Creative music production inspired by the features of African music & Contemporary music
National partners
- University: University of Education, Music Department & Department of Music Cultures in Dialogue
- School: Friedrich Grammar School Freiburg with grade 5/6
- Ensemble: ensemble recherche
Potentials
With regard to the promotion of musical creativity, the German team´s topic is creative music production inspired by the principles of African music and Contemporary music.
The promotion of entrepreneurship is based on characteristics such as: initiative, persistence, achievement motivation and self-responsibility.
During the project pupils went through different creative musical processes. Starting off with the first musical idea as far as to perform on stage, the pupils were required to make use of the initially named characteristics. In addition to a comprehensive cultural education they dealer in depth with themselves and their environment, engaged in dialogue with other musicians and participants, used available resources, developed and presented publicly with their own musical ideas with a high degree of personal responsibility.
Structure
Research on how to promote musical creativity by means of using characteristic features of African music and Contemporary music in school contexts was realized in cooperation with university students. The focus was on identifying sources for musical inspiration in real-life situations. Further topics of research were how rhythmic and improvisational skills could be trained and how students could develop a professionally designed performance in an artistic process based on the initial musical idea.
Materials
Material was developed in cooperation of students and senegaleses musicians. The developed course material was going to be tried out and tested among the school partners and in teacher training seminars. The ensemble recherche as artistic partner attended and supported the students´ process of musical creation. They pointed out techniques of composing styles in contemporary music to the pupils.
This encounter was intended to trigger a form of `dialogue` between the two cultural practices. In the course of half a school year, pupils arranged pieces and applied compositional techniques based on the musical idea of this dialogue. Presenting the compositions in a performance offered opportunities to perceive cultural characteristics of each musical technique.
The development and design of the performance was theoretically researched and in addition to that tested in practice. The musical results using techniques of African music practice (e.g. improvisation models) were continuously presented in front of the group involving active engagement of all participants. The methods derived from contemporary music aimed to improve the students’ stage presence in a classical form of performance with a perceptive audience and a performing team of musicians.
Summing up the stages of development of musical creativity concludes in a procedure that should:
- raise awareness of musical phenomena in the students´ everyday life context and therefore serve as an education and differentiation of the culture of hearing
- recreate and practice examples from the African musical culture in combination with practice of body oriented music making activities
- offer options for learning and practicing various models of musical improvisation (e.g. instrumental, vocal, in motion)
- help students to develop and design their own musical ideas
- familiarize the students with the use of African and contemporary methods of composition
Download
You can download the concepts in English, German and every partner’s national language: Download (PDF)