Embedding Indigenous Cultures In Music Programs Western Australia

Music A Medicine For Aboriginal Black Dog

: Music Teachers Can Improve Aboriginal Mental Health

Last week was Mental Health Week.  This is an issue of great importance for Australian society generally.

 

Social and emotional health stresses for Aboriginal people are more problematical given the colonisation and government policies of the last 250 years.

 

This week’s blog discusses the challenges facing Aboriginal people in terms of their social and emotional well-being and how music can benefit.

 

It discusses the role Music teachers can play in promoting Aboriginal mental health, directly through teaching Aboriginal students It will also outline the indirect impact Music teachers can have by embedding Aboriginal perspectives in their teachings.  This will lessen the poor mental health that results from a person’s identity and existence being denied.

 

The book “Essential Aboriginal Insights” by Jolleen Hicks will be examined as an excellent guide to understanding cultural differences to inform strategies and plans.

 

Two contemporary songs will be offered as potential repertoire.  These have been chosen for the positive lyrics, current nature and catchy videos. Both songs promote Aboriginal voices and artistry which are important in highlighting Aboriginal identity and cultural pride. The songs are ‘Black Boy’ by Flewnt featuring Emily Wirramurra, and ‘Freedom’ by MauPower.

 

Social and Emotional Well Being Of Aboriginal Australia

The Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet website states :

“For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a number of events in the past have had a serious ongoing impact on their social and emotional wellbeing. These include dispossession from their lands (loss of lands), and the impact of the policies and actions that followed, such as the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and homelands.”

 

Professor Helen Milroy, an Indigenous psychiatrist, describes three important themes to come from an analysis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. They include: ‘the denial of humanity, the denial of existence and the denial of identity’.

 

Also of importance to the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the general disadvantages experienced by in the areas of education, employment, income, and their overall position in Australian society. These areas, which are some of the important ‘social determinants of health’, are linked with many other external stresses. Stresses include serious illnesses and disability, higher levels of death in the family/community, overcrowded houses, substance use problems, violence, discrimination and racism, trouble with police, and being sent to jail and/or having a family member who has been sent to jail.”

https://healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/learn/health-topics/social-and-emotional-wellbeing/

 

These social and emotional health issues seem overwhelming.  The issues could appear so pervasive and serious that they seem beyond what a music teacher could ever influence.  Could there be something we can do?

 

Research tells us that music education positively impacts students’ abilities to learn, their educational outcomes and leads to improved social outcomes.  We may not be able to fix all the problems but if we teach students with Aboriginal ancestry we can improve their educational outcomes and other life skills by ensuring we deliver fantastic music education programs.

 

Quality music programs should also embed Aboriginal perspectives.  This will ensure that social short-comings identified by Professor Milroys’s studies of the denial of humanity, existence and identity will be lessened for our students and our society’s future.

 

We can make a difference.  It may be like the Turkish story where just one starfish thrown back into the water from the sandy beach doesn’t appear to have made much of a difference.  The story notes to that one starfish, the effort a big difference.  The power of one.  We must also remember the power of many.  Together we can make a huge difference.

 

Essential Aboriginal Insights

One resource that I came across this week is ‘Essential Aboriginal Insights’.  It is a book I bought online from Jolleen Hicks.  Jolleen is a Ngarluma- Aboriginal woman born in Wickham and grew up in Roebourne in the Pilbara region of WA. She graduated with a Bachelor of Law from the University of WA in 2006 and received her legal practising certificate in 2008. She has worked for Rio Tinto and Native Title services before establishing herself as a consultant where she aims to change mindsets and build the understandings and respect between both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Her work and the resulting book are responses to the unfortunate failure of continuous services and programs to “Close the Gap” for Aboriginal communities.

Jolleen’s book clearly lays out strategies for achieving closer links with Aboriginal people and communities.

Pictured above – Jolleen Hicks

These close links are what education departments tell us we need to be doing.  Music teachers want to do it.  This book provides the how.  It tells us that positive relationships are not built in a ten minute coffee and chat session.  It tells of the need to be patient and stages to work through.  This is not a book directed at Music teachers, but we should be part of the ‘closing the gap’ team and therefore we, together with our non-Music colleagues, should be reading this and taking Jolleen’s messages on board.  Her stories are very rural based.  She clearly outlines how we need to understand there are great variations between Aboriginal communities and a positive relationship with one community will not immediately or necessarily transfer to another community.  The process will be long term. Issues for relationships with Aboriginal people in cities will be similar, but there will be differences.  Her strategies are clear and respectful, transference to the city and suburban contexts should be seamless.

 

The book would be a great asset for every school and for all teachers involved in formal education, including Music teachers.  Embedding Aboriginal perspectives across the curriculum is mandatory across the country.  Respectful community consultation is needed for it to be effective.  This book outlines how to consult.

It is available online.  It is not a long read, but there is gold in every chapter. One example is in the first chapter of the book.  Here Jolleen discusses all Australians to be wary of assumptions we may have and the stereotypes that feed into the assumptions.  These she says can “cause barriers that prevent you….building relationships” p13.  Another example is in Chapter Two. Here she suggests to research the Aboriginal community with which you want to engage before starting face to face meetings.  Here she suggests we take the time to learn about the history so you can appreciate the barriers and challenges that exist for Aboriginal families from that specific community”. I urge all schools to purchase it and for all teachers to read.  It is perfect for those schools and school boards looking to draft and implement a RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) which, pleasingly, many schools are pursuing.

 

Jolleen’s hope is that “every Australian has a copy of this book so that every Australian is empowered with the minimum learning required to positively impact the spaces of Reconciliation and Closing Gaps”.

 

She says that “collectively, we have a responsibility that we are failing to deliver on. We are failing to eliminate racism from our country; dismantle the racist structures, systems, processes, institutions, and discrimination that still here today; and we are failing to preserve Australian Cultures and Heritage”.

 

She wants the book to be a way to empower Australians with the confidence to walk together respectfully and successfully.

 

Artist Mau Power

Mau Power was born Patrick James Mau. He is a hip hop artist from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait and is the first Australian rapper to tour from this region. He is also the founder and executive director of One Blood Hidden Image, the first Torres Strait independent record distribution label, film production and media company.

Pictured above – Mau Power

His story adds a deeper layer of meaning when listening to his music. It contextualises the lyrics and passion.

 

Patrick is a Dhoebaw man of the Guda Malullgal nations and is guided by two cultures – Indigenous and hip hop.

 

He was incarcerated in 2001 for nine months for a street fight and said this jail time made him reflect on his life, and he decided to focus on his music, which he said is dedicated to inspiring others.

 

He is now a strong community leader and works with young people throughout the Torres Strait Islands and Australia.

 

He is the father of three girls and lives on Thursday Island.

 

Song – Freedom

Freedom is a fantastic collaboration between Mau Power and senior and respected Aboriginal songman Archie Roach. The combination of these very different artists brings together the young and the old, Torres Strait Islanders and mainland Aboriginal cultures, pain and triumph, despair and hope, folk and hip hop.

The variation between the hip hop and lyrical sections are interesting and easily identifiable for students for all ages.  The use of Indigenous language chants as well as orchestral accompaniment brings together traditional Australian and western artistic elements.

Pictured above – Archie Roach

The lyrics by MauPower are important in terms of revealing and accepting some disturbing historical past truths.  It is important for Aboriginal people in determining their emotional and social well being that the wider community accepts these historical truths.

Mau Power uses language that is acceptable for the school context.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMqG_LyD9s4

Artist – Flewnt MC

Flewnt is a Noongar artist and was born Josh Eggington. Flewnt recently shone at the Western Australian Music Industry Awards 2019.   He picked up three awards. He won the Outstanding Indigenous and Urban/Hip Hop categories. Also a song he collaborated with Vanessa Hopes achieved the Grand Prize Runner-Up. The song Kya Kyana translates as “welcome to the ceremonial ground” in Noongar.

Pictured above – Flewnt

Song – Black Boy

Black Boy was originally written and recorded by Coloured Stone, a band from South Australia, west of Ceduna.  The song became a hit on its release in 1984. Coloured Stone is led by Mirning Elder Bauna Lawrie.

Pictured above – Coloured Stone

Emily Wurramurra paid tribute to the Coloured Stone song ‘Black Boy’ by recording her own version and releasing it in 2017.

Pictured above – Emily Wurramurra

Flewnt has since collaborated with Emily to produce his re-invention of the song this year.   The structure is very similar to that of MauPower’s Freedom with a lyrical chorus by Emily Wurramurra.  His lyrics, like MauPower’s ‘Freedom’, are very much about truth telling.  He like MauPower calls on young people to be strong and strive for better futures. The hope in the lyrics where he gently addresses the young with messages of support is so important for our young Aboriginal people to hear.  All students would benefit from connecting with his lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qb2darwLbI

 

Suggested Activities

Early Childhood To Middle Primary

Provide scarves or ribbons for students to move with.  Play the video clip of either Freedom or Black Boy available on Youtube and students can move ‘off the spot’ in the hip hop sections and ‘on the spot’ for the ‘singing parts’. I would use one of the songs three or four times in one week. A couple of weeks later I would introduce the second song and use that a couple of times.  Allow for discussion time after the movement to music session.  Once both songs have been explored allow for comparison.

Upper Primary to Secondary

Teach and sing the chorus for either song.  Play the video clip of either Freedom or Black Boy available on Youtube and students to join in the singing of the chorus.  Have students reflection on the lyrics and the issues facing young people and possible solutions the song provides.

After listening to the song a few times have students complete an aural dictation exercise where they are required to ‘play the melody by ear’.  Students could work on an instrument of their choice and in small groups.

Have students notate the pitch and melody in standard or graphic nottion.

Repeat process for other song.

Compare and contrast the pieces.

As Music teachers what can we do with this instrument.  Can we play it?  Can we have our students play it?  Can we teach it?

It is an area around which there is controversy.  It is an area where we as Music teachers could come under criticism.  There are differing views.

Pictured above is Noongar Elder, Didgeridoo musician Dr Richard Walley.

My understandings and practices are as follows:

Would I play the didgeridoo?  I understand there are women who are allowed an encouraged to play the instrument in the Northern Territory where the instrument was reportedly invented.   In the past I have sought instruction to play the didgeridoo in order to make the instrument available to my students with the idea of a didgeridoo orchestra at my school.  I now consider the instrument belongs to the Aboriginal peoples and is an instrument for them which holds sacred meaning. I still like the idea of the Didgeridoo orchestra, but this is not an idea I feel is appropriate for me to pursue as a white woman, or if I was a white man. If I was invited by a senior Aboriginal elder, I may change my mind.

Can Our Students Play It?  Well they do already every time we hand out the Boomwackers, no matter how many times it is reinforced not to put their mouths on the ends.  Yuk.  But beyond this is it ok? I believe if students are exploring independently and creatively playing this is great. They are connecting with Aboriginal culture musically.  In this instance I would discuss with the whole class some protocols of using the instrument i.e. not women, should be introduced to the instrument by an Aboriginal elder and played as the elder directs.

Pictured above is Didgeridoo musician Mark Aitkins.

Can Our Students Perform It? I would have students perform on a Didgeridoo it if they had been introduced to the instrument by an Aboriginal elder.  I would inform and invite local Aboriginal community members to attend as special guests.

Can We Teach It? I would say no unless you are an Aboriginal elder or Aboriginal musician.

Pictured above is Aboriginal musician William Barton.

Can It Be Part Of A Music Teaching Experience in the Contemporary Australian Classroom? Absolutely it should.

The inspiration for this post is an article I was alerted on facebook.  I have attached the link for the article here.  I would like every Music teacher in Australia to read it.  It is fabulous. It is called “The Remarkable Yidaki : And No Its Not A Didge” and was written a little over eighteen months ago by Christine Judith Nicholls, a Senior Lecturer in Australian Studies from Flinders University.

 

Another inspiration for this post was the teaching of didgeridoo to non Aboriginal musicians and music teachers at a recent workshop held in Perth.  In my journey to better understand Aboriginal music and culture and find places for it in Music Education, this is not something I think is appropriate.

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-remarkable-yidaki-and-no-its-not-a-didge-74169?fbclid=IwAR2MAEc4aPl8CJ12veaC4VC5xF4U7D69wmrk6JFkdXCj8pZDtmBGX73G-kg

Pictured above is respected Aboriginal musician Matthew Doyle – his spellbinding playing features in ‘Dawn Mantras’ by Ross Edwards.

Classroom Ideas

Ten ideas for using the Yirdaki or Didgeridoo in a musical education context with a non-Indigenous educator.

1. Invite a musician of Australian First Nations heritage to perform for your students live.
2. Watch a youtube clip on the construction of a didgeridoo such as  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb6fxCrSohw
3. Listen to a recording of a piece of music which includes the yirdaki such as ‘Dawn Mantras’ by Ross Edwards. Have the students move to the music.
4. While listening to a piece of music that includes the didgeridoo ask students to notate the didgeridoo line.
5. Have students explore the musical elements of the piece of music that includes didgeridoo.
6. After listening to a piece that includes the didgeridoo, invite students to play the musical line of the didgeridoo on different instruments.
7. Listen to the didgeridoo line from a piece of music and use it as a stimulus for the exploration of bass instruments and their role in musical ensembles or in traditional music generally.
8. Have students discuss the intersection of visual art, dance, music, stories and ceremony in a performance that includes the didgeridoo. The following clip could be viewed as stimulus to discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b-vI3Nf50g
9. After listening to a piece that includes the didgeridoo invite students to discuss how an instrument and musician can be a storyteller.
10. Have students explore the place of a didgeridoo in terms of instrument classifications. Is it brass, woodwind or percussion?

Pictured above is the Didgeridoo musican David Hudson.

My top five ‘Didgeridoo’ players

David Hudson – from north east coast of Australia from Ewamin (pronounced Oo-rah-min)/Western Yalangi, known as the ‘cultural journeyman of Australia’. Involved in folk, rock and new age music.

William Barton – born in Mount Isa, Queensland, a Kalkadunga man. Strong links to classical music.

Matthew Doyle – Didgeridoo player, singer, composer, dancer, choreographer and teacher.  He is descendant of the Muruwari Aboriginal nation from northwest NSW and is also of Irish heritage. Performs a lot of large scale traditional music and dance both live and for TV and film.

Mark Atkins – born in Albany but descends from Yamatji people of Western Australia. Part of contemporary music scene.

Djalu Gurruwiwi – custodian of the Yidakki ,from Yolngu people, a senior member of the Galpu clan from islands off Northern Territory. He was the crafter of first didgeridoos for the ‘Yothu Yindi’ band established by Dr M Yunipingu. A ‘Djalu’ didjeridoo is considered the finest crafted yidaki instruments.

Special Note I have only included First Nations peoples of Australia.  It is an instrument created by Aboriginal peoples and is considered by many Aboriginal people to be an instrument of their culture.  Given the levels of loss by Aboriginal people in two hundred and fifty years I am not comfortable with non-Indigenous peoples playing the instrument unless specific permission has been given and this permission is publically shared and widely held by Australian Indigenous people. Other people’s view may differ from me. 

My favourite pieces

Dawn Mantras composed by Ross Edwards with Didgeridoo solos by Matthew Doyle

Concerto For Didgeridoo Part III Water composed by Sean O’Boyle and performed by Queensland Orchestra and William Barton. From the ‘O’Boyle Riversymphony’ album. Available from Itunes. I am a bit of a collaboration addict.

“Outback” by David Hudson from ‘Heart Of Australia’ album by David Husdon and friends. Available Itunes

Pictured above is the didgeridoo bone – a slide didgeridoo – really interesting.

 

References:

 

“Didgeridoo Players You Should Known (Top Ten) by Al Block October 28 2015 as published on Didjproject.com

Davidhudson.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hudson_(musician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djalu_Gurruwiwi

https://www.qso.com.au/musicians/orchestra/william-barton

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barton

The Australian Society For Music Education’s XXII National Conference opens tonight. I have been on the convening committee led by Robyn Veitch and after more than twelve months of planning it’s almost showtime!!  The committee and myself are hopeful that many Music educators will be inspired by the range of workshops and papers being presented, and from my personal perspective, especially the Indigenous perspectives strand running through the program.

 

The workshop I most want to participate in on Wednesday is being presented by Thomas Fienberg and Debbie Higgison.

 

This blog gives some introductory information about the workshop, some information about the music teacher and the Arts administrator behind the workshop and some activities inspired by Thomas Fienberg’s work in embedding Indigenous perspectives in music education.

 

The workshop will document and evaluate the benefits of inviting professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians into secondary schools to help mentor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and inspire the broader school community.

 

The workshop will draw specifically on relationships formed between a group of school students in the diverse community of Blacktown in Western Sydney and award-winning singer-songwriters Thelma Plum (Gamilaraay) and Emma Donovan (Gumbaynggirr and Naminjee).  Very cool.

Thelma Plum pictured above

Importantly, the artists will join the conversation live via video link (or if technology fails video messages have been pre-prepared). Participants attending the workshop will also get the opportunity to learn songs by Thelma and Emma, which will be shared directly with the artists. WOW!!!

Emma Donovan pictured above

This workshop ultimately endeavours to illustrate the benefits of educators working collaboratively with arts-organisations. When the team works together, they can provide students with real-world experiences that schools alone can’t provide. At Thomas’s school the professional mentors have been able to build relationships, inspire creative expression and illuminate opportunities for future Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous artists alike.

 

Who Is Thomas Fienberg?

For many years I have been following Thomas’ ground-breaking and important work in developing relationships between his school, his students and Aboriginal community members and musicians. He currently works in a dual context. He works in a High School in Blacktown in the western suburbs of Sydney and he contributes to the delivery of courses at the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Sydney. He has recently completed his PhD in Music Education where his research has focused on community driven, collaborative approaches to teaching and learning (through and from) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music. Thomas will be also presenting a summative reflection on his PhD experience on the first day of the conference. In 2017 he was the recipient of the ASME NSW Chapter, Barbara Mettam Award for Excellence in Music Education.

 

Who Is Debbie Higgison?

Debbie works as an Education Project Officer for the Solid Ground Program, an Initiative between Carriageworks and Blacktown Arts. Debbie is particularly skilled in community networking, engaging both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal generations with respect to Aboriginal culture and community. She is a qualified social worker/community worker and behavioural therapist with qualifications from Sydney University, Blacktown and Mt Druitt TAFE. Debbie was named Chifley Woman of the Year in 2014 and NSW Community Hero Women of the Year in 2017. Debbie found out about her Aboriginal background as a teenager and has been on a journey to bring together the stories of the pieces she was given by different family members. Tracing her family back to the early 1800s to her Great, Great, Great Grandmother who was a Wangal Woman of what is now known as the Homebush Bay Strathfield area in Sydney NSW, part of the Dharug Nation. Finding pathways and connecting to culture through artistic outlets is what drives Debbie to work with youth and their families, who like her were only told small bits of their family due to disconnection and loss due to the stolen generations. She is a well-known and appreciated community leader across Western Sydney.

Debbie Higgison pictured above.

I recently asked Thomas to reflect on a couple of questions.  Here are his responses. I find it fascinating to hear about other music teachers and how they pursue their work.

Great to catch up again Thomas.  So could you share with us your favourite pieces of music?

This is constantly changing. I’m loving playing music from Benny Walker at the moment. A consistent winner is ‘Don’t Cut Me Down’ from ‘Into the Forest’. His new stuff is equally as good. It’s hard to go past songs with personal connections, so with that in mind, I have to choose a song from Thelma Plum and Emma Donovan. Thelma’s new album manages to balance the personal/political with great finesse. Personally I adore ‘Do You Ever Get So Sad You Can’t Breathe’ for its simplicity. ‘Black Woman’ by Emma Donovan and the Putbacks is a powerful track that has gone to another level for me following a recent collaboration.

 

Could you share a little about how you have been working with Emma Donovan in your school?

Emma Donovan is currently completing a residency at my High School in Blacktown, NSW through the Solid Ground program (see ASME Day 1). As part of the program we developed a dance/music performance of the Black Woman choreographed by NAISDA graduate Neville Williams Boney. We’ve performed it several times now at local NAIDOC events. It’s been great watching Emma be more confident in sharing her own music and seeing her surprise at the impact it has on the people involved in performing it.

 

What would be some favourite simple activities that you use when working with your students with particular pieces of music?

I like to keep things simple by just performing songs and allowing the music to speak for itself. I find that this allows students to develop an intimacy with the artist without the feeling of “being taught”. Conversations emerge in time and are contextualised through their personal association with the songs.

 

Beyond this, making contact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Musicians is hugely important. I’ve been fortunate to slowly build connections with several musicians over the years. Some artists are better at making contact – Alice Skye for example is super appreciative of contact from students. Building relationships and learning from local musicians is even more crucial and could be the starting point of a great idea or collaboration.

 

One more question please.  What performances have you experienced that you would describe as ‘the best’?

I’ll take this not so much as a song to perform, but as a performance to view and learn from… If in Sydney, Yabun on Invasion/Survival Day is a ritual well worth observing. In the NT, the NIMAs are great for sourcing new artists. Elsewhere local community events are a must to start building trust and understanding in your community. I haven’t been, but am dying to catch the Boomerang Festival linked with Bluesfest (although I think we need to be pushing for a greater mainstage presence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists as opposed to placing them on sideshows at festivals).

 

Six Ideas For Music Educators To Do Better With Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives

(as inspired by Thomas Fienberg and Debbie Higgison)

1. Attend local NAIDOC events.
2. Attend local festivals especially those with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island cultural focus.
3. Make contact with your local Aboriginal community to build relationships and investigate what ideas they have for music education and embedding culture.
4. Listen to music by Aboriginal popular musicians. Is there a local musician who might share their music and music making at your school?
5. What different ways could their songs and pieces be used in the classroom?
6. Find out about some local Arts organisations in your area. Ponder a collaboration with them.

 

I hope many of you will be able to attend the workshop.  I will provide a review for those of you that are not able to participate. In the meantime check out some of Emma Donovan’s and Thelma Plum’s music.  Keep your ears and heart open to new sounds, ideas and wonderful music.

 

Kurlurdu Marni is a phrase in the Kaurna language from South Australia that translates to ‘sounds good’.  It was a favourite phrase of Kaurna man Stephen Gadlabarti Goldsmith. This much respected community leader and cultural educator passed away in July 2017. For Stephen, learning his language has given him “power and dignity…it’s like poetry to the soul”. ‘Uncle Stevie’ was considered an important part of the revival of the Kaurna language through his work at the Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi (KWP) language unit at the University of Adelaide. He is one of the important people that should be recognised as change makers in our contemporary Australian society.  Before his passing he was honoured as Male Elder of the Year for 2017 at the Adelaide Lord Mayor’s NAIDOC Awards, and the South Australian Premier acknowledged his contribution at the Premier’s 2017 NAIDOC Awards.

Pictured – Stephen Goldsmith

The Kaurna language, like many traditional Aboriginal Australian languages was struggling to survive the state and federal government policies of assimilation. The recent work to revive languages means so much to so many of Aboriginal descent.

There is a lot that ‘kurlurdu marni’ about the Australian Society for Music Education’s XXII National Conference which will be held in Perth in less than a week.

Hundreds of music educators will come together to share and explore the most interesting and recent research and musical ideas in our country.

So why is a Kaurna phrase being used here?  One of the presentations will include some work in the Kaurna language thanks to a twenty something teacher from a remote school of 32 students in South Australia.

Sasha Andersson is that passionate teacher who found it difficult to access authentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander songs as she pursued her teaching career. To overcome this obstacle she spear headed a project that brought together local Aboriginal community members and music teachers. Together they developed a collection of newly composed, simple tunes, using authentic Aboriginal languages, such as Kaurna, Arrernte, Adnamatna and more. She is presenting a workshop which will share these songs and the process behind working with Aboriginal support staff, Aboriginal students, and the local Indigenous community to develop their own authentic material.

Pictured – Sasha Andersson

This seriously ‘kurlurdu marni’.

In this week’s blog I wanted to share with you the wonderful work coming out of S.A. which is embedding Aboriginal perspectives into Music Education.  I hope you can make it to Sasha’s session on Wednesday morning October 2 at the University of Western Australia.

To celebrate all things Kaurna, Arrente and Adnamatna, here are some activities to accompany Arrente musician Warren H William’s latest song release ‘Let Us Stand Together’. The song features his daughter Genise Williams and son Nicholas Williams. The clip was filmed on location in Hermannsburg, west of Alice Springs. The song tackles the importance of friends and family in achieving and maintaining positive mental health. The song is available through iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music and Youtube Music.

Pictured Warren H Williams centre with daughter Genise Williams and son Nicholas Williams.

Early Childhood

Show children photos of Aboriginal people as stockmen and stockwomen. Children could ‘become’ stock riders and horses, cattle or sheep through movement. The song ‘We Can Stand Together’ can be played to accompany the movement activity.

Discuss with children after the activity about how movement and music activities can make people feel happier.

Teach the children the lyrics and melody of the chorus of ‘We Can Stand Together’.

Middle Primary

Teach a simple line dance to accompany the song with movement such as

• walk forward for four steps,
• walk back for four steps
• Step to the right and tap foot and repeat to the left x 4
• walk forward for four steps,
• walk back for four steps
• walk around to the right in a circle

 

Discuss with the children the genre, instruments they can identify and the structure and note the two instrumental sections.

Discuss with children after the activity about how movement and music activities can make people feel happier.

Secondary

Have students discuss how they could ‘translate’ the chorus of the song in a different genre like heavy metal, western Art music or hip hop. These findings could be shared with the class.  Then have students consider the ethics of altering a song in such a way.

Discuss with children after the activity about how movement and music activities can make people feel happier.

Instrumental

Have students determine the melody of the chorus on an instrument of choice.

Discuss with children after the activity about how movement and group music making activities can make people feel happier.

Vocal

Have students determine the intervals of the melody in the chorus.  Have students collaborate to arrange a harmony for the chorus.

Discuss with children after the activity about how movement, group singing and music activities can make people feel happier.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-19/rediscovering-the-kaurna-language-and-identity/8625612

https://www.nativetitlesa.org/aboriginalway/passing-of-stevie-goldsmith

“Dookoorniny” (Du-gur-ning) is the Whadjuk word meaning ‘to create’.

The Dookoorniny project is a wonderful collaborative project between Guildford Grammar students and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra. It has allowed students in years 5 and 6 to explore Indigenous Culture through the mediums of Music, Visual Arts, Drama and Media. This was done using a fully immersive, inquiry based model. Coordinated by Kieran Hurley, Director of Music at Guildford Grammar School the program has run since 2017.

In 2018 the students devised a play based around the women’s stories of the Swan River, on which Guildford Grammar stands. This play was accompanied by music, again written by the students, and performed by a WASO String Octet. The students created, built and painted puppets to go along with the performance – an 2.4m high Kangaroo (Yonga), a 2.1m high Emu (Waitch) and many small Corellas (Monarch). The large Eagle (Walitch) puppet had been made previously by students to celebrate the indigenous round of the AFL on behalf of the West Coast Eagles.

 

An encore presentation of Dookoorniny project performance will be recreated at the Australian Society for Music Education’s National Conference between October 2 and 4.  To be held at the beautiful Crawley riverside location of the University of Western Australia, the stories will once again be brought to life. Again the students from the Guildford Grammar Preparatory School will be accompanied by a String Quartet from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and will enthral audiences with a retelling of Dookoorniny 2018.

 

What inspiration can music teachers take from this wonderful project and performance to adapt and implement for differing teaching contexts?  We don’t all have big budget and WASO musicians to work with.

 

If you are able to attend the ASME National Conference, even for the day or a session to experience the interactive performance that would be one way of understanding how this novel method of artistic creation can be implemented.

What other sources of inspiration are you able to access? Is there a way First Nations storytellers or artists could come and share stories with your students?  Is there a story or piece information from an authentic source that you could share with your students to be workshopped – to produce a multimedia exhibition and/or performance.  Are there professional musicians or more experienced students who could work with younger or less experienced students to create and or develop inspired interpretations?

 

A suggestion for implementation is below:

Explore the Community Arts Network WA Karla Kurliny – Coming Back Home

 

This publication and accompanying documentaries are a dialogue between Noongar Elders and young people.  These resources have been collated over a period of three years as part of the Cultural Mapping and Community Governance project led by CAN and the GKB Native Title Working Party. Karla Kurliny – Coming Back Home is a beautifully produced publication that pays tribute to the GKB Elders and young people who generously shared their time, stories and cultural knowledge for the project.

It is a free public download available on the website http://www.canwa.com.au/what-we-do/can-enterprise/publications/

 

Take a page such as the one below which shows a quote and photo portrait of Joe Northover.  Use the information to create a piece of music or song that explores the story, this could be a more experienced musician from within your student body to act as a mentor, working with a small group of less experienced music students.  Have students also explore the information using visual art, media arts and/or dance to create an interpretative artistic work. 

Associate Professor Clint Bracknell – Conference As A Learning Opportunity

Dr Clint Bracknell, a member of the Wirlomin Noongar clan, will be one of the keynote presenters at the Australian Society for Music Education National Conference in a fortnight.  If you are able to attend the conference it is being held at the University of Western Australia between October 2 and 4.  Clint’s keynote will be live-streamed for those unable to attend.

It is important for all Australian music educators to consider Clint’s research and findings to find better pathways forward musically, socially, educationally.

This is a Wirlomin Noongar man who walks the world of his people and ancestors who works tirelessly with his wife and family to re-invigorate the Noongar language and culture.

He is a young academic of great distinction already. His research was honoured with the Robert Street Prize in 2016 for best PhD thesis at the University of Western Australia. He worked at the University of Sydney where he was the recipient of the Wingara Mura Excellence Award in 2017.    In 2015 he was awarded the UWA Eileen and Aubrey Music Research Travel Scholarship and 2013-4 State Library of Western Australia J.S. Battye Memorial Fellowship.  His music composition was nominated in 2012 for ‘best original score’ at the Helpmann Awards, prestigious accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia.

Some may find his relaxed manner unusual in an academic world.  This is an opinion I don’t share. It is refreshing to hear such a successful academic, using ideas, explanations and language that appeal to a far wider audience.

Do not discount the importance of this man Clint Bracknell, his research, his words, his support.  He is a new breed of learned man that walks in music education circles and beyond.

I’m hoping to see many of the people who connect with me through this page at the conference.

It would be great to connect in person and share ideas.

You can register through the ASME conference website :

https://www.asme.edu.au/wa/events/asme-xxii-national-conference-2019/

Below is some information about Dr Bracknell as well as a stave reading activity that could be used in teaching standard music notation, particularly for middle to upper primary students.

Dr Clint Bracknell is a musician and ethnomusicologist, from the south west of Western Australia.  He is currently Associate Professor at the Kurongkurl Katitjin Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.  His work is split between this centre and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) both based at the Edith Cowan University.  His PhD from the University of Western Australia focussed on the aesthetics and sustainability of Nyungar song.   His current work is funded by the Australian Research Council.  The topic is the use of song in language revitalisation.

Part of Clint’s work has revealed that “the Noongar language is likely to have been sung as much as it was spoken—songs are its literature.”

This quote speaks volumes (pun intended) to us as to the importance of music education in revitalising Australia’s First Nations cultures and to the rebuilding of cultural identity for Aboriginal Australians. Songs were its literature.  Its culture was primarily expressed through melodic stories.  Wow.  Is this reflected in how we as teachers embed Aboriginal perspectives?  Should it be?  Which songs?  Who should be singing them?  Who are the songmen and songwomen of today?  Are we listening?  Should the strategies associated with traditional song teaching and learning be strategies that could better advance the literacy and numeracy outcomes in education for our Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children?

As would be expected at a national conference there will be many workshops and papers presented. Many of these will explore different pathways forward for embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Music Education.

Another really interesting event at the conference will be a symposium discussing the inclusion ofAboriginal cultures in music education. Chaired by Clint Bracknell, symposium panellists who will join him in the discussion will include Noongar Elder Yibiyung Roma Winmar and Noongar Elder George Walley. Della Rae Morrison will join them. She is an actor, singer, songwriter, performer who is a Bibbulmun woman from the Noongar clan.

The following lesson idea is based on the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project book ‘Dwoort Baal Kaat’ (translates as seal)

 

Dog to Seal and Stave Reading Activity

1. Prepare the lesson by writing ‘dwoort’ (meaning dog) on several A5 cards.  These should written so your groups of students can read from their seated positions as you teach. Repeat with ‘dwoordbaalkaat’(meaning seal).
2. Have a large stave prepared on a board or floor big enough to use with the A5 cards.
3. Have instruments for students to use (I used chime bars or instrument of choice)
4. Share with students the background to the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project book.
5. Show them the pictures and sing the story – recitative style i.e. talking singing.
6. Share with students the prepared A5 cards so they can pronounce and read the words ‘dwoort’ and ‘dwoordbaalkaat’.
7. Introduce the first 3 lines of the stave – E(very) G(ood) B(oy).
8. Place the cards on the first line of the stave – E
9. Have students ‘play’ the cards on instrument of choice

e.g. dwoort dwoordbaalkaat                 dwoort          dwoordbaalkaat

(ta    titi    ta   titi)

10. Rearrange the cards on ‘E’ and have students read and play new music.
11. Introduce G and then E and G.
12. Introduce B, then B and G, then B E and G.

References

https://www.arc.gov.au/news-publications/media/feature-articles/reigniting-noongar-language-through-song

http://boomerangandspear.com/

Movement – Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Three of the great music education approaches, Orff Schulwerk, Dalcroze and Kodaly, reinforce the central role of movement in teaching music.  Part of being a successful teacher involves making connections with student interests to foster inquiry and learning.

 

Here in Western Australia the predominant winter sport is AFL.  With is being footy finals season, and the West Coast Eagles again making finals, AFL is a topic that resonates with many of my students.

 

Many Aboriginal people, particularly from the south west of Western Australia are renowned football champions.  They have and they continue to make up a great proportion of the AFL national player list.  Many players are admired for their skills and achievements.  Musically can we tap into this part of our culture to connect with students and Aboriginal culture in our music lessons.

 

During the recent state funeral for AFL champion Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer he was remembered as a quiet man, one who let his deeds speak for his beliefs and passions.  One example was shared by WA State Treasurer Ben Wyatt, a man with Yamatji heritage from the midwest of Western Australia. He shared that Graham started his AFL career in WA playing for East Perth, then after a stint in West Perth, he gained the respect of the other side of town by joining West Perth.  His efforts to bring the two sides of the city of Perth together were later memorialised, said Wyatt of ‘Polly’ in the great infrastructural project of the Graham Farmer Freeway which connects the east and western suburbs with a tunnel.  Wyatt quipped the colloquially named ‘Polly Pipe’ was a true form of reconciliation for Perth and representative of Farmer’s actions speaking louder than words.  ‘”He didn’t talk about doing things, he just got on and did it” said Wyatt.

Below is a movement to composition lesson idea.  It is aimed at the middle to upper primary age group. I wonder if this might work in your teaching? Do you have any ideas as to how we can connect to Australia’s great Aboriginal football players?

 

Movement To Music Activity

Need – drum and chime bars set and a whiteboard to display images

Introduction

Last month there was a state funeral for ‘Graham Polly Farmer’ in Western Australia.  Musically, we will be exploring football moves through images of the champion.

 

Music can be described as organised sounds.  Composers make choices of different sounds to use at different times and where to put space. Today you are going to compose firstly through movement and then through sound.  Our musical ideas are going to be inspired by photos of the AFL champion Graham Polly Farmer.

 

Movement

1. Students to stand randomly spaced and recreate the handballing image. Make this shape with your body.   Repeat.  Relax.  Do three more times. This is the ‘handball’ move.

 

 

 

2. Ruck move. Students to recreate this shape with your body.    Repeat.  Relax.  Do three more times. This is the ‘ruck’ move.

3. Make shape with your body.   Repeat.  Relax.  Do three more times. This is the ‘kick’ move.

 

4. This position of Graham (he has the jumper with the swan on it) will be our ‘home position. Students to recreate this move then relax and repeat three times.

 

Have students run through each of the moves whilst teacher playing a really slow beat – one beat every 4 seconds.

 

Run through some of the suggested series below with students increasing and decreasing intensity (can later relate to dynamics of a piece) and then levels (can later relate to pitch). The series are based on the rhythmic pattern ta ta ta ta tete ta taa

 

Series 1 H’ball           Home             H’ball        Home      H’ball H’ball     Hball                 Home

 

Series 2  Ruck        Home                 Ruck          Home               Ruck Ruck            Ruck                      Home

 

Series 3    Kick           Home             Kick            Home                Kick Kick               Kick                         Home

 

Series 4     H’ball                Home                    Kick          Home      Ruck Ruck             H’ball                         Home

Run through the series of movements a few times.

 

Group Movement Composition

Play “Up There Gazaly” track which students will be performing to at their own pace. Students are to form small groups 3-4) They are to plan and rehearse their own movement series using home ruck kick and handball positions.  They are to use the same rhythmic structure i.e. ta ta ta ta titi ta ta za (these can be lengthend eg ta =taaaa if students wish).  It can be one of the movement series already used.  Provide 1 minute for them to decide their pattern.

Now they are to decide their positions for performing the movement sequence i.e. straight line,in a box or triangle shape , in a t shape.  Give them 30 seconds to decide.  Then instruct students to include variations in intensity and levels.

Provide 2 minutes to rehearse their movement series before performing for another group.

Whole class discussion about which movement series was most interesting?  Well performed?

 

Translate Movement To Pitch

Talk with students how the movement series could be put into a piece of music.  Each of the ‘movements’ could be a note. I have used notes from the pentatonic scale.

Home = C

Handball =D

Ruck = E

Kick = G

Have a student now ‘play’ a series while the rest of the class completes the movement series (now without ‘Up There Gazaly’ track.  Repeat with different musicians and movement series.

 

Class Discussion

Which melody was their favourite? Why?

 

Group Composition

Each group is to play their movement series with one of the group members becoming the musician.  Swap musicians so everyone in the group gets a turn.

 

Plenary

Does composing music have to be hard?  What do you like about composing?  What don’t you like about composing?  What do you know about Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer? How could our compositions become more interesting?

https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/mark-duffield-why-graham-polly-farmer-is-was-undisputed-king-of-football-ng-b881290150z

https://www.communitynews.com.au/melville-times/news/graham-polly-farmer-dies-aged-84/

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-08-14/vale-polly-farmer-footy-mourns-one-of-its-original-legends

 

Vincent Van Gough To Graham (Polly) Farmer – Writing Lyrics

Earlier this week Western Australia and the Australian Football League farewelled a hero, Graham (Polly) Farmer.

This man changed the much loved AFL game forever with his ‘handball on the run’ which is now standard in the modern game many Aussies love.

 

He has also changed education and society more generally with his foundation, ‘Graham Polly Farmer Foundation’. This foundation has supported the closing of the gap through supporting more Aboriginal children and youth to successfully gain entrance to university and then graduating from those tertiary studies. The foundation established in 1994 also supported thousands of Indigenous students into apprenticeships.

At the request of the bereaving family, the reconciliation choir, Madjitil Moorna, performed for Graham Polly Farmer’s State Funeral held at Optus Stadium on Monday August 26, 2019.  The choir is directed by Bibbulmun Noongar woman Della Rae Morrison and her Bibbulmun Noongar son Kobi Morrison. I was so honoured to be part of the group honouring the great man through song at the funeral. It seemed fitting that even in his death, Polly Farmer was uniting Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people respectfully and with hope of a better and fairer tomorrow for young Aboriginal people and the wider Australian society.

 

The family of Polly Farmer requested Madjitil Moorna perform a reworded version of ‘Hello, Dolly!’.  This is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. The music and lyrics were written by Jerry Herman, who also wrote the scores for many other popular musicals. Louis Armstrong‘s version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. At first the song seemed a strange choice for the funeral, but it was explained this was the song that was performed to celebrate the success that Farmer had with the VFL club Geelong.  In this context the re-written lyrics were appropriate and the performance by the choir as Polly left the stadium was very well received. At the time of the publication of the blog I had not received permission to share the lyrics used, so I haven’t shared them at school or here.

I did however take the opportunity for students at my primary school to learn about re-writing lyrics to honour different people in our society.  I mentioned Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind’ and how it was originally a tribute to Marilyn Monroe. Later the lyrics were altered to honour the life of Princess Diana of Wales when she died in a car accident August 31 1997.

I presented some information to my students about Vincent Van Gough and the song by Don McClean which references him called ‘Vincent’, also known as ‘Starry Starry Night’. Depending on the age of the students, either as a class or in pairs, students re-wrote the song about Graham Polly Farmer.

It was a successful lesson.  Many students who would not usually be involved in the writing components of my music classes were really motivated, especially some of my Aboriginal girls, and all the boys who were into AFL.  Many of the boys made immediate connections as they had worn black arm bands during their weekend games to honour the passing of the legend.

 

I would recommend this as a lesson that could work for students from year 3 to year 10 with varying levels of teacher support for the writing process. It would also work as a lesson left for a relief teacher.

 

Activities

These activities relate to the life of Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer. If you wish to focus on another icon, adapt as required.  Other suggestions could be Neville Bonner, Archie Roach, Cathy Freeman, Albert Namatjira, Oodgeroo Noonucal, David Goodes, Stan Grant, David Unaipon, Samantha Harris, Vincent Lingiari, Bronwyn Bancroft, Nova Perris.

What We Are Learning Today – write someone’s life into a songWhat Im Looking For – great listening and great suggestions as to what is important in Graham Polly Farmer’s life (or other appropriate icon)This Is Because – Graham Polly Farmer – was celebrated with a state funeral (or other significant topical person)

Strategies

1. Give some background to Vincent Van Gough. (see attached)
2. Show video of Van Gough’s painting with Don McClean’s song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk. Encourage children to join in with the chorus.
3. Discuss what students liked about the song and the art works. Did they recognise any of the paintings?
4. Explain you are now going to give the students some background into an influential West Australian who is being honoured with a state funeral. His name is Graham Polly Farmer (or alternative icon).
5. Show video clip/s related to Graham Polly Famer (or resource appropriate clips for alternative icon). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-14/graham-polly-farmer-rocked-afl-on-and-off-the-field/11414352 https://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2018-05-23/untold-story-polly-farmer
6. Distribute post it notes for students to write down a couple of things they know about Farmer or the icon – stick on white board. Teacher to share the ideas and clarify as required.
7. Look at the lyrics of Vincent – First Verse First Line – given when Farmer played footy it was only played on Saturday afternoons should our new song be called and start with “starry starry night’? Instead of painting…What did Farmer do and how did it make people feel. What happened in his life – triumphs and tragedies
8. Write new lyrics either together as a class or in pairs. There is a worksheet for this.

Vincent To Graham Polly Farmer

9. If students are stuck for a line or two, perhaps feed them some ideas from the suggested re-wording by myself, Jane Nicholas.

Saturday afternoon
Bringing crowds to their feet

with hand balls passed with energy

And leading from every centre bounce

Captain of our hearts

You changed the game for ever more

The one who we all looked up for

To bring our state team another flag

You were the best,

Across the land and you showed me

How one young boy raised in state care

With sickness he could rise above

did they really know your influence

Perhaps they’ll see it now

10. The students can take a line or two of new lyrics and illustrate on the back of the sheet.

Background To Vincent Van Gough – Taken From Wikepedia

 

Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter. His work had a great influence on modern art because of its striking colours and emotional power. He suffered from anxiety and fits of mental illness. When he was 37, he died from shooting himself in the chest.

When he was a young man, Van Gogh worked for a company of art dealers. He travelled between The Hague, London and Paris. After that, he taught in England. He then wanted to become a pastor and spread the Gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining place in Belgium. He began drawing the people there, and in 1885, he painted his first important work, The Potato Eaters. He usually painted in dark colours at this time. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and found out about the French impressionists. Later, he moved to the south of France, and the colours in his art became brighter. His special style of art was developed and later fully grown during the time he stayed in Arles in 1888.

Early life

He was born Vincent Willem van Gogh on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands. His father, Theodorus van Gogh, was a pastor. His mother, Anna Cornelia Carbentus, was an artist. Van Gogh was brought up in a religious and cultured family. He was very emotional and he did not have a great deal of self-confidence. He was also a replacement child. He was born a year after the death of his brother, also named Vincent. He even had the same birthday. Living at the church rectory Vincent walked past the grave of his dead brother every day. There has been speculation that van Gogh suffered later psychological trauma as a result. But this cannot be proved.

Career

Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two sad romances. He also had worked unsuccessfully in a bookstore, as an art salesman, and a preacher. He remained in Belgium, where he had preached, to study art. The works of his early Dutch period are sad, sharp, and one of the most famous pictures from here is The Potato Eaters, painted in 1885. In that year, van Gogh went to Antwerp where he found the works of famous artists and bought a lot of Japanese prints.

In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, who was the manager of Goupil’s gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon. He also met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin. This helped the colours of his paintings lighten and be painted in short strokes from the paintbrush. His nervous temper made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day made him very unhealthy. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art. Gauguin did join him, but it did not help. Near the end of 1888, Gauguin left Arles. Van Gogh followed him with an open razor, but was stopped by Gauguin. Instead, he cut his own ear lobe off. After that, van Gogh began to get fits of madness and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for medical treatment. He painted over 1,000 portraits.

“

As for me, I am rather often uneasy in my mind, because I think that my life has not been calm enough; all those bitter disappointments, adversities, changes keep me from developing fully and naturally in my artistic career. (Vincent van Gogh, Letter, 16 June 1889)

”

Death

In May of 1890, he regained his health and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise. Dr. Gachet watched him carefully. However, two months later on 27 July, he tried to commit suicide by shooting himself with a revolver. He died two days later, with Theo at his side. Recent findings have suggested that he may have been shot by accident when 2 children were hunting but he didn’t want them to get in trouble, resulting in him telling everyone that he shot himself. Theo reported his last words as “La tristesse durera toujours”, which meant, “The sadness will last forever” in French.

Legacy

During his brief career he had only sold one painting. After his death, Van Gogh’s finest works were all sold in less than three years. His mother threw away a lot of his paintings during his life and even after his death. But she lived long enough to see him become a world famous painter. He was not well known when he was alive, and most people did not appreciate his art. After he died, though, he became very famous. Today, many people think he is one of the greatest painters in the world and an important influence on modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until he was almost 30. Most of his famous works were done in his last two years. He made more than 2,000 artworks, with 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Today, many of his pieces – portraits, landscapes and sunflowers – are some of the most famous and costly works of art in the world

Music Teachers, Take Responsibility For Change

Up for a challenge….read on.

“Take responsibility for change” and “jump on the reconciliation bus” were two challenges set by Jane Dooley, Kamilaroi woman and Visual Arts Teacher from Queensland during a recent workshop in Brisbane. The Kamilaroi people’s country stretches from the Hunter Valley in northern NSW through to Nindigully in southern Qld and as far west as the Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran in NSW, sweeping across the Liverpool Plains.

This blog reviews Jane’s workshop and provides some activities around one of the songs she suggested as appropriate for Australian music teachers to use in their classrooms. The activities are further down in the blog and are entitled ‘Staccato, Legato and Form Using ‘Freedom’ by Mau Power’.

The workshop was held on July 20 2019 and coordinated by ASME QLD at the University of Queensland’s School of Music. It was also live streamed which is how I was able to access the event.

The workshop was co-presented by Angela Pratt and Rebecca Howe, from the Arts Learning Area team at Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, together  with Jane Dooley the Visual Arts Specialist from Inala State School in Brisbane.

Jane challenged the Music Teachers who were participating in the workshop to walk softly and slowly in the journey to reconciliation with Australia’s First Nations peoples. She clarified this statement to reinforce that this comment did not mean do nothing. She explained how Elders would re-adjust our discussions and actions if we are not correct in what we deliver to the students and, that, as Music teachers, we need to have a thick skin at times to accept their constructive feedback. She was clear that we all should be moving forward in embedding Aboriginal cultures into our programs.

Ms Dooley spoke of how precious an Acknowledgement or Welcome To Country I to our original peoples. She describes these words, actions and symbols as “a gift”. Jane said the formal ceremonies are delivered by an important person within the Aboriginal community. The Elders empower the whole community, First Nations and others, through their Aboriginal identity, their knowledge of music, language and culture. Jane asked us to consider the ‘two way learning process’ that was offered in the ceremonies also of enduring friendship and in terms of taking responsibility for changing our society to one of respecting Aboriginal cultures and peoples. ‘Two Way Learning’ is where First language and cultural understanding is taught to promote literacy and numeracy development and to share power between ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’. She challenged us to take advantage of the gift and information that can be offered through a ‘Welcome To Country’ ceremony without taking too much advantage of the Elders. She wanted us to deeply consider our personal positions in society as Educational leaders and how we can work with Aboriginal people to make our society fairer.

She also spoke about some of the issues for Aboriginal children experience while trying to ‘walk in two worlds’, responsible for their traditional culture, languages, stories, art, knowledge and music, as well as learning to be successful in the perspective of contemporary Australia. The benefits of teachers delivering ‘trauma informed practice’ was for her so empowering in terms of engaging and building relationships with all her students. Trauma Informed Practice can be described recognising that schools have an important role to play in providing stability and a safe space for children and connecting them to caring adults. In addition to serving as a link to supportive services, schools can adapt curricula and behavioural interventions to better meet the educational needs of students who have experienced trauma.

Jane spoke most highly of the ‘Berry Street Model’. The Berry Street Education Model provides schools with the training, curriculum and strategies to engage even the most challenging students. This education initiative is based on proven positive education, trauma-informed and wellbeing practices that enable students’ academic and personal growth. The model educates schools and their leaders to reinforce and sustain cognitive and behavioural change, thereby re-engaging young people in learning and progressing their academic achievement.

Jane believes like visual art, music should be a subject for everyone. She asked us pointedly how we engaged with our Aboriginal students and how we made it a subject for them. How did we know they were engaged? These are great questions for us as teachers. Think about it. Make it part of your reflective practice.

Jane spoke of her experiences as a child having an Aboriginal mother and an English father, taught by Nuns. She spoke of being like a science experiment for her teachers having her head measured. This was because there was a belief at the time that the brains of Aboriginal people were smaller than other races and therefore their heads were smaller. Jane was found ‘interesting’ by her teachers at her school. She believes the measuring was the nuns trying to find out if she had a small brain too. Jane said this has left her questioning her abilities and intelligence and she finds herself having to remind herself that “I am smart. I have a Masters (degree). I am deadly.” The experience of Jane’s as a child must have been so humiliating. I hope we do better and not put our children through such degradation. Our role as teachers, mentors, councillors is one which must be taken seriously. What influence and/or impact will we leave on the future lives of our students? Will it be positive? Will it have some enduring negative scar left behind by a careless comment or act?

Jane spoke of how the Indigenous Australian cultures are the oldest continuous living cultures on earth. She invited us to contemplate what evolution of the cultures could look like. She spoke of an old Jewish fishing hymn that has been adapted over time to suit different societal needs and experiences. She challenged us as Music teachers that this adaptation could be a way forward for our society – by being resilient and resourceful and that this attitude is reflected through the Arts.

Ms Dooley spoke of the appropriation of culture and sharing of culture that was happening all the time. This is a reference to when elements of one culture are adopted by members of another culture. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures. In Australia that could be Australians from European descent using and adapting First Nations culture. Jane explains that cultural appropriation is how cultures evolve. She asks us to reflect on how we can perform the role of a custodian not an owner of cultures. She says of sharing Music or Art, “if no one from the culture is available, you step up. Do it for your students. Be courageous. Think about your intent and do your best.”

An example Ms Dooley used for the Music teachers was the song ‘Garingindinarmi’ by Joe Geia. She spoke of a going to work at a school which was not part of her traditional country. For that schools’ NAIDOC week she used this song. She reasoned its suitability as it was in the public domain with the artists permission on youtube. The language is translated during the performance of the song. Jane says Joe Geia ‘gifted’ the song to the public for people to share and learn about traditional Aboriginal cultures. Ms Dooley spoke about the protocols of songs moving to different areas or ‘going off Country’ and ‘out of culture’ and asked for users to reflect on these questions

1. To what extent are you appropriating culture?

2. Is this authentic of the culture?

3. Do you have enough capacity of language to be teaching the language or are there other resources to assist you such as a videoed expert?

4. Are you including the background to the cultural example?

I would not take a negative answer to one of these questions as an reason not to try, do your best, try harder, learn more.  Take the challenge.

As previously noted, Jane calls on us to take risks and to accept constructive criticism and to “harden up a bit”. She describes being growled or given constructive feedback as “as a gift”. These comments are meant as the Elders and community are wanting you to do better. Ask them for assistance in how to improve if you think it is the right time.

Jane spoke about contemporary First Nations artists and the role their work can play in our teaching. She pointed to their existence as representative of First Nations peoples now being contemporary people with links to the oldest living culture and as their role being very important as holding accessible links between traditional cultures and contemporary Australian societies. Her examples included Mau Power from the Torres Strait Islands. I had not come across his work before. He works as a musician activist combining Hip Hop music with traditional cultural elements. Born as Patrick Mau he is from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait and is the first Australian rapper to tour from this region. His work is really interesting and appropriate for school-aged children if you are looking for hip hop music you can use at school.

In closing Jane advises that when trying to make connections with local families and community, if you find road blocks, don’t lose heart. She says keep trying, try to make connections without asking for anything – ask if they will share a cuppa. From little things….. (Referencing Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody song )

Many thanks Jane Dooley for your guidance. 

References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rqmj0fiufc Joe Geia Garingindinarm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMqG_LyD9s4 Freedom by Mau Power and Archie Roach
https://kamilaroianationsidentity.weebly.com/location.html

About Us

https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Trauma-Informed-in-Schools-Classrooms-FINAL-December2014-2.pdf
https://learning.berrystreet.org.au/focus-areas/berry-street-education-model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation

Staccato, Legato and Form using ‘Freedom’ by Mau Power
This is a series of activities inspired by one of the pieces by Jane Dooley’s workshop. It utilises ‘Freedom’ by Mau Power and Archie Roach. It is available on Itunes. There is a fantastic video clip of the song on youtube.

It’s a great song. I wonder what you and your students think?

I believe these activities would suit classroom music and any school age group.

Play song with the class responding through movement – half group to respond to hip hop sections and other half to respond to ‘singing’ sections. Swap. Discuss the form and instrumentation choices for the different sections.

My interpretation of the form is
Intro A BABA B A BABA B (fade out)

Discuss the timbre of the different sections using terms like short long connected smooth sharp disconnected jagged flowing random predictable great variation repetition close range wide range.

Have students suggest different instruments that would suit A and B sections if they were to recreate the piece without vocals.

Play a rhythmic accompaniment on electronic keyboard – a simple one like 8 beat one set to 108 BPM. Have students take turns improvising either the A section or B section parts reflecting the different dynamics and timbres through instrument choice and playing styles rhythms and melodies legato staccato. Include some ‘call and responses’ sections.

I would provide students with chime bars or metallaphones using C Pentatonic scale (CDEGA) for B section and an un-tuned percussion for A. The other students are to respond through movement to the music created by the solo improvisers. After a few turns have students reflect on the music that was made and how interesting or beautiful or emotive it was and which students’ work best reflected staccato and legato.

Students compose their own short work either with a partner or solo and notate and perform their piece.

For junior primary I would limit the length of the piece to 2 bars for the A section and 2 bars for the B section.

For middle primary I would increase the length to 4 bars for each section and would have the students include some overlapping of the two parts so the form would be A AB B.

For upper primary I would request intro (2 bars) A section (4 bars) BA (2 bars each) B section (4 bars) outro (2 bars).

For secondary I would request intro (4 bars), A section (8 bars), AB overlap (4 bars), B section (8 bars) and outro (4 bars).

On July 20 2019 ASME QLD Professional Development live streamed a day of workshops from the University of Queensland’s School of Music.

It was fantastic.  It introduced me to the Indigenous vocalist Maroochy Barambah who gave a ‘Welcome To Country’ before the workshops began.

This week I will look at some of the background to this performer and the band she has been associated with as well as the Ambient Music style.  I will present some exercises using their music.

Maroochy Barambah contribute vocally to an ARIA Award winning album with non-Indigenous Australian band Gondwanaland.  Their recording of the ‘Wide Skies’ album and single ‘The Waterhole’ in the style of Ambient Music has inspired some lesson ideas.

Maroochy Barambah Information

Maroochy Barambah is a distinguished indigenous musician whose career since the 1970s has spanned the genres of jazz, rock, musical theatre and classical opera.

Maroochy Barambah, formerly Yvette Isaacs, of Gubbi Gubbi descent, was born in c.1950s at Cherbourg reserve in Queensland. Her early years were spent in the dormitory system, designed to sever Aboriginal children from their cultural heritage. She participated in the Aboriginal Inland Mission choir at Cherbourg and, when fostered out to a family in Melbourne at the age of  13, she went to school there under the Harold Blair Aboriginal Children’s project. Harold Blair was an Australian tenor and Aboriginal rights activist originally from Cherbourg.

In the 1970s she was awarded a Melba Conservatorium of Music scholarship, and subsequently formed her own jazz group. She became lead singer with Indigenous rock band Quokka and participated in the Rock Against Racism concert in Hobart, Tasmania. In the same year she changed her name as a statement of pride in her Aboriginality. As a Turrbal/Gubbi Gubbi woman, she took the names Maroochy – which means black swan – and Barambah, meaning “source of the western wind” to reflect her status as a member of the Stolen Generations.

Maroochy Barambah rose to fame for her part in the 1989 Sydney Metropolitan Opera production of Black River, by Julianne Schultz and Andrew Schultz, an opera about black deaths in custody, and later starring in the 1993 film adaption which was awarded the Grand-Prix, Opera Screen at Opera Bastille, Paris. She also has appeared in the indigenous musical Bran Nue Dae, the 1981 television series Women of the Sun and in the opera Beach Dreaming which was written for and about her by Mark Isaacs, an Australian classical and jazz composer/pianist.

She has released two singles, one of which, Aborigine, reached the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Dance chart.

She performed at the 1993 AFL Grand Final, singing Waltzing Matilda and Advance Australia Fair. Maroochy’s translation of Advance Australia Fair into Turrubul, the native language of the Aborigines of the Brisbane region, was performed at the 2013 Indigenous All Stars Rugby League match at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on 9 February 2013. She wrote and performed the verse of national anthem in her language as a gesture of reconciliation.

On 15 November 2014, Maroochy featured in the Welcome to Country ceremony at the formal opening of the 2014 G-20 Australia Summit, held in Brisbane, Australia, performing in front of national leaders and international dignitaries.

• Mongungi (1994) single – Daki Budtcha Records
• Aborigine (1996) single – Daki Budtcha Records
• Once upon a dreamtime (1997) – Daki Budtcha Records

 

Gondwanaland Information

Gondwanaland were a non-Indigenous Australian music ensemble which combined the didgeridoo with western instruments such as synthesiser and guitar in the Ambient style (explained later).

Starting as a duo, Gondwanaland Project was formed in 1981 by two non-Indigenous Australian musicians. They were Peter Carol on synthesiser and Charlie McMahon on didgeridoo and vocals.

Charlie formed Gondwanaland Project to combine his love for the Australian outback with his didgeridoo playing. McMahon learned didgeridoo as a teenager, inspired by the movie Jedda, and improved his technique while working in Central Australia.

He was one of the first musicians to unite western and traditional indigenous music into the genre of ambient, world music. Charlie, from Blue Mountains outside Sydney, was one of the first non-Aboriginal musicians to gain fame as a professional player of the instrument. While Charlie revered the musicianship of the Aboriginal people in their traditional ceremonies, he did not seek to mimic their performance, but adapted the didgeridoo to contemporary music. Charlie is also the inventor of the ‘didjeribone’, a sliding didgeridoo made from two lengths of plastic tubing and played somewhat in the manner of a trombone (hence its name).

After releasing the Terra Incognita (1984) the duo were joined full-time by percussionist Eddy Duquemin and the group name was shortened to Gondwanaland.

Four albums were released under this name :

Let the Dog Out(1986),

Gondwanaland (1987),

Wildlife (1989)

and Wide Skies (1992).

 

Gondwanaland’s album, Wide Skies (1992) came after touring northern Australia and includes guest performances by Bobby Bunuggurr, Cleis Pierce, Maroochy Barambah, Andrew de Teliga (Sirocco), Blair Greenberg, Pee Wee Ferris and Carl Zhang. It was produced by Martin Armiger, recorded from 1990 to 1992 in both Sydney and the Northern Territory, and was released by WEA. Gone were the earthy good time romps and quiet moments of reflection, now complex panoramic chord clusters enveloped the arrangements in an almost overwhelming evocation of the sky and everything that happens in and under it. This album’s multi-layered textures and moods earned the band even greater critical respect. Wide Skies was nominated at the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 for ‘Best Indigenous Release’. It was Gondwanaland’s first album to include Aboriginal musicians.

By 1994 McMahon formed another band, Gondwana, with an emphasis on rhythm and increasingly dominant bass and experimental didgeridoo sounds. This group released three albums: Travelling (1994), Xenophon (1998), and Bone Man (2002). The latter two albums feature another McMahon innovation: the mouth-held use of a geologist’s seismic sensor to amplify the growling subsonic didgeridoo dynamics. This gave McMahon a new audience: the trance, dance crowd. Xenophon was nominated at the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 for ‘Best Indigenous Release’.

Gondwanaland composer/arranger Peter Carolan died in 2012 aged 64.

Later in 2012 Charlie McMahon and Gondwana released album Didj Heart.

The history of the ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release now seems incongruous.  In 1988 Gondwanaland won the ‘Best Indigenous Release’ category. This award began in 1987 and was discontinued in 1998. Early on in its history it was common to have non-Indigenous musicians nominated for the award. The nominating of non-Indigenous musicians for an Indigenous award now appears contentious. Times have changed as Australian society increasingly recognises and values the ancient First Nations cultures of our country.

 

Ambient Music Information – taken from Wikepedia

Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. A form of slow instrumental music, it uses repetitive, but gentle, soothing sound patterns that can be described as sonic wallpaper to complement or alter one’s space and to generate a sense of calmness. The genre is said to evoke an “atmospheric”, “visual”, or “unobtrusive” quality.

Ambient music focuses on creating a mood or atmosphere through synthesizers and timbral qualities, often lacking the presence of any net composition, beat, or structured melody. It uses textural layers of sound without prevalent musical tropes, rewarding both passive and active listening. Nature soundscapes are usually included, and the sounds of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings and flute, among others, may be emulated through a synthesizer. According to Brian Eno, one of its pioneers, “Ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”

The genre originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, when new musical instruments were being introduced to a wider market, such as the synthesizer. Eno named and popularized ambient music in 1978 with his album Ambient 1: Music for Airports. It saw a revival towards the late 1980s with the prominence of house and techno music, growing a cult following by the 1990s. Ambient music may have elements of new-age music and drone music, as some works may use sustained or repeated notes.

Ambient music did not achieve large commercial success, being criticized as having a “boring” and “over-intellectual” sound. Nevertheless, it has attained a certain degree of acclaim throughout the years, especially in the Internet age. Due to its relatively open style, ambient music often takes influences from many other genres, ranging from classical, avant-garde music, folk, jazz, and world music, amongst others.

 

ACTIVITIES FOR THE CLASSROOM

Babies To Two Years

Play the music ‘the waterhole’ from Wide Skies Album by Gondwanaland.  It is available on Itunes.  Delight the young children with puppets and soft toys that are related to a waterhole and some blue crepe paper ribbons hanging just above them. Read them Crow and the Waterhole by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

Three to Five Years

Play the music ‘the waterhole’ from Wide Skies Album by Gondwanaland.  It is available on Itunes.  Encourage students to engage in structured play in a ‘waterhole’ space such as the image of Amy Saunders set up shown in the images.  Amy is a passionate early childhood educator from Melbourne. I met her through Koori Curriculum – a great Facebook community.

Later the students could complete their own playdough waterhole creations.

 

Junior to Middle Primary

Play the music ‘the waterhole’ from Wide Skies Album by Gondwanaland.  It is available on Itunes.  Whilst it is playing read ‘Crow and The Waterhole’ by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

 

Provide each student 2 pieces of one metres length of black crepe paper ribbons.  Play the music again and the students are to retell the story individually through movement to the Gondwanaland music. Discuss the instruments the students heard.

Show students the clip of ‘what a synthesizer can sound like’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoiPkHyEMGI

Play  ‘the waterhole’ again and have students draw what they hear and what comes into their minds – the different sounds, instruments, the weather, vegetation, animals, impact of people.

Have students create their own short ‘waterhole’ composition based on the Kwaymullina story using some tuned and untuned percussion. Perhaps a planning sheet with the following headings could be useful.

Pitch    Timbre            Tempo       Dynamics  Instruments                Rhythms

Waterhole

Crow

Sees Reflection

Realization of self

Waterhole

 

Upper Primary to Lower Secondary

Objective: Use a combination of recorded sounds and instruments and electronic loops to create a one minute layered composition about a special place using a multitrack recording program like Garageband.  It should demonstrate layering in and out of sounds, variety of texture which explores a combination of fat textures and solos.  It should also explore the use of dynamics changes, in particular, the use of volumes of different tracks.

Resources: Ipads or Laptops for recording and mixing, background to Gondwanaland and Maroochy Barambah

Strategies

1. Outline the overall objective for students. Introduce Gondwanaland band and the concept of non-Indigenous people playing traditional instruments.  Discuss the inclusion of the Aboriginal female vocalist Maroochy Barambah and how this adds to the authenticity of the piece.
2. Teacher to play the first 43 seconds of ‘the waterhole’ by ‘Gondwanaland’ from their ‘Wide Skies’ album. It is available on Itunes.  Students to note down all the different instruments they hear whilst it is playing.  Class discussion.
3. Teacher demonstrate to the class notating (graphic or standard or combination) one of the textures.
4. Allocate each student or pair of students one of the ‘voices’ of the piece to notate. Play the segment several times for the students to notate and self check.
5. Put the notated voices together as a ‘poster of notation’ and listen to the piece again to check as a class each line.
6. Have students listen to the piece again for how the music reflects the title of the work. Discuss.
7. Students to re-create their own ‘waterhole’ piece based on a particular place they know. They are to think of the different flora and fauna and size of the waterhole as well as the human impact on the waterhole and link some different sounds or moods they could incorporate.  They are to include drum loop with an intro and outro.  Students are to include at least one recorded environmental sound that is pure and modified in some way. The sound could be lengthened or shortened or repeated in an ostinato pattern.  Students are to also include at least one recorded instrumental part – this could be vocal.

References

https://www.deadlyvibe.com.au/1997/08/swan-song-maroochy-barambahs-bumper-year/

https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/545569?c=people

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhPaUQXDsew

http://dakibudtcha.com.au/index.php/maroochy-barambah/

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/brisbane-news/indigenous-totems-to-line-new-walk-on-highly-significant-stretch-of-river-20190405-p51bbg.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwanaland_(Australian_band)

https://www.didgeridoobreath.com/kb_results.asp?ID=6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_music