What Do Children Think About Learning World Music?
Toda Criança Pode Aprender (“Every Child Can Learn”), the blog of the Brazilian NGO Laboratório de Educação (“Education Laboratory”), published a fine article on the Center for World Music’s World Music in the Schools program. Here’s a translation:
What do children think about contact with music from other cultures?
October 30, 2017
This article is part of the series: What children think about . . .
Discover the children’s point of view about learning songs from other countries!
In 1963, the Center for World Music was created in San Diego, a nonprofit organization that promotes meetings and presentations by artists from different cultures with the goal of broadening social awareness of diversity.
Over time, the children’s audience became part of the project’s focus and integrated into the curriculum of some schools in San Diego County. The idea was to invest in the education of children so that they could learn from a young age about music, but mainly about the diversity and richness of contact with different cultures. (Read more about the musical experience and development of the child by clicking here and here.)
The Center for World Music has also posted an interesting video that shows the children’s point of view about interacting with instruments, artists and songs from diverse backgrounds! It is worth viewing:
[Transcript:]
What do you love abou music class?
“I like to have the experience of listening to and playing music from other countries.”
What have you learned?
“I learned to play different instruments, from gamelan to the ukulele.”
What do you like best in music class?
“I like to learn new melodies and how to use new instruments like gamelan. It’s cool!”
What do you like best in music class?
“I love having the chance to use different instruments that other schools do not use.”
What did you learn?
“I’ve learned that practice makes almost perfect, never to full perfection, but it helps a lot, because you will not always get it at first.”
“It really brings out the best in you because you really need to do your best and focus on music.”
To learn more about the project, we also recommend listening to the Center for World Music’s executive director, Monica Emery:
[Transcript:]
“The Center for World Music started in 1963, and at that time we were primarily focused on adult audiences. Then we quickly realized that children were the future, and so now we reach 5,000 students across San Diego County. We teach world music in the classrooms because we want to create a society that is more open, accepting, and compassionate. In 1999, we launched our World Music in the Schools program, to bring hands-on world music education into the San Diego classroom. This program is not just about music, this is about children learning through music about themselves and the world around them. We bring master artists and musical instruments from around the world into to the classroom, so children have a hands-on experience with these instruments and the cultures from which they come. If you want to be part of this transformational program, visit us at www.centerforworldmusic.org.”
Here’s where you can learn more about World Music in the Schools!