Indian music in intercultural education – ISME Glasgow 2016

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Whatever we understand and enjoy in human products instantly becomes ours, wherever they might have their origin – Rabindranath Tagore*

During this presentation, musical figures from several distinct traditions were explored in a practice-oriented manner. The figures selected are appealing beyond South Asia where they originated many centuries ago and continue to play a key role in classical and applied music.

Our shared goal was to enable young and old to collaborate in a memorable learning process that blends seemlessly into any chosen subject, academic and otherwise.

The criteria for selecting a particular figure were (1) its flexibility as for combining it with another subject, for instance mathematics, geography or history; (2) its appeal going by prior experience with learners from different age groups; and (3) its scope for variation, movement, visualisation and analysis in accordance with learners’ specific needs and abilities.

Click on the above image to view or download and print a sample lesson for free (PDF with mp3 audio and other links)
Click here to view or download and print a sample lesson for free (PDF with mp3 audio and other links)

Scope

As part of integrated music education, Indian music enables even complete strangers to share a useful learning process. This calls for a natural and playful approach to melody, rhythm, hand signs and body movement. In this manner we are prepared to include newcomers – children and adults lacking a common language – to instantly participate in music.

Indian music is valued for fostering memory, analytical thinking, concentration, and cooperation among peers. Its basic concepts are exhilarating and liberating whether or not there is scope for studying Indian culture in its own right. This is a boon in circumstances where verbal or written instructions fail to engage learners. Rather than resigning in the face of such formidable challenges, educators are free to experiment and spread solidarity through instant inclusion – the essential joy of “creating” music oneself. This aspect addresses a common fear among learners, namely to be left behind (again!), be it in music or other subjects – a fear that is all too often justified in competitive modern society.

To help educators to overcome such fears, we build lessons around simple figures that bind tunes, rhythms and movements together into a rounded whole. Some of these may appear familiar enough to “break the ice” if needed; and others are so fresh and mind-boggling as to trigger further experimentation among peers in informal settings – anywhere and anytime. For this to happen, we dispense with technical resources of any kind.

Adaptation is the key to rapidly changing learning scenarios wherein cultural stereotyping, a known stumbling block for educators all over the world, must be overcome. This is easily achieved by integrating Indian music into discussions of academic concepts, or by letting its rhythms enrich social and outdoor activities. Such activities are by definition location specific and all-inclusive.

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Educators from Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Singapore and Switzerland were among the eleven participants in this one-hour session. They explored a time proven method suited to the needs of a wide range of abilities and learning goals; and this irrespective of participants’ cultural roots.

Date: 28 July 2016 | photos by courtesy of Dr. Tony Makarome, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Singapore

More information

*Rabindranath Tagore in a letter to C.F. Andrews; quoted by Amartya Sen in The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity. London: Penguin, 2005, p. 86.

More on and by Rabindranath Tagore >>

Contribution to the world conference of the International Society for Music Education in Glasgow – ISME 2016

“Yours figuratively: Indian music in intercultural education”

  • Date: Thursday 28th July 2016 (17:15 – 18:15)
  • Venue: AGOS Studio
  • Paper Number: 704.00 | Submission Category: Demonstration/Workshop
  • Special Interest Group (SIG): Practice & Research in Integrated Music Education
  • For more details, kindly check the  isme2016glasgow.org website during the conference  (24-29 July 2016)

Abstract

Music counts among the proverbial “64 arts and skills” of ancient India where it became synonymous with “leading a fulfilled life”. Thus, having evolved along with other pursuits, Indian music is an interdisciplinary concept that connects people irrespective of age and cultural background. It is in this context that we explore the world of musical figures: figures that convey subtle meaning while symbolizing the very joy of participating in music making of a high order.  Rather than borrowing sounds from a supposedly exotic culture, we apply the building blocks of Indian music for several good reasons: for their accessibility in the context of intercultural education and, of course, for their intrinsic value and beauty.

Learners tap into the mind-boggling world of India’s musical ideas. Tiny musical figures are adapted in a manner that has stood the test of time. While being fun on first hearing they also lend themselves to being visualized and analyzed for non-musical purposes.

This teaching method lends itself to classroom and lifelong learning across the entire social spectrum: it adds colour to other school subjects like maths, languages, geography or physical fitness; and requiring no more than voices, hands and open-mindedness, it kindles communication where there is a lack of time and resources, or even a common language. Figuratively yours, ours truly!

Ludwig Pesch studied at Freiburg University from where he went to India in order to be trained and perform as bamboo flautist. Since then he develops intercultural activities that suit the needs of children, music students and teachers; and also for museum education (e.g. family programmes for Museum Rietberg Zurich in conjunction with Indian art exhibitions).

He authored The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music and among other writings, contributed to the journal of the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung (Goettingen University “Music | Musics. Structures and Processes“) and to Integrated Music Education. Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Training by M. Cslovjecsek and M. Zulauf, forthcoming). Among his research projects are “Sam, Reflection, Gathering Together!” (Bern University of the Arts in collaboration with Natanakairali, Research and Performing Center for Traditional Arts in Kerala). His ideas on collaborative work are summarized by the acronym AIUME for “Adapting Indian Universals in Music Education”. (www.aiume.org)


Find publications by Ludwig Pesch on worldcat.org >> >>

Bambusquerflöte & Tambura (Konzert mit Workshop) – Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft

Ludwig Pesch (Bambusquerflöte) & Arnulf Merckens (Tambura)

Datum: Di 8. April 2014 (19:00)

Ort: Kulturzentrum KoKi (Pumpe) Raum 1, Haßstraße 22, 24103 Kiel – Anfahrt

Veranstalter: Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft Kiel e.V. – digkiel@googlemail.com

Die Musiker

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Ludwig Pesch (1955) spezialisierte sich auf die südindische Bambusquerflöte, als er am  Kalakshetra College bei Ramachandra Shastry (1906-92) studierte. Gemeinsam mit ihm konzertierte er bei zahlreichen Anlässen.

In Zusammenarbeit mit den Universitäten von Lüneburg und Würzburg entwickelte er e-Learning Angebote. Er verfasste das Handbuch The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music und gestaltet Programme, bei denen Gestaltungselemente aus der indischen Musik für den pädagogischen Alltag nutzbar gemacht werden. 

Arnulf Merckens (1952) ist ein Schüler des Sitar-Spielers Ashraf Sharif Khan aus Lahore. Von 2000 bis 2007 erlernte er zunächst das Tambura- und Tablaspielen. Ab 2003 erhielt er auch Sitar- und Urdu-Unterricht von ihm. Er hat seinen Lehrer mehrfach bei Konzerten auf der Tambura begleitet.

Programm

In ihrem einstündigen Konzert präsentieren die Musiker eine Auswahl karnatischer Ragas und Kompositionen.

Anschließend bieten sie ihren Zuhörern die Gelegenheit zum informellen Austausch. Neben Fragen zum Konzert besteht die Möglichkeit, die Tambura auch selbst zu spielen sowie rhythmische Silben und die für Talas gebräuchlichen Finger- und Handgesten auszuprobieren.

Die Teilnahme am Workshop erfordert keinerlei Vorkenntnisse und ist für alle Altersgruppen geeignet.

Flute sculpture in Somnathpur (Karnataka) – Photo © Ludwig Pesch
Flute sculpture in Somnathpur (Karnataka) – Photo © Ludwig Pesch

Karnatische Musik

Südindien ist für seine melodische Musik und mitreißenden Rhythmen bekannt. Eine Musiklehre und auch die dort gebräuchliche Art des Musizierens lassen sich bis in das Altertum zurückverfolgen. Seither haben Maler, Bildhauer und die Autoren der klassischen Tamil- und Sanskritliteraturen gerne das Musizieren mit Instrumenten dargestellt. Gesang- und Instrumentalrepertoire sind so zu einem Ganzen verschmolzen.

Eine vergleichbare Auffassung liegt dem schöpferische Mitgestalten zugrunde. Musikschaffende, Amateurmusiker wie Musikliebhaber nehmen daran auch im “Internet-Zeitalter” teil – vielleicht mehr denn je.

Artikel zur südindischen Musik und ihrer Vermittlung 

A Musical Lotus Pond – workshop at ISME 2012 World Conference

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Purpose
Probing the depths of Indian sounds and symbols both for their interdisciplinary potential and intrinsic value.

Content
We pool musical, visual and numerical motifs. Sounds, hand gestures and movements link two school subjects within a single session; and more subjects wherever this approach lends itself to being integrated into a curriculum.

Method
The “Musical Lotus Pond” is a biotope where beauty flourishes in unexpected ways. Each participant embellishes a sheet of paper containing numbers and shapes. These form the basis for musical activities. At the conclusion, the sheets are folded into small cones resembling the “school cones” traditionally used to entice European children to attend school. Children will spontaneously share their experiences with peers and family members.

Application for integrated education
Analytical thinking, self-expression and teamwork are cultivated. For this purpose, motifs derived from Indian music are combined with those belonging to subjects as diverse as visual arts, geography, biology, physical education and maths.

Pure maths is a religion and in the East, valued for more than merely its technical applicationNovalis (1799)

Background information
Indian culture is permeated by synesthetic associations that make learning both enjoyable and (cost) effective. Moreover it fosters concentration and teamwork. It is therefore no coincidence that the ubiquitous lotus motif symbolizes the aspiration to rise above the ordinary and beyond predictability.
The presenters work with the motto “Adapting Indian Universals in Music Education” (AIUME); and this in response to the needs of children and music students. Contributions to exhibitions (e.g. Museum Rietberg Zürich and Royal Tropical Museum Amsterdam) complement their artistic and scholarly pursuits: one is a singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist; the other trained and performed as flautist in India, and authored The Oxford Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music.

I surely know the hundred petals of a lotus will not remain closed for ever and the secret recess of its honey will be bared. – from Gitanjali by Nobel Awardee Rabindranath Tagore

Listen to Tagore: Unlocking Cages: Sunil Khilnani tells the story of the Bengali writer and thinker Rabindranath Tagore: https://bbc.in/1KVh4Cf >>
The acclaimed BBC 4 podcast series titled Incarnations: India in 50 Lives has also been published in book form (Allen Lane).

“I was moved by how many of these lives pose challenges to the Indian present,” he writes, “and remind us of future possibilities that are in danger of being closed off.”1

Notes & references
  1. Sunil Khilnani quoted in a review by William Dalrymple in The Guardian, 14 March 2016[]