Appendix 6 - International Music Council

instruments and it was soon only the “stronger” learners who had a
chance to play. I learned about the rules and cruelty of Africa.
Soon the “noise” started to become “music” and the children’s faces lit up.
The spirit of Melodi ya Mamelodi was born.
Under such circumstances, how much structure do you need in your daily
lessons? Does one need a timetable? I use a very simple planning in the
sense that I start everyday with the “new beginners”, then the “little ones”
and then the “more advanced” learners. I often ask the question of whether
or not we kill creativity and growth with too much structure. Africa makes
and enjoys music as a community in an “improvised” manner. This is
clearly the situation in Mamelodi: you play violin if there is a violin
available!
Since Hans-Jurgens Kruger was appointed in January 2005, our lesson
planning has changed and more structure has been given to the lessons.
He now tutors the more advanced learners individually.
Teaching Method
Another challenge is to find a teaching method that is workable in our
circumstances. There are more questions than answers on this matter, but
we are in the process of learning and growing to find the correct method.
I ask myself whether individual lessons will ever be workable for this
environment. The energy of the groups is extremely powerful. They learn
from each other and inspire each other. Making music is a community
event in their culture; shouldn’t we build on this concept? These children
thrive on making music together, but will the group not lose this
extraordinary energy that they possess if they start with individual tuition?
On the other hand, we do realize the necessity of individual tuition and the
benefit that the learners have by receiving lessons from two different
teachers. We are, in a sense, the mother and father of this violin community
and often the only caregivers these children will know.
At first I did not make use of music books – it is expensive and impractical!
I often teach under the trees or in the corridor and sheet music would soon
have been spread all over Mamelodi. The learners learn everything from
memory: I play, they listen and watch, and then they copy. These children
are survivors and are used to doing things on their own. If I tell them to
watch and listen, they immediately respond. With less “teaching” and more
listening and watching, the better the learning and growing.
Eventually the reading of music became essential and I made copies of “I
can read Music”. We went through it using two one-hour sessions. The
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