the tabla part with its bols within the talas (tal) system. In conjunction with this, there is the raga system dealing with a meta-cycle involving moods, time and seasons. And, in African musics, we have a different type of rhythmic interlocking involving "cycles in cycles", based on a timekeeping part, unchanging repetitive parts, and on pre-composed and improvised patterns. This complexity involves situations where a linear temporal orientation also holds. In spite of a danger that misrepresentation can result when simplistic two-dimensional models are used for illustrative purposes, the models may be conceptually helpful in explaining these cyclicalities in curricular contexts (see Figures 1, 2 & 3).

Figure 1: A Representation of a 10 cycle Tala in Indian Classical Music

Figure 2: A Representation of Javanese Gamelan Music

Figure 3: A Representation of Agbadza Music from Ghana

In each of the Figures above, the "soundscape" is represented by the blocked segments, each dot indicates the beginning of a cycle, and the highest "pitched" instrumental parts are represented by the innermost blocked circle. It is possible to use numbers⁸ instead of blocking in the segments of the circles of the above cycles and different colours for different instruments. An approach to teaching students about different music traditions is to employ different forms of cyclical orientations rather than rely solely on a linear perspective, as is suggested by conventional Western music notation. This can contribute towards culturally appropriate sensitivities required in dealing with some non-Western musics. Furthermore, it is important that cyclical orientations are introduced from an early age in order that children do not grow up to devalue and misunderstand some musics.

Figure 4: The So-called "Common" West African Bell Pattern and the Major Scale

The imputation of links from the 'vertical', pitch, level to the 'horizontal', temporal, level, from one musical culture to another, seems a bit far-fetched. Clearly, it seems crucial to exercise cultural sensitivity, and I have suggested that this can be done on at least three grounds: contextually, in the use of resources, and in the employment of teaching strategies (Kwami, 2001a).

Towards an Intercultural Music Perspective in Curricular Practice¹⁰

As the knowledge and experiences of an average teacher in non-Western musics are unlikely to be comprehensive, it seems that the focus in formalized music education should turn to real musical creativity and literacy - that is, engagement in "musicking" and musical ways of expression and communication (see Kwami, 2001b). Even if a teacher is not proficient in all of the world’s significant musical traditions, it could be possible for him or her to introduce students to the musics. It seems that the teacher can concentrate on musical procedures and structures, within a situation where the aural and oral are pre-eminent, and where pupils are taught about sensitivity to various musics. Another important aspect is the role of improvisation in teaching pupils to become more musically literate and creative, through an active process, rather than through more passive means such as listening per se.

There may be a temptation for music teachers to see themselves as outsiders with respect to most non-Western musics. Although more are increasingly familiar with such musics, many may see themselves as outsiders so far as those musics are concerned. As a consequence, they may not feel confident to teach their students about such musics. It could be argued that the special circumstances of formal educational contexts may have their own "insider" feel; and that teachers are specially trained to operate within their educational context irrespective of musical background, tastes and knowledge. However, too much focus on the Western classical music tradition could contribute to alienating some students. Such a perspective might also be an impediment or blinker preventing the teacher from approaching other musics with a more open mind. The important issue is about being open to others and willing to accept that there may be other legitimate ways of engaging in "musics". But, whether or not these other ways are acceptable in curricular contexts and how they are understood and applied outside their original context, is another matter.

Even though it can logically be argued that on educational grounds, it may make sense to start with what one might call the child’s musical mother tongue or culture, monoculturalism is not seen as an option in formal music education. There may be other influences in the fray quite early on, including musics and experiences that children are not supposed to listen to but which they may absorb, perhaps even whilst in the womb. There is a multiplicity of experiences that children bring with them when they start schooling and which may lie outside the control of parents and teachers. As music educators, we need to be aware of this and plan our work accordingly.

Also, there are other problems with which to contend in the curriculum, such as the definition of a person’s musical culture. Even in villages in more remote parts of Africa or South America, there is likely to be access to a transistor radio or television. We can scratch under the surface and ask: "what exactly is this mother-tongue culture, and, in Britain, what exactly is it?" Finnegan’s (1987) answer is to suggest that we may be dealing with musical "pathways" or "worlds". Where there are difficulties in defining a particular culture such as British culture, it may be possible to argue that there are elements of both processes in train. This is possible even though there may be some whose main musical cultural perspective in Britain can be firmly located in one stereotypical stream - such as "middle class", Western "classical music", "suburban", and so on. Are there not influences originating from non-Western musics, which are absorbed, and are we not dealing with a relocated world of musical traditions in Britain?

When lullabies are sung for babies, children are taught nursery rhymes through the media or by more labour-intensive means - whether it be by cable, satellite, the "home" or other service, is it safe to argue that it involves only one cultural perspective - that of "music of the British Isles"? It needs to be understood that non-Western musical "worlds" inhabit the British Isles and constitute a veritable aspect of British culture. These worlds include musics from all parts of the globe. However, one can accept that there will be a predominant perspective where individuals are concerned, and that some parents want their children to be enculturated into a particular "musical world", perhaps, one that they consider as being superior or advantageous to the interests of their progeny.

Finally, we need to note that an intercultural curricular approach is not particularly 'real' to any musical tradition or perspective (cf. Kwami, 1998). The approach may be described as representing the artificial context of "classroom music", of "school" rather than "real" communally located musics in social and cultural terms, even though the school is located within the wider community (Kwami, 1998). In "classroom music", musical creations might ideally show the understandings of children learning to come to terms with a variety of musics, and engaging with them from their own standpoints and experiences.

It is important that the dangers of eclecticism, such as we have adopted, are not to be lost upon us. By generalising, we can fall into the trap of "universalising", finding similarities, perhaps, even in instances where they do not exist, and thus we may miss or discard that which does not conform or converge. We can also end up with something, which is not true to a particular instance, occasion or context. And this should have implications for our work as teachers. In a sense we are constructing a reality, which, although relevant for our present purposes, may have to be moulded and adapted for particular instances and circumstances.

It has been argued that multiple, sometimes divergent perspectives need to be at the core of a comprehensive programme of music education. Furthermore, it is important that this starts right from the beginning of schooling. How best this is done, however, remains a challenge that needs investigation. In discussing cyclicalities in musics and across traditions, a two-dimensional explanatory model has been proposed as a possible alternative teaching tool in cross-cultural musical understanding. Obviously, it is important that appropriate sensitivity is applied when using it, and the issue of how teachers can best be enabled to use it and other models in a sensitive intercultural way in general music lessons is also a challenge.

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Arom, S.

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Chernoff, J. M.

1979 African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in African Musical Idioms. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Department for Education and Employment/Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

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Elliot, D.

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Kimberlin, C. T. and Euba, A. (eds.)

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1993 "Music Education in Britain and the School Curriculum: a Point of View", International Journal of Music Education, 21: 25-39.

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1996 "Music Education in and for a Multi-Cultural Society", in Plummeridge, C. (Ed) Music Education: Trends and Issues (Bedford Way Papers). London: Institute of Education University of London, pages 59-76.

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2001a "Music Education in and for a Pluralist Society" in Chris Philpott and Charles Plummeridge (eds.) Issues in Music Teaching. London: Routledge/Falmer, 2001, pages 142-155.

_______

2001b "Music Education in A New Millenniu" in Avril Loveless and Viv Ellis, (eds.) ICT, Pedagogy and the Curriculum: Subject to Change. London: Routledge/Falmer, 2001, pages 216-228.

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¹ Earlier versions of this article have been delivered as follows: “World Music at Home and Abroad”, at a meeting of UK members of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) meeting at Reading University, UK, on April 21 2001; and "'World Music in Context': Musical Traditions of the World and Music Education - An Impossible Quest", Keynote Address, 'World Music in the Classroom' Conference, at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, on 1st July 2002.

² This was at Reading University in England in 1974.

³This was also discussed in a paper presented at the one day conference of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology held at Royal Holloway, University of London, on 17 November 2001.

⁴ Ibid. (See the previous note.)

⁵ This matter has been commented on by a number of commentators; see, for example, Chernoff, J. M. (1979) African Rhythm and African Sensibility. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

⁶ The other ti sounds are not played; they are silent. This fact can be used to structure the teaching process. For example, beginners can be taught to internalise the fact and through recitation of the mnemonics and in the use of physical movements without playing an instrument. Next, they can play all the pe sounds on the high bell and all the ti sounds on the lower bell. Finally, they can omit all the ti sounds except for the last one.

⁷ There is insufficient space to tackle this issue comprehensively here. However, it might suffice to state that the common asymmetrical orientations seem to be 7 + 5 and 5 + 7 whereas the situation, at least in the Agbadza dance, seems to be 6 + 6, in which the beginning of the first half of the cycle is articulated or sounded, while the latter is silent.

⁸ For example, see Kwami, 2001a.

⁹ Such as "Hip-Hop", "Garage", "House" and "Acid".

¹⁰ For another perspective on intercultural music and musicology see the following: Kimberlin, C. T. and Euba, A. (eds.) Intercultural Music, Volume 1, pages 1-12; Kimberlin, C. T. and Euba, A. (eds.) Intercultural Musicology, Volume 2, pages 2 & 3; or visit the website of the Music Research Institute at http://www.music-research-inst.org. For another position on an interculturalist stance in music education see, for example, Kwami, R. M. 1993, 1996, 1998 or 2001a.

¹¹ The arrival of SS Windrush at Tilbury docks in 1948 signalled the widespread migration of people from the West Indies.

¹² Through reflecting on my teaching experiences, I have gradually broadened my position to one that I believe is more logical and pragmatic. Initially, I adopted a "monocultural" perspective in my teaching, and took some time to move towards a "multicultural" perspective. Latterly, of course, as I have explicated in some of my writings (Kwami, 1993, 1996, 1998), I find an "intercultural" perspective as conceptually valid in educational settings and I see it as one that should gain more acceptance in the adoption of a truly "world" or global musics curricular approach.