World Musics

In a pluralist society there is a need to increase understanding of the world’s musics, and to find ways of approaching musical cultures other than one’s own. To this end, the CETL World Musics project is developing a number of teaching and learning initiatives.

The Indian Music project offers students practical tuition in Indian classical music (currently vocal and tabla). This affords them an opportunity to encounter not only the music but also the teaching and learning practice of another culture in an extremely direct way.

Having begun with a handful students at Newcastle University, the Indian Music project has now expanded to involve over two dozen students who learn regularly, including trainees from The Sage Gateshead. They follow the model of the Indian guru-shishya tradition, with two expert teachers: Dr Vijay Raput on vocal, and Shahbaz Hussain on tabla.

A series of workshops over the last two years has enhanced the impact of the project, which has now reached over a hundred university students across the CETL. Our work has also recently involved our students in schools workshops as part of a joint venture with the CETL’s Music in Education project. To read more see Indian Music Project reaches out to Schools.

These activities have further prompted the development of two modules in Indian music. The first, Introduction to Indian Music, is being rolled out in semester 2 of 2007/8; the second in 2008/9.

And there have been other spin-offs from the project. Among these is the development of Indian music CDs for educational and research purposes. Another is the development of links with the region’s South Asian communities.

As a further resource for the teaching of World Musics, we are compiling a series of documentaries on a range of music from across the globe. The premise here is that it is not enough for students simply to hear this music on a recording, they need to see it being made and the cultural context around it. Film therefore becomes an ideal medium for this purpose, and screenings have become an integral part of the World Music teaching.