Teaching, Performing and Learning Music

All SIUE students and faculty from the US and abroad are welcome to bring their musical traditions, instruments, practices and experience to this course. The more diverse the musical traditions represented by the students, the more beneficial the course will be for everyone. Members of the surrounding communities interested in this form of Continuing Education are also welcome to enroll in the course. Music majors are encouraged to enroll in this course but it will not count as “Major Ensemble” credit.

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to provide a musical ensemble experience that encourages the active exchange of culture and promotes the learning of musical concepts, knowledge and skills. Students will share the music of their cultures, pass on musical traditions to one another and will also be encouraged to combine genres (i.e., traditional folk and modern popular) into living folk “fusions”. Although the course is primarily intended for instrumentalists, singers of traditional music are also welcome to enroll as long as they are willing to work with instrumentalists as members of an ensemble.

Objectives

Students in the course will experience and build habits in…

• good performance practice, including attention to cultural differences in performance practice
• listening to music critically
• skill sets such as tune acquisition (primarily by ear) and the learning of unfamiliar scales, modes, harmonic systems and rhythms
• appreciation for the relationship between language, musical expression and musical/cultural identity
• The cultural background and/or cultural interests of the ensemble members determines the music to be played

What if I want to learn a musical instrument from another culture? 

Learning to play an unfamiliar instrument is not an objective of the course and the ensemble will rely on the playing skills of its members. If a student with instrumental experience wishes to learn a second instrument for the purpose of playing with the ensemble (and can obtain the instrument), the instructor will assist students in discovering and accessing individuals who can help them in that goal. Musical instruments are not provided, however, the instructor may be able to suggest places where an instrument may be purchased.