RP-Department of Music and Dance

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https://repository.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1376

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Browsing RP-Department of Music and Dance by Subject "culture"

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    Music and meaning: Some reflections through personal compositions
    (Taylor & Francis, 2010-08) Njoora, T. K.
    On 31 May 2007, with the cooperation of musicians from Kenyatta University1 and Goethe-Institute; (German cultural centre) in Nairobi, I had the privileged opportunity to share several premiere compositions with the audience in Nairobi as part of community reach out with ‘art music’. Regarding music composition, Barret (2003) argues that composition assists in expressive meaning-making for both the composer and the audience. But then (he argues) meaning is ‘culturally mediated…and is most effectively described as a dialogue between…the musician and the composer, the emerging musical work, the culture that produced the composer, and the emerging work’. For me personally, the compositions shared during the concert served several purposes – (a) sharing my creative world with the audience; (b) responding to music enthusiasts interests and academic requirements; (c) adding cultural capital to Kenyan art music; and (d) exploring some fundamental issues in meaning-making through music compositions. As Barret (2003) observes; Specific practices and connections, traditions from which they emerge become the cultural benchmarks against which other constructions and ways of communicating meaning are judged – and are often found deficient. In this paper I share some reflections of my creative exhibitions, my thoughts on meaningmaking and its unavoidable cultural underpinnings. At the same time, I interrogate some thoughts on the area of ‘creativity’, which is often considered abstract. Among the ideas discussed are the five discreet stages of ‘creativity’ as advanced by Wallas (1926) model of the process namely; (a) Preparation; (b) Incubation; (c) Intimation; (d) Illumination and (e) Verification. Ultimately, I hope that sharing this information will invigorate academic dialogue to contribute towards defining of current generation of ‘Art Music’ compositions in Kenya and ultimately for the benefit of the region (East Africa).
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    Synchronising pedagogy and musical experiences in early childhood: addressing challenges in preschool music education in Kenya
    (Taylor & Francis, 2009-08) Andang'o, Elizabeth J. A.
    This paper examines pedagogy in early childhood music education and the resultant learning experiences in music for children in Kenyan preschools. Two important principles proposed for the synchronisation of teaching and learning in early childhood music education are cultural relevance and developmental appropriateness. These terms are operationalised to suit the Kenyan context. The study described here examined pedagogical practices and children’s musical activities from both cultural and psychological perspectives, based on the rationale that music education should be both culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate. Results suggested that little planning was carried out prior to musical activities, and that the activities did not always benefit all the children. The results of this study may be applicable to early childhood music education in a significant number of Kenyan preschools, since the majority of preschool teachers are trained using the same curriculum countrywide, hence their approach to music education is bound to have many commonalities.