Crafting creative and unconventional pedagogical approaches
Crafting creative and unconventional pedagogical approaches
USING WESTERN NOTATION TO CONVEY KEY CONCEPTS
Collectively , the collaborators presented several ways in which pedagogy can be creatively designed and adapted in order to better capture the interests of students when proving MME . In the following examples , the collaborators employ pedagogical approaches that bridge the difference in musical traditions and help students better learn and relate to music from unfamiliar cultures , therefore making strides in multiculturalism by way of diversifying their musical knowledge and developing an appreciation for different traditions .
If you break down Malay music and the elements that are involved , you can see that there are certain similarities [ between Western and Malay music ] but the differences are also very distinct . When I talk about the differences , it ’ s things like improvisation , the feel , the soul … The essence of it is actually very difficult to capture .
' My personal objective is to communicate what Malay music is to one who has not had the opportunity of being immersed in the culture . To be able to translate what I know of Malay music using their understanding of music … In a way , I think I have been trying to do that by using Western notation … It ’ s merely a tool to help communicate the music . … At first it was just reading notes and just performing from the score , but not playing with feel … But after some time I realised that they began to pick up on these things . They began to learn , in a way , what is stylistic of the music .'
- Collaborator Y , a teacher of traditional Malay music and its various styles at a local university and several schools
Collaborator Y introduces Malay traditional music to students by building on their Western classical training , such as their ability to read Western notation . They explained that Malay music has distinct differences from Western classical music , such as how it is largely improvisatory and emphasises ‘ jiwa ’ – which is understood as the soul or feel of the music . They found that while jiwa cannot be captured in Western notation , using Western notation is generally a useful tool to introduce basic concepts , such as rhythm .
Y also explained that using Western notation is unconventional when teaching traditional Malay music because it is an oral tradition passed on through non-formal education . Students learn by listening , observing and playing . The use of Western notation to teach Malay music has been previously criticised as not respecting the authenticity of the tradition ( Shah , 2013 ), but Y views such an approach as necessary to preserve the tradition , especially when it has no established teaching methods .
USING PERSONAL ARRANGEMENTS OF WESTERN POPULAR MUSIC
'… I ask them “ What ’ s your goal ?”. They might say “ Oh , I want to be able to play music with my family . My family members play the guitar ” and things like that , and I tell them “ Okay , then I think it is important that you learn how to play chords .”. And another one says , “ I want to rearrange pop songs , like Taylor Swift and stuff like that …”, and I say “ Sure .”. … I don ’ t want them to play music that they don ’ t relate to . For me , I tailor my programmes with the kind of music that they like , or they can accept . … I take very traditional concepts or even themes and motifs and I hide them in these modern pieces . … There ’ s a song called East Side with Halsey and DJ Khaled . We played that song as I realised that the chord structure could work as a reharmonisation for a traditional guzheng song called Liu Yang He . … through playing DJ Khaled ’ s work , they also learnt the traditional stuff .'
- Gildon Choo , tutor and coordinator of a Chinese music ensemble at a post-secondary education institution , 21 / 12 / 21
Gildon has found a way to impart key concepts of traditional Chinese music in a way that is more palatable to his students . By incorporating traditional Chinese musical concepts into personal arrangements of Western popular music , he has found success by working with the interests of his students , rather than against them . Although traditionalists may criticise such fusion
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