For my first post, I wanted to draw upon my own experiences of world music pedagogy. I chose the traditional Chinese (Xinjiang) folksong "Dance of the Youth" that my former choir, the Cincinnati Children's Choir, prepared for an exchange with the Children's Choir of the China National Symphony Orchestra for our tour of the country in 2014. The song hails from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China. This arrangement is written for SSA (treble) choir and a one piano, four-handed accompaniment.
In terms of pedagogy, this piece was initially difficult to teach because it is written in Mandarin Chinese with no phonetic translation. Thus, I was tasked to work with a native Mandarin speaker in order to best convey the pronunciation of the text.
Admittedly, I had little context of the piece's translation, its origin, or the context in which it is performed in its native culture. This speaks volumes to the importance of ethnomusicology in relation to world music pedagogy. By not making an effort to learn about the piece in a deeper way, I was promoting a Western view of foreign music, which Reimer (2003) supports by criticizing Westerners for viewing music in a "'low context culture'--a culture in which particular contexts of particular pieces are far less important than the qualities of the pieces themselves" (p. 181). Yet in order to make this piece of music "meaningful and useful" to my students (Wade, 2013, p. 1), I should have looked further to understand the many facets that made this piece of music come to be. This is where ethnomusicology is so valuable: it "frame[s] a perspective for many ways of thinking both about people and about music all over the world" (p. 1). For example, I could have searched for the meaning of the text or discovered whether the "Dance" of "Dance of the Youth" referred also to an accompanied dance. Perhaps the song was originally a folk dance and words were added later. Perhaps it played a more significant role in the culture, perhaps as a rite of passage or for sociopolitical purposes. According to Wade (2013) all of these questions are important pieces that contribute to a deeper understanding of music (p. 1). Bond (2014) supports this statement, arguing that without such contexts, students are deprived of a "multilayered musical experience that potentially strips the music of its meaning and value" (p. 12), which is quite possibly the disservice I imparted to my students when I taught the piece.
Upon a quick search, I've already found more information. I found a Chinese choir performing the same arrangement (which some of the pronunciation differs from my own teaching, which may warrant some investigation). I also found a recording of what seems like a pop singer performing the song on a television show. I have included both videos below. Obviously, there is a broader understanding the song that I missed, and this week was a wake-up call for my future teaching strategies.
References
Bond, V. L. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching in the choral classroom. The Choral Journal, 55(2), 8-15.
Reimer, B. (2003). A philosophy of music education: Advancing the vision. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Wade, B. C. (2013). Thinking musically: Experiencing music, expressing culture. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a reflective and informative post. I completely agree with you that ethnomusicology promotes a deeper understanding and appreciation for world music in focusing on the cultural context in which the music exists. By being cautious on not imposing outside experiences and perspectives on a piece of music, the musical experience is more authentic and valuable. Even within one culture, there may be different contexts that shape the performance of a song. I liked how you included two drastically different examples of the same song but both originating from the same culture. These contexts are important too in informing how to teach a piece of world music.
I commend you on using a native Chinese speaker for help with pronunciation. I think the pronunciation is so challenging for non-native speakers and it is understandable that it was a main focus for your pedagogical concerns. I just wanted to add that perhaps the differences in pronunciation that you noticed were due to differences in "accents". Mandarin definitely sounds different depending on where the speaker is from. It is definitely a reason for further investigation and you might find some more interesting aspects to inform the way you teach this piece. The amount of reflection you put into this post has inspired me to look more at the way I approach world music. Thanks for sharing!