On a recent plane journey, the incessant voice of a loud-mouthed boy could be heard above other sounds. As I was sitting in front of the boy, I was not able to see him. However, the impression formed was that of an undisciplined, disobedient and unruly child, probably spoilt by his parents - so I thought initially. The voice of the boy's mother added to the impression - soft spoken and entreating; it even conjured a picture of auburn or brown hair, someone wearing a skirt, not wanting to 'rock the boat' and draw attention to herself, as suggested by her apparently feeble attempts to pacify and quieten her son. The boy, whom I surmised was aged about 6, was showing off his knowledge in a way that could not be ignored. The 'conversation' broached the topic of the ancient Egyptians and the matter being contested was how to describe the Pharaohs. In the mother's view, the Pharaohs were like Kings. The boy vehemently disagreed and accused his mother of telling a lie. He kicked up a tantrum, started crying and said he would ask his father. The mother somewhat tempered things down by saying that if her son wanted to persist in his ignorance, so be it…

An hour or so later, when passengers were disembarking from the aeroplane, I got an opportunity to see the boy and his mother. He had golden locks of hair, blue eyes, and he wore jeans. His mother was blonde, with short hair, and she also wore blue jeans! So, my impressions were wrong. It is likely that some of my fellow passengers had different impressions of the events that had transpired on the flight concerning the boy and his mother. 

The points I want to raise about the above episode are as follows. First, it may be that the Pharaohs can be likened to Kings; but, perhaps, the little boy is right and that it is better for the Pharaohs to be seen or conceptualised as Emperors. Obviously, we are dealing here with a cultural and historical dimension, and perhaps, this applies in a sense to our subjective and objective perspectives when we apprehend musics with which we are not familiar. Expressed in another way, we listen to, experience musics from various perspectives and use terms and concepts that may not be appropriate or accord with those of musical progenitors and cultural bearers. But, our subjective perspectives are no less valid because of that. However, it is important that we exercise due sensitivity along and beyond the lines that will be entertained by the cultural bearers of the musics in question.

In my previous editorial (Intercultural Musicology, 4/ii), I stated that the Centre for Intercultural Music Arts (CIMA) needs to tackle the issue of the effective implementation of intercultural music arts education particularly in situations where lack of resources, both physical and human, is problematic. An essential part of this process concerns the adequate knowledge, skills, and understanding, particularly with respect to intercultural music arts. Also, as is intended in this issue of Intercultural Musicology, teachers need suggestions as to how to effectively implement intercultural music arts in their teaching. Finally, as the article presented is quite extensive, I have decided to include an update to the CIMA archival lists in the next issue.

The Article

Jacqueline Black demonstrates an effective way of teaching Gamelan music to children aged between 12 and 13 in general music lessons in a secondary school in London. In her discussion, she uses evidence from pupils and includes some views on how the work could be improved.