Aug6

Last week we had a special outreach in the local school.  I was in charge of the music portion.   We did several songs that I have used in many of our early childhood music classes at Joyful Sounds School of Music in Maryland:  Che Che Koolay, If You're Happy and You know it, and Walk and Stop.   What a picture it must have made as I walked down a dirt road in the African bush, surrounded by about 10 little children, singing: "Oh well, you walk and you walk and you walk and you STOP."   "Oh well, you run and you run and you run and you STOP."  You don't make much progress when you keep stopping!   There I was in my "African boots" (actually I bought them at Walmart in MD) and my sunglasses and cowboy hat to protect me from the sun.  It is a great adventure.

 

Singing in Africa is unlike anything in the US.  In the African bush, in poor villages, there is no TV, no I-pods, no CD players, no tape players, and very few radios.   So if you want to have music, you have to make it yourself.  Most singing is acapella – no instruments.  Spontaneously there is 4 part harmony.  They don't even have to look at music to know the part to sing that will sound great.  And you never have to ask them to sing louder.   They project!  Even young children can sing harmony.  One group of young children were singing and singing in parts.   In America we wait to have children sing in parts until they are older.  It is a wonderful experience to hear the enthusiasm and joy music brings to people who literally have nothing.