Teaching Marimba at Azaad Youth Center
Last week on Wednesday I got called in to teach the Azaad classes for amaAmbush. If I haven't already explained Azaad, it's a project that takes in post-high school youth from disadvantaged areas and teaches them practical skills like cooking, sewing, etc. amaAmbush runs one of the many classes that are taught to these students, normally covering marimba building, drumming, dancing, and marimba playing. The students would normally have been at a building workshop that day, but there was a big event on Thursday and the instructor was busy with the preparations, so I taught his classes instead. Of course, my limited experience in building marimbas was insufficient for this purpose, so my workshop ended up covering only marimba playing. I was a bit nervous coming into the lessons because each one was so long. The day is divided into a morning and an afternoon session, each of which had 2:30 hrs of instruction with a short break in the middle. Now, that is a lot of marimba for beginners! And these students really were beginners :).
Luckily, my morning class was the same group of students that I had met and taught a bit the Friday previous, so they were excited to see me and things got off to a good start. It was mostly just difficult because the students progressed at such different rates. Some of them learned quite quickly and were ready for more, while others had a great deal of difficulty with the basic parts. So, we bumbled through a couple of tunes and called it a morning. While we didn't perform anything masterful, they had a good time and learned some of the fundamentals. It was a bit of new ground for me as well, because I ventured into teaching chords and improvisation--something I haven't done before! Luckily it went quite well and the students really liked it.
The afternoon group was an entirely new set of students for me, and two of them had little or no English comprehension... which was an adventure, of course! Luck was on my side again, though, because marimba is not a particularly language-dependent skill. This second group was particularly talented and we got through more than the morning class, even with the language barrier. In fact, I was having such a good time that the ending siren took me completely by surprise. But some groups are just like that--and you never know in advance!
All-in-all it was an interesting day because it was a good opportunity to compare the South African "average student" to the folks I have taught in the States. When you're starting from absolute zero the differences are easy to identify. For example, the students here are naturally gifted rhymically, while they have great difficulty with remembering melodies. This was a surprise to me at first, because it is exactly the opposite in the states! I taught first an amaAmbush tune and followed it with Ncuzu (sp?) from Portland to see how they would do with each one, and it was certainly an experience. An interesting, if challenging, day!
South African Principals' Association Conference
amaAmbush was exhibiting at the SAPA conference at the Cape Town International Convention Center last Thursday, so I had two full days of marimba. The organization had a general booth in the exhibition area and were also able to perform for the principals at the start of the talks and speeches.
This wasn't just any performance, though, it was a massive one. amaAmbush coordinated with many of their teaching schools to bring both the students and instruments to the conference... resulting in a marimba band of around 35-40 marimbas, at least 10 drums, and altogether maybe 60 or so players (most of whom were high school students... so you can imagine the mayhem!). The sound was quite overwhelming, and it was lucky that amaAmbush teaches in such a standardized fashion or the group never would have been able to coordinate the changes and beginnings and endings of each song. At the same time, there were so many people on stage that I'm not sure you'd even notice if a few people didn't move with the rest of the group. I was able to perform with the group, and I will eventually have some photos that I can put up... but not yet, sorry! This time I wasn't the photographer.
The conference itself was an experience because it was an odd mixture of genres. The principals were interesting to talk with because some of them were very formal and professional, and others were less so (although they dressed the part). The exhibition area was a funny combination of "african" and "professional" with amaAmbush on one hand, and textbook/computer software companies on the other. Anyhow, it was good people watching.
Drumming
I have been hearing about a drum circle in Observatory since the day I moved in, and I finally figured out where takes place. So last Thursday night I showed up at this laid-back club in Obs and joined in. As a bit of background, I have really never been taught to drum. This might seem a bit odd to those of you who know of my Percussion Ensemble days in Grinnell, but I was always channeled into the mallet parts and didn't get much experience with hand-drumming. So I showed up at the drum circle and was handed a drum... and with the other fifteen people who showed up, beat the heck out of the thing for two hours. We were shown a few basic hits (tones? sounds?) and left to learn by repeat-after-me. This is just my style! I am pretty decent with rhythm and I like to think of myself as decently coordinated, so I had a great time. It was a bit challenging for me to use my left hand in such an active manner, since most of the music I have played is very right hand dominant (or I can make it lead with the right even if it isn't supposed to be that way :) ).
I had a great time! I really hope I can learn more drumming while I'm here, but I'm still trying to find and economical way to do that. I don't know if I can really learn enough at these drum circles... but I'll go for the fun of it anyway!
Music Lesson at Oscar Mpheta Senior Secondary School
Friday morning, Charne (one of my SAEP colleagues) popped her head into the office I was working in to ask, "what are you doing this afternoon?" Well, turns out I was headed to Oscar Mpheta to fill in for a couple of music volunteers who had just phoned Charne to cancel late the previous night. The learners in the townships don't generally have music and arts as part of their school curriculum, so one branch of SAEP is focused on coordinating volunteers to teach these subjects after school. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of a lesson plan left for me, so I was on my own!
Luckily (again... seems last week was a luck week) I had exactly one music lesson that I could whip out of my back pocket for the afternoon's class. It's a fun mixture of clapped rhythm and a song from Ghana that teaches some basic concepts like rhythm and harmony. The group of students was wonderful, as well. They were so willing to learn and also very excited about the chance to sing. This sort of lesson can really fall through the floor if your students aren't singing enthusiasts, but their energy really added to the fun of the lesson and made it successful. I might be going back this week... depends on the schedule as usual.
The Beach
Now, normally I wouldn't even bother posting about my picnic at the beach on Friday, but I have some really nice photos of it. Since there aren't any other photos so far in this post, I figured I would throw in a few just for good measure :).
Soweto Gospel Choir
On Saturday I had tickets to go see the Soweto Gospel Choir at the Baxter Theater. And it was maybe the best concert I have seen so far in South Africa! The choir was incredible... full of energy and very tight musically. But it was more than that as well, because there was so much motion and dancing involved in the music that it was really amazing to watch as well as listen to. Their costumes were cut in the style of traditional African dress and the riotous color on each one was stunning. Most of all, the confidence and joy with which the choir sang was touching and totally worth the price of the ticket.
It was interesting to look around at the other audience members as well. More than half of the crowd was white--and I had expected a much stronger black presence because the choir is a grassroots black-music organization. But perhaps the price of the ticket was a discouragement for many who otherwise might have attended. There was a whole row of black adolescent boys sitting in front of me, and I could tell that their tickets had been paid by someone else because they were so unenthused about the concert. The one directly in front of me was wearing a rather tall hat, so I asked him to please remove it once the concert had started. He did take it off reluctantly, but later he solved his problem by wearing the hat and slouching so low in his chair that the hat itself barely reached the top of the backrest. I was sad to see that he and his buddies weren't appreciating the music, but I think it is good that they were able to attend anyway. Maybe something like that will eventually crack through their "tough" exteriors.
Bafana Bafana vs. Zambia
On Sunday I had another "cultural experience" when I went to the South African national team's game vs. Zambia in the Newlands stadium. The place was insane.... almost sold out and the whole crowd was more excited about the game than even the most enthusiastic crowds in the states! Of course, the crowd was a bit rougher as well. In fact, we had to go through about three security checks on the way in, far more rigorous than the standard "open your bags" check in the states. We even got patted down at one of the check points!
The amazing thing was the noise level. The stadium was bigger than PGE Park in Portland, for those of you who know it, and for those of you who don't, just trust me that it was big! And almost all the seats were filled, including people sitting on the stairs in the aisle ways. There were so many of those obnoxious plastic trumpets that you couldn't really tell when they were all blasting because there was such a loud undercurrent of their belching tones. And that's just the normal noise level... when something actually happened on the field things got ridiculous!
The game itself was a disappointment because Bafana Bafana did not play well at all, and ended up losing to Zambia 3 to 1. But it was their fault--they had a terrible defensive line and Zambia capitalized on every offensive chance they got. The referees were a bit shoddy as well, they didn't keep good control of the game. There was only one almost-fight, but it was a rough match! Lots of diving and asking the referee for favors. The game in general was an excellent example of the "problem with African sports" which is an excess of talent and lack of teamwork. But regardless of their play, it was amazing to see the loyalty that the team commanded from their fans.
This Week
Has been somewhat more calm than the past few! I have settled into a routine that is more regular, if a bit less exciting, than the craziness of the past several weeks. I am spending mornings in the SAEP office working with the gap-year interns on English and Chemistry, and going to amaAmbush in the afternoons. This week I've just been transcribing marimba songs for them, but hopefully I will have a bit more variation in the future. I've been enjoying the transcription process though--it's been a challenge to make out the parts from CD recordings, but the more transcribing that I do the better I get at figuring out intervals and rhythms. For the intervals I can't help but say a silent "thank you" to my theory teachers at the summer music camp that I used to attend :). All those tricks I learned are really helpful now!
Next Week
Should be back to my normal craziness!
Tomorrow I am attending a rehearsal with a community marimba group that is inspired by.... if you can believe it.... the marimba movement in the US! I am pretty excited to see how our music has translated itself to Cape Town, so hopefully that should really be fun.
Sunday morning I take off for a four-day-long camping trip with a group of high school students. It's a very Outdoor-School like organization that tries to motivate students and get them excited about sciency and environmental subjects. I'm excited to go even if it turns my schedule upside down next week!
Thanks to anyone who made it this far down the post! I hope that the beginning of fall is treating you all well back in the states!
It was interesting to look around at the other audience members as well. More than half of the crowd was white--and I had expected a much stronger black presence because the choir is a grassroots black-music organization. But perhaps the price of the ticket was a discouragement for many who otherwise might have attended. There was a whole row of black adolescent boys sitting in front of me, and I could tell that their tickets had been paid by someone else because they were so unenthused about the concert. The one directly in front of me was wearing a rather tall hat, so I asked him to please remove it once the concert had started. He did take it off reluctantly, but later he solved his problem by wearing the hat and slouching so low in his chair that the hat itself barely reached the top of the backrest. I was sad to see that he and his buddies weren't appreciating the music, but I think it is good that they were able to attend anyway. Maybe something like that will eventually crack through their "tough" exteriors.
Bafana Bafana vs. Zambia
On Sunday I had another "cultural experience" when I went to the South African national team's game vs. Zambia in the Newlands stadium. The place was insane.... almost sold out and the whole crowd was more excited about the game than even the most enthusiastic crowds in the states! Of course, the crowd was a bit rougher as well. In fact, we had to go through about three security checks on the way in, far more rigorous than the standard "open your bags" check in the states. We even got patted down at one of the check points!
The amazing thing was the noise level. The stadium was bigger than PGE Park in Portland, for those of you who know it, and for those of you who don't, just trust me that it was big! And almost all the seats were filled, including people sitting on the stairs in the aisle ways. There were so many of those obnoxious plastic trumpets that you couldn't really tell when they were all blasting because there was such a loud undercurrent of their belching tones. And that's just the normal noise level... when something actually happened on the field things got ridiculous!
The game itself was a disappointment because Bafana Bafana did not play well at all, and ended up losing to Zambia 3 to 1. But it was their fault--they had a terrible defensive line and Zambia capitalized on every offensive chance they got. The referees were a bit shoddy as well, they didn't keep good control of the game. There was only one almost-fight, but it was a rough match! Lots of diving and asking the referee for favors. The game in general was an excellent example of the "problem with African sports" which is an excess of talent and lack of teamwork. But regardless of their play, it was amazing to see the loyalty that the team commanded from their fans.
This Week
Has been somewhat more calm than the past few! I have settled into a routine that is more regular, if a bit less exciting, than the craziness of the past several weeks. I am spending mornings in the SAEP office working with the gap-year interns on English and Chemistry, and going to amaAmbush in the afternoons. This week I've just been transcribing marimba songs for them, but hopefully I will have a bit more variation in the future. I've been enjoying the transcription process though--it's been a challenge to make out the parts from CD recordings, but the more transcribing that I do the better I get at figuring out intervals and rhythms. For the intervals I can't help but say a silent "thank you" to my theory teachers at the summer music camp that I used to attend :). All those tricks I learned are really helpful now!
Next Week
Should be back to my normal craziness!
Tomorrow I am attending a rehearsal with a community marimba group that is inspired by.... if you can believe it.... the marimba movement in the US! I am pretty excited to see how our music has translated itself to Cape Town, so hopefully that should really be fun.
Sunday morning I take off for a four-day-long camping trip with a group of high school students. It's a very Outdoor-School like organization that tries to motivate students and get them excited about sciency and environmental subjects. I'm excited to go even if it turns my schedule upside down next week!
Thanks to anyone who made it this far down the post! I hope that the beginning of fall is treating you all well back in the states!
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