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Music Education as a conservation tool

Towards documenting and preserving Zimbabwe's

traditional music for educational purpose

Educational Resource for teaching Folk Songs from Zimbabwe

By Billy St John

All songs are by unknown composers, kept alive through the oral traditional as practiced throughout Africa.

I acknowledge and pay respects to the traditional land owners, chiefs, and leaders in Zimbabwe as the custodians of cultural values, traditions and history as stated in Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Introduction

Project Mission

Culture and Music in Zimbabwe

Pronunciation Guide

Using The Songs

Introduction

Teaching world music in the music classroom is becoming increasingly important and valuable, as it offers opportunities for cross-cultural learning and a global perspective, while fostering an appreciation for diverse musical traditions. It is crucial for music educators to avoid assuming western music's superiority and recognise the unique complexity and beauty of non-western music.

In this project, I wish to share my passion and experiences with traditional Zimbabwean music and folklore through an engaging and informative website. Notating African music is challenging due to its intricate layers of fast polyrhythms, percussion instruments, and vocal sound effects. Therefore, it is advised to use scores as a guide while also emphasising the importance of listening and feeling the music, especially in the case of folk music.

Performing traditional songs is an ever-changing process that allows for leaders to express themselves freely and convey the essence of the music. By encouraging students to develop their interpretations, they can appreciate the creativity and beauty of non-western musical traditions. Overall, this website can introduce students to the fascinating and energetic music of Zimbabwe while inspiring them to explore other world music traditions.

Project Mission

The main goal of this research project is to create a digital teaching resource that can be used by music educators in Zimbabwe and around the world to teach traditional Zimbabwean music. In addition, the project aims to preserve and share knowledge of Zimbabwean folk music by recording audio and video of songs and creating written scores whenever possible. The project involved conducting interviews with teachers and university music students to understand the use of folk songs in schools, the music being taught, and how the music curriculum is implemented, whether it focuses on Zimbabwean music or not. Furthermore, traditional music and dance groups were observed and interviewed to investigate how they pass down musical knowledge from one generation to the next and to document traditional songs suitable for educational purposes.The research questions explored were:

What initiatives are currently in place to document and conserve folk songs in Zimbabwe?
What traditional music is being taught in Zimbabwean schools?

a. Are schools implementing the national music curriculumb. What are the challenges associated with implementing the curriculum

What traditional music is being taught in pre-service music education in Zimbabwe
What music do traditional music and dance groups perform, and how is it taught?

a. Do they have procedures in place to document and conserve folk songs?

Culture and Music in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe today, the music scene is characterised by a fusion of folk and pop styles, with skilled musicians seamlessly integrating traditional instruments into contemporary songs. The Shona people, the largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe, consider music as a vital part of their culture and national identity. Their musical traditions are primarily passed down orally, a practice common throughout Africa.

Shona music is characterised by repetition, call and response, polyphony, complex rhythms, and pentatonic scales. Repetition is central, often guided by a song leader who determines when to transition between sections or songs. The drum patterns, with their intricate polyrhythms, repeat throughout a song, providing opportunities for dance breaks and improvised solos. The call and response melodies complement the complex drum patterns.

Polyphony, the combination of multiple musical parts, is another notable aspect of Shona music. Hand claps, drums, and shakers create intricate polyrhythmic patterns, generating a pulsating rhythm heard in two or three layers simultaneously.

Shona music has a conversational quality, with various voices, instrumental parts, or even individual players engaging in lively exchanges. Call and response singing is common, with a chorus repeating a fixed refrain alternated with a lead singer who has more improvisational freedom. This tradition originated in Africa and was brought to the New World during the slave trade.

Drums are the most popular instruments in Shona music. They are made from materials like wood, gourds, and clay, with drum membranes crafted from animal skins. Percussion instruments such as clapsticks, bells, rattles, slit gongs, struck gourds and clay pots, stamping tubes, and xylophones are also used. The hosho, a pair of hollowed-out gourds with seeds inside, produces a unique sound and is highly valued. Skilled hosho players are in demand in traditional music ensembles.

Hand-clapping, known as Makwa in Shona, accompanies songs with its distinct rhythmic element. Cupped hands create a resonant, drum-like sound, often with two contrasting patterns played simultaneously. This interlocking of rhythms showcases the fundamental principle of African music.

Traditional Shona songs and games are an integral part of the culture, providing important education for children, preparing them for their future roles as adults. Music and poetry have long been used in Shona culture, connecting learners to their histories, stories, and life experiences.

Pronunciation Guide

Shona is a phonetic language, meaning it is a language whose written form is close to its spoken form. It it worth mentioning that many dialectics of the Shona language continue to exist and thrive in Zimbabwe with various pronunciation and changes. This is a guide only, compiled to the best of our knowledge.
Vowels in Shona always make the same sounds, even when combined with other vowels. There are no silent letters or diphthongs in Shona, so vowels will always make the same sound, and it is important that you pronounce each vowel, even when one vowel follows another.

a = ah (as in father)

e = ay (as in take)

i = ee (as in feet)

o = oh (as in go)

u = oo (as in smooth)

Challenges are seen in sounding two consonants together. Pronounce consonants together like “ch” in English, but there are more in Shona.

b – implosive when used initially

d - implosive when used initially

dh – as English d

dz – combination of d and z sounds

zh – approx. as soft g in orange

n(di) = velar stop as in ng in hung (Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth)

dy - as in j in job - like G

r – rolled

Using The Songs

All songs have been presented in a lead sheet formation. The lead sheet provides the following information:Leader The main melody line, also known as the Call. The leader can be sung as a solo, by a group of singers or by the entire class/choir. The teacher could also sing the leader part when first learning the songs.
Response This is the response to the call. This line is written below the leader and may contain harmonies for Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bass. In some songs there is no harmony and the response sings in unison or octaves. In some songs there is no response line. If your group is not ready for harmony singing, then simply teach one part for a response.
Shona Lyrics The original written form and spelling of the Shona language is used as close to the traditional lyrics as possible. The Pronunciation Guides have been created using English spelling of the Shona language phonetics. Remember to refer to the Pronunciation guide on page 8.
English Direct Translations The direct translations at times do not make sense in English. In some cases, an interpretation of the Shona lyrics has been provided and in others, a singable English version has been created.
Background or Instructions - As much information as possible has been provided to assist teachers understand and have knowledge of the song before teaching it. This information can be used as another teaching activity, to assist with song selection for a theme and to help performers grasp the concepts of songs.
Further Suggestions and Activities The lead sheets are guides and music teachers are encouraged to use them in various ways to teach the songs or other element of music. Include repetition into the songs; you could write the structure out on the board and even create it with the class. Eg. All sing the lead, group A sing the lead and group B sing the response, swap, percussion instrumental, call and response section to end.
Consider the following:

Change keys
Add dynamics
Add repeats
Include instrumental gaps
Play the melody lines on instruments
Call and response on instruments
Link to African music and dance
Link to the learning of Africa and African countries,
Learn more of the Shona language.
Improvise dance,
Melodic and Rhythmic Improvisation,
Have dance competitions,
Call and response dance,
Create a simple accompaniment following the chords of the song,
Have students sing while others play instruments,
Allow opportunities for students to be solo leader,
Have class presentations for the school or other groups where the song is explained and performed,

It is important to remember that these songs are repetitive so are easy to learn. They should be taught through rote learning, inspired by the oral traditions as practiced in Africa for centuries.

Hand Claps, Hosho and Ngoma

These percussion lines are used as an accompaniment to some songs. They can be explored in many ways, with or without the singing. Isolate rhythms and learn them one at a time. Layer the rhythms on top of each other and spend time hearing the pulse in 2 and 3 by placing the accents in different places. Use the following as a guide to teach and explore some Zimbabwean rhythms. Hosho are shakers and any similar shaker sounding instruments can be used in place of hosho’s. Maracas, Shekere, Egg Shakers or Latin Percussion are are good substitutes. Ngoma means drum in Shona. Djembe’s would make for a suitable drum for all these songs. Use the below table to practice rhythms and layer them on top of each other.

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