What keeps the WTIG cohort alive, excited, energized and refreshed while on the road? Music! Community music!
Music calls us to attention ! Music has the the power to transport us back in time, calm our worried minds, or boost our moods!
Each Cohort, this summer, learned at least one Ghanaian song. Then there are the songs sung as the groups traveled from place to place.
As a participant and music teacher of the groups, i taught by playing with the hope that all will learn by ear. Some songs were taught by rote, and one by reading music.
Ghanaians learn songs often by listening and repetition. North American and Ghanaians alike heard and learned some of the songs for the first time.
As a group we encouraged and helped each other, each person doing creative renditions of the songs in our own individual ways.
The approach we used involved some written music and, most often, printed lyrics. We sent the words of the songs to cohort members through WhatsApp. When time allowed we learned the tunes first, then the words. Most songs were practiced on the bus.
A smile. Agoo. Words of encouragement. Humor. And learning begins!
I first Introduce a song by singing it through entirely. Afterward, I have cohort members sing a verse in phrases. I interpret each line after it is sung, slowly bringing the song and its story to life. The melody continues to build up too.
When the majority of the cohort members are feeling sufficiently confident with the words, it is time to sing the whole song together, slowly at first, matching the lyrics with sound so that the song feels familiar to the tongue. I make sure they sing the melody in a range that is comfortable for everyone, not too high and not too low. Then I introduce the djembe drums and frekyiwaa to hold the rhythm together.
In Ghanaian community singing, nothing is sung wrongly. Every sound is community.
Whether you pronounce words right or wrongly, it is all music!
Here is community singing with Cohort Sankofa!
Daniel N. Agyei ( Kwasi).
Kpohe D/A Basic school.
Mathematics and Creative Art.
Ningo-prampram District, Ghana