Hard-to-teach area 1: World Music

Note: The term 'World Music' has been used throughout to refer to various music that reflects cultural diversity and a range of national traditions.
Teacher feedback: Some teachers find it hard to motivate pupils to embrace musical styles that they do not identify with as part of their chosen youth subculture. They are sometimes reluctant to be seen to be more open for fear of ridicule as 'uncool'.
KS3 context: The English National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 music indicates that the study of music should include “a range of classical and popular traditions and current trends in music that reflect cultural diversity and a global dimension”. The range of classical and popular traditions is defined as “music from different national and cultural traditions”. In KS2, pupils will probably have sung songs from various cultural traditions.
Index of world music ideas

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Principle 1: Have a clear rationale
It is not possible to absorb a whole musical tradition within the curriculum time available. Therefore you need to limit your aims and objectives, while not undervaluing the importance of this area of music making. Suggested aims might be:

  • to stimulate curiosity and interest;
  • to engender respect for different cultural traditions;
  • to explore and discover new ideas for pupils to use in their own music;
  • to offer a perspective on the music of one’s own cultural background.

These are probably more important than acquiring specific technical skills. The KS3 Strategy materials offer helpful definitions of musical styles, genres and traditions and the benefits of learning about them (http://www3.hants.gov.uk/music/theunits/unit1/unit1-challenges.htm).
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Principle 2: Context is important
The KS3 Strategy materials state that “a fuller model of musical understanding will also demonstrate how social, cultural and artistic contexts inform the way that music is created and perceived as an aesthetic subject. All forms of music making reflect a unique context. By exploring the contexts of a broad range of musical styles, genres and traditions, pupils develop an understanding of the ways that different aesthetic, cultural and social values affect music. NC2008 recognises the importance of this contextual learning, both in principle and in detail”.
A video to accompany Unit 1 includes extracts from a samba project which includes contextual background and use of movement and masks to bring the topic to life. Go to http://www3.hants.gov.uk/music/unit1-resources.htm, select the Audio & Video tab and choose Video 1a. One samba group performing in England can be found at www.paraisosamba.co.uk.
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Principle 3: Start from what pupils already know
This could mean drawing on the cultural backgrounds of pupils in your class (see idea 3 below) or using familiar features (see ideas 1 & 2 below). This approach is illustrated in the Musical Futures project. Aims include:

  • Making tangible connections with students’ musical lives outside school;
  • Achieving a balance between what children already know they want to do and new un-tried experiences.

See page 2 of www.musicalfutures.org.uk/teacherdownload/notts/whole_Curriculum_Approach_Bw.pdf.
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Principle 4: World music does not have to be taught separately
Although units of work on individual cultural traditions are useful ways of exploring those traditions in more depth, two further strategies can help to introduce pupils to music from different cultural traditions:

  1. Take a device or a theme and explore it across several traditions (thereby drawing attention to similarities rather than differences between different cultures). Some examples of this strategy are given in Ideas 1 & 2 below.
  2. Include examples from different cultural traditions alongside western music to illustrate general aspects of music. For example, you might:
    • Play a piece of Chinese classical music alongside Britten’s Sea Interludes or Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain to illustrate the concept of descriptive music;
    • Include a tango in the examples you choose to illustrate the difference between major and minor tonalities;
    • Use an example of South African township music to illustrate the idea of ground bass, alongside Pachelbel’s Canon and Purcell's Dido’s Lament.

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Idea 1: Rhythms around the world
Many musical traditions have strong rhythmic elements. These can be very satisfying to explore and appear to be 'acceptable' to most youngsters. Musical Futures offers two such units:

  • An introduction to World Music which includes samba (Brazil) and taiko (Japan);
  • A more in-depth unit on Taiko.

Visit www.musicalfutures.org.uk/teacherdownload/notts/whole_Curriculum_Approach_Col.pdf and scroll down to the relevant unit.
The Musical Futures materials also include DVDs and CD-ROMs with further exemplifications and resources. Other rhythmic traditions to explore include tala in Indian music, the 'additive' rhythms of Eastern Europe and the rhythm ensembles of West Africa. Some useful web sites exploring these traditions include:

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Idea 2: Instruments around the world
One way of introducing pupils to the variety of music around the world is to take an instrument family and look at examples from different cultures. Rather than using the western orchestral categories, it is more appropriate to use the Hornbostel classification system, which divides instruments into 5 categories – idiophones, aerophones, chordophones, membranophones and electrophones. For an explanation see www.horniman.ac.uk/music/music/classifications.html.
A number of sites, including www.horniman.ac.uk/music/music/music_homepage.html and www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Instruments/Anglais/plan_du_site_en.html, give access to pictures and descriptions of musical instruments according to the Hornbostel categories. The latter site has larger images and also includes sound clips of each instrument.
Each category has several subdivisions – for instance plucked chordophones would cover lutes, harps and zithers. The lute family would include guitars, with which pupils will be familiar. You could use the Horniman Museum site and others to explore different types of lute and the sounds they make and the music played on them. www.horniman.ac.uk/music/music/plucked_lute_chord_index.html provides an index to pictures and descriptions of a wide range of plucked lutes. These include modern guitars as well as instruments from Japan, India, South America and many other places. A list of CDs exploring types of instrument across different cultures, including La Magie du Luth (a selection of music played on plucked stringed instruments), can be found at www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/greenwich/accounts/subjects/music/web/Resources/wmcdinstruments.
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Idea 3: Draw on the cultural backgrounds of your students
Some of your pupils will have first-hand knowledge of different musical traditions through their own cultural backgrounds. It is important to draw on this expertise. You can involve pupils and their families/friends actively in enriching your curriculum offer. Invite them into the school to give live performances or presentations.
Alternatively, you can use videos, camcorders, live internet video or webcam links to bring the music into your classroom. You may find it possible to use some of the music from these presentations as classroom material, which might result in the creation of CDs or videos of pupil performances. This is consistent with the Musical Futures approach referred to above in Idea 1.
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Idea 4: Internet research resources
There are many web sites that provide a wealth of information and only a few can be mentioned here. You may want to do some initial research yourself before tackling a tradition with your pupils.
It is also a good idea to set up research projects for your pupils to undertake themselves. One way of doing this is to divide the class into groups and give each group a cultural tradition to research into. (This can be decided by you alone or through negotiation and discussion withy the pupils.) They could then be asked to undertake research into their specific musical tradition. The end result would be a short presentation to the rest of the class. You may wish to specify that the presentation should include some talking about the music, some visual illustrations (picture or film) and some musical examples.
Relevant web addresses appear throughout the ideas in this article. Other useful sites include:

Some record companies specialising in world music offer samples as part of their online catalogues. You may have to pay for this service.

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Idea 5: Online performances
If it is difficult to find musicians from different cultural traditions to visit your school, you can find a range of performances and interviews with musicians on the internet. For instance:

Transcripts of interviews with a wide range of African musicians can be found at www.afropop.org/multi/interviews.php. You can also use the internet to find out about world music events in your area, for instance at www.songlines.co.uk/on-the-road.php
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Idea 6: Software for world music
Some music software companies now incorporate some elements of world music in their packages, or are developing specific world music packages. These include:

  • O-generator World Music - contains complete lessons for whole-class playing of Latin and African music. There is also a composition area where students can work at their own pace. See www.sibelius.com/products/o-generator/world_music.html
  • Garage Band World Music Jam Pack - features “a collection of world loops, ethnic percussion, exotic strings and regional wood instruments” to use to create your own music within Apple's 'Garage Band' software. See www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/jampacks
  • Swarshala Pro - offers powerful access to the sounds and practices of Indian music but some teachers have found its interface too complex for individual use in KS3. See www.swarsystems.com
  • Orient World (Middle Eastern) and Latin World (South American) - these are virtual instrument plug-ins that can be used within other software such as compatible sequencers. They allow access to ready-made sounds, rhythms, loops and phrases from the chosen cultures for further creative use. For further information search the product names at www.timespace.com.
  • Javanese Gamelan and African Drumming - these are two fairly extensive world music resource packages developed by Wells Cathedral School. They are offered as free downloads from www.wcsmusic.org.uk. Full download and installation information is available from the site.

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