Year 9 music at Glasshouse Mountains Christian College has been looking at how different cultures use music in their beliefs and cultural identity. The music teacher arranged for a Rhythm Culture School Incursion to expand the students knowledge in this field of music culture studies. The school was also celebrating Arts Week so during the lunch break we got a jam set up for the students!
Glass House Mountains is a hinterland town and locality of the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Renowned for its picturesque mountains visible from many areas on the Sunshine Coast. As a neighboring town, it always a treat to visit these beautiful local areas on the Sunshine Coast.
We taught a rhythm called Sofa, which is rhythm played for the warriors. We explained that this rhythm is also used when important people are visiting the village. Famadou Konate, renowned Djembefola also talks about how the warriors would dance on their horses on horseback and they would move the horses to the rhythm as it was played. We also played another rhythm called Soko in the sessions.
Once we had the rhythm in the workshop, we split the group into two and got half of them dancing. We focused on just a few moves from Sofa so that they could see how the drumming rhythms corresponded with the dancing. Sofa moves really tell a story to the rhythm. We really enjoyed sharing these movements with the students.
For the drumming jam during the lunch break lots of year fives and year sixes got into the drumming. This was a free form jam, very different from a structured workshops. The students were free to play what they like. The music teachers also got involved and invited the students into the jam, encouraging their participation. We actually got a really nice groove happening with everyone!
Thanks so much for having us Glasshouse Mountains Christian College. We had a really awesome time sharing African culture with all of your students!
