Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Spring 2019 11 WORLD MUSIC culture that was offered in my classes. I wanted to know more. This led to signing up to study abroad in Belize the summer before my senior year. My passion for world music literally took me to a new place this time, and I was able to live and learn in a different country. Fast forward to September of 2017. Now I was a teacher, and I wanted to share my love of world music with my students. Unfortunately, the resources are varied and not always accurate. I learned about world music from the experts and teachers who literally lived the music of different cultures. I couldn't contemplate sharing anything less than that with my students. This lead me to the Smithsonian Folkways website. It is a truly amazing collection of music, sounds, performances, and more amassed from all over the world. And it's not just professional musicians. The Folkways recordings span every walk of life and instance of music, from street musicians to bird song to children singing on the playground. There is folk music going back decades as well as modern folk artists creating new music that is published by Folkways. They even have soundscapes recorded all over the world, from the jungle to the American southwest to early morning Jerusalem. I had heard of Smithsonian Folkways before because West Virginia University has hosted a Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy for the past few years. I always wanted to go when I was in college, but the price was too much. I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by again, especially not after I was starting to use the Folkways website and recordings. I began searching for funding and found the Professional Development Grant offered by SAI Philanthropies, Inc, which provides up to $500 for sisters to pursue continuing education and professional development in music. I couldn't believe that it was so completely perfect for what I needed, and I applied immediately. When I got the email with the confirmation that I was awarded a Professional Development Grant, I was elated. I literally danced around my apartment. Then I just had to wait for the day to arrive. Every Smithsonian Folkways course is a little different. Each host institution draws upon the world music experts at its disposal and builds their course around that. At one location there may be experts in Indian music, Senegalese drumming, and African-American gospel choirs. Then another course could feature master drummers from Guinea and Javanese gamelan players. This year, WVU had faculty and guest artists teaching the music of Ghana, Brazil, Appalachia, Java, Bali, and Australia. Each of these people are teachers and/or culture- bearers with extensive knowledge to share. These experts taught classes in not only their particular areas, but also pedagogy and strategies for integrating the music into our different classrooms. From the very first day the participants in the course were encouraged to change the way we look at and approach world music. Music is not just something that comes from a culture; music is culture. Music is created by people in a culture, for use in culture, and as an expression of a culture. It cannot be separated from its origins and still retain its original worth. As participants in the Smithsonian folkways course, we all took this perspective with us as we explored and learned each day. We were truly transported to new places through this mindset. One afternoon we were in the streets of Brazil during carnival performing our own variation on the Maracatu. This tradition dates all the way At right, playing the lunnas and gungons during a session on Ghanaian music. At bottom, learning the Bamaaya dance wearing a simple version of the traditional belts.

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