Music in Central America

This chapter presents a history of music genres in Central America and chronicles Indigenous music and dance, the arrival of European music, and West African influence. An awareness of music history of the region frames the repertoire within a larger cultural context and can inform how this repertoire is presented to students....

Suggestions for Teachers

Part 1 includes the following: Suggestions for Teachers provides strategies for how to responsibly teach and include the music into curriculums. Themes discussed include cultural contexts, authentic transmission practices, honoring song histories, Indigenous Music, and culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies. Living Traditions: Children’s Music in Guatemala and Nicaragua reviews children’s music traditions and singing cultures in these two countries. Overview: Central America, Guatemala, and Nicaragua includes brief summaries of the region’s geography, climate, languages, national instrument, demographics, and economies. Fieldwork Locations describes the sites where songs were learned to set the scenes for repertoire. Biographies, which are written by the informants and presented in English, Spanish, and Kaqchikel, are included to learn about the lives of the musicians who shared music for this book.

How can I as a Māori music therapy student develop the use of taonga puoro in my practice to support client recovery in an inpatient mental health setting?

<p>This research focuses on developing the use of taonga puoro as part of an individual's music therapy practice, within the context of an acute mental health unit. This was qualitative research guided by Kaupapa Māori Theory, using a self-reflective action research design of three cycles. Through the three action research cycles, themes were observed and developed within the secondary analysis of clinical notes and a reflective journal, with action plans created as a response. At the end of the three cycles, a model for using taonga puoro in music therapy, 'Nga Pou e Ono', was created by looking retrospectively at the cycles. This research acknowledges the importance of narrative, depth of tpic, acknowledgment of self-determination, spirituality, personal power, and the environment within taonga puoro based music therapy. This research has been inspired by the works of other Māori and Indigenous music therapists such as Dennis Kahui (2008), Nolan Hodgson (2014), and Carolyn Kenny (1989), as well as acknowledging the traditions of taonga puoro for healing within Māori society, and the revivalists whose mahi aroha helped to further embed taonga puoro within te ao Māori.</p>

How can I as a Māori music therapy student develop the use of taonga puoro in my practice to support client recovery in an inpatient mental health setting?

<p>This research focuses on developing the use of taonga puoro as part of an individual's music therapy practice, within the context of an acute mental health unit. This was qualitative research guided by Kaupapa Māori Theory, using a self-reflective action research design of three cycles. Through the three action research cycles, themes were observed and developed within the secondary analysis of clinical notes and a reflective journal, with action plans created as a response. At the end of the three cycles, a model for using taonga puoro in music therapy, 'Nga Pou e Ono', was created by looking retrospectively at the cycles. This research acknowledges the importance of narrative, depth of tpic, acknowledgment of self-determination, spirituality, personal power, and the environment within taonga puoro based music therapy. This research has been inspired by the works of other Māori and Indigenous music therapists such as Dennis Kahui (2008), Nolan Hodgson (2014), and Carolyn Kenny (1989), as well as acknowledging the traditions of taonga puoro for healing within Māori society, and the revivalists whose mahi aroha helped to further embed taonga puoro within te ao Māori.</p>

Assembling ‘indigeneity’ through musical practices: translocal circulations, ‘tradition’, and place in Otavalo (Ecuadorian Andes)

This article addresses the relation between Andean ‘traditional music’ and circulations of people, objects, ideas and sounds. Although many studies on Andean indigenous music have explored such circulations, scholars still tend to understand musical practices in terms of ‘cultures’. The case of indigenous music from Otavalo, in the Ecuadorian Andes, encourages us to go beyond this approach. I make two arguments. First, by conceiving of the translocal/transnational flows that have shaped ‘traditional music’ from Otavalo through the concepts of ‘network’ and ‘music world’, I unsettle the link – underlying previous approaches – between a specific people, music and place. Second, through the concepts of ‘assemblage’ and ‘mediation’, I closely look at processes of ‘traditionalisation’ and ‘indigenisation’ to show how, in the context of multiple circulations, social actors nevertheless produce a specific link between people, music and place in order to make a musical practice ‘traditional’ and/or ‘indigenous’.

Music and Religion: Trends in Recent English-Language Literature (2015–2021)

This article reviews recent (2015–2021) English-language publications that focus on music in/as/about religion (broadly defined)—including world, folk, and indigenous religious traditions. While research related to Euro–American-based Christian music accounts for more publications than any other single tradition examined, this review intentionally foregrounds religions that are not as well represented in this literature, such as Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, and folk and animistic traditions from around the world. Recurring trends within this literature elucidate important themes therein, four of which are examined in detail: (1) race and ethnicity, (2) gender and sexuality, (3) music therapy (and medical ethnomusicology), and (4) indigenous music. Broadly speaking, recent (2015–2021) publications related to religion, music, and sound reflect growing societal and political interests in diversity and inclusion, yet there remain perspectives, ideas, and ontologies not yet accounted for. The list of references cited at the end of this article represents only those publications cited in the review and a more comprehensive bibliography is available via an open-sourced Zotero group.

Algunas manifestaciones actuales de la música indígena en Sonora, México

La riqueza de la tradición musical indígena de Sonora estriba en su variedad y significados constituyendo un factor importante en la identidad de sus pueblos. Sin embargo, las investigaciones sobre la música de las culturas autóctonas de la región son escasas; por ello, se hace necesario un estudio enfocado a su significación como fenómeno cultural colectivo y a su análisis musical. El objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer como se manifiesta actualmente la música de algunas etnias del estado de Sonora mediante la trascripción y análisis de obras representativas. Se inició recogiendo las evidencias auditivas y visuales de la música indígena que ha llegado a nuestros días como producto de un largo proceso histórico en diferentes etnias del Estado de Sonora. Se seleccionaron cinco obras extraídas de grabaciones propias o facilitadas por Lutisuc (2007), las cuales fueron transcritas y acompañadas con una breve descripción del contexto donde se interpretan y su análisis melódico, armónico, formal y métrico, así como los procesos de acompañamiento, entonación y timbre de voces. Se concluye que la música indígena contemporánea interpretada en el territorio sonorense es trasmisora de los pensamientos actuales de las etnias; en muchos casos, reconstruyendo parámetros antiguos para moldear las generaciones actuales y no interpretándose fuera del contexto local. Abstract The richness of the indigenous musical tradition in Sonora lies in the variety and meanings constituting an important factor in the identity of their towns. However, the research about the music of the native cultures on the region are only a few; therefore, it is necessary a study focusing the meaning as a collective cultural phenomenon and his musical analysis. The objective of this work is releasing information of how music is currently manifested today in some ethnic groups of Sonora through transcriptions and analysis of representatives works. It began by collecting auditory and visual evidence of indigenous music that has reached our days as a product of a historical process in different ethnic groups in the State of Sonora. Five works were selected from own recordings or provided by Lutiscu (2007), which were transcribed and accompanied with a short description of the context where they are interpreted and its melodic, harmonic, formal and metric analysis; as well as the accompaniment, intonation and timbre of voices. It concludes that contemporary indigenous music performed in the Sonoran territory it is a transmitter of the actual thoughts of the ethnic groups; in many cases, rebuilding old parameters to shape current generations and not interpreting itself outside the local context.

Abele Indigenous Musical Genre in the Context of Yeji Kajoji Festival

The role of indigenous musical performances in traditional festivals has been very significant in the lives of Africans. In Ghana, some of such festivals are pivoted on particular distinctive natures of the indigenous music. One of such musical genres is the Abele music performed by the people of Yeji in the Bono-East region of Ghana. This music is formalized in the context of the Kajoji festival celebrated annually by the community. Through ethnographic research design, the study documents the role of Abele music in the context of the Yeji Kajoji annual festival. The reason is to add to the literature of traditional music scholarship in Ghana while the source materials from the music can be used in the music classroom for music learning. In dealing with the study, participant’s observation and interview were used to collect the needed data. Participants for the study included some purposely selected members of the Abele musical ensemble as well as the paramount chief of the area. It was found out that the Kajoji festival is a very vital mainspring of the traditional education and the remit of the people’s culture while the Abele music serves as the side attraction of this festival.

Rejection of Indigenous Music? Reflections of Teaching and Learning of Music and Dance in Tamale International School

Culturally responsive teaching and learning in schools creates an engaging and accessible learning environment that ensures continuity in the traditions of the people. One of the aspects of culture which engages students effectively in the learning process is music and dance. However, the instructional delivery of Music and Dance in Tamale International School scarcely includes the indigenous music content to a broader perspective. The paper was an investigation to find out how music and dance was taught in Tamale International School. It also highlights the attitudes of students towards the teaching and learning of Music and Dance. Using the cultural theory of Education as the theoretical framework, and a case study research design, participants were drawn from the pupils, the music teacher as well as the headteacher of the school. Interview and observation were the main instruments for the data collection. It was revealed that teaching of music and dance in the Tamale International School was a problem due to the fact that the school is one of the Western colonized schools with much historical orientation on Western music thereby relegating African music to the background. Attitudes of pupils towards the study of African music component of the music and dance syllabus being negative due to their religious background and the orientation received from their parents. Situated within the cultural education theory, the paper concludes that when students are given the opportunity to learn traditional music very often at school, it will help them to know theirs as Africans and embrace it in spite of their orientations from their religious background.