Philippine Music Education: Diversity in a Globalized World

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A paper presented by Prof. Jocelyn Guadalupe in the Quo Vadis Seminar on Traditional Music and Art Education (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Dec. 4-6, 2009)

Transcript of Philippine Music Education: Diversity in a Globalized World

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    Philippine Music Education: Diversity in a Globalized World

    Prof. Jocelyn Timbol-Guadalupe

    Music Education in the Philippines can be described as eclectic and diverse. This

    has been made this possible through the intermingling of colonial cultures such as the

    Spanish, American and Japanese with the local ethnic traditions of the Philippine

    islands. At present, there exist 74 ethnolinguistic cultural groups in the Philippines that

    have their own traditions, cultural practices and modes of transmission. It is this diverse

    cultural background together with recent educational theories that serve as a backdrop

    to Philippine music education today.

    I. Types of Music Education in the Philippines

    Del Valle describes Philippine music education as having three branches namely:

    a) formal music education (general music in schools from Grade 3 to 10, conservatory

    and teacher training in music in tertiary schools); b) non-formal music education

    (performance-based music education programs such as studios; and c) informal music

    education (community or church based music programs such as rondalla, choir,

    symphonic band and traditional music ensembles)

    A. Informal Music Education among Indigenous Groups in the Philippines

    Historically, music has been passed orally among the pre-colonial Filipinos.

    Music among the early Filipinos was functional in nature and thus training of performers

    was in the context of the function of music in rituals, rites of passage and marking of the

    seasons.

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    Music training among the Kalinggas of Northern Philippines followed a sequence

    of instruments that can be labeled today as developmental: children play the patteteg

    (bamboo blades) then move on to the tongatong (bamboo stamping tubes) then finally to

    the gangsa (flat gongs) when they are older and able to hold the gongs. The musical

    patterns for all the instruments are the same. It can be said that the musical content

    (rhythmic modes, pieces) is the same for all instruments and certain tribes as some of

    the pieces played on the instruments are associated with the name of the tribe.

    However, the technique is adjusted to fit the physical attributes of the children at a

    certain level. The functional nature of the pieces is also very important as most of the

    music is played to mark occasions such as planting and harvesting rice as well as for

    curing the sick and warding off evil spirits.

    In the Southern Philippines, Usopay Cadar describes the Kasombak

    apprenticeship system among the Maranaos of Southern Philippines wherein a morit

    (student-apprentice) is taught basic patterns on the Maranao kulintang (gongs in a

    frame) and through experiencing the life of the goru (master teacher) as an assistant

    also gets the basic materials for improvisation later on. Maceda (1998) concludes that

    many of the kulintang music from the Southern Philippines uses two types of modes with

    anhemitonic modes (modes made of whole steps only) used for music that depicts

    nature and animals and the hemitonic (modes with half and whole steps) depicting music

    of a more human nature.

    B. Non-Formal Music Education during the Spanish Colonial Period

    The Spanish friars introduced the schola cantorum or singing schools in the

    Philippines and the music education received by young Filipino boys gave rise to the first

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    generation of Filipino composers in the Western sense. Instruction in music consisted of

    Western music theory, solfege, dictation and applied music mostly involving Church

    repertoire. Aside from this, there exist adaptations of the Spanish rondalla and the

    Western symphonic band in the Philippines. Training among these groups is not church-

    based but happens in the community with the sponsorship of wealthy families who

    support the arts.

    However, despite the highly Western training, innovative and resourceful

    Filipinos who have no access to Western instruments have integrated these practices

    with local materials through the Musikong Bumbong, which uses the technology of

    Western band instruments with local materials such as bamboo. Today, the Musikong

    Bumbong is still popular in places such as Malabon in Metro Manila, in Bulacan, a

    province north of Manila and in Alicia, Bohol in Eastern Visayas.

    C. Formal Music Education during the Japanese and American Colonial Period

    During the Japanese period, there was a revival to teach authentic Filipino

    folksongs (in their original form and not translated into English) but the idea did not take

    root at that time.

    The American Thomasites were the first teachers in general music. The Silver

    Burdett Company published the Philippine Progresssive Music Series with the help of

    Filipino editors such as Norberto Romualdez. These books were used from elementary

    to high school and contained translated Filipino folk songs and Western symphonic

    themes as base materials for music lessons. Conservatories were also founded by

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    religious orders to formalize music training but instruction was mostly focused on applied

    music performance.

    D. Formal Music Education Post-war and the First Republic

    After the war, the Philippines was granted independence. It was also during this

    period that tertiary preparation in music education was institutionalized through the

    Philippine Normal University. In 1966, Philippine Congress passed into law R.A. 4723 or

    the Music Law requiring the teaching of music as a separate subject from Grade 1 to

    high school. In effect, many conservatories established music education as a major in

    tertiary education to prepare music teachers for music instruction in the formal school

    curriculum.

    II. Tradition and Change: Music Education in the Philippines Today

    Music Education in the Philippines today is the by-product of both traditional and

    colonial music influences. Although there exist a set-up that reflects the Western

    educational model, stakeholders and policy-makers are working towards providing music

    education with a comprehensive view of Philippine music from the Pre-colonial up to the

    present.

    Most of the set-up in general music education today is patterned after the

    Western model as shown in the existence of several music societies advocating certain

    methods such as the Ward, Orff, Kodaly, Dalcroze and Gordon methods in general

    music. There are also several studios that advocate the Associated Board of the Royal

    Schools of Music, Yamaha and Suzuki method of applied music instruction.

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    There are however, several organizations that address Philippine music culture

    despite the influx of westernization. The NCCA (National Council for Culture and the

    Arts), NAMCYA (National Music Competitions of Young Artists), U.P. Center for

    Ethnomusicology, Philippine Society for Music Education all conduct festivals,

    workshops, internship programs geared towards preserving and engaging the diversity

    and dynamism of Philippine music education.

    Today, many of the music of the pre-colonial Filipinos have been preserved

    through the research initiated by Jose Maceda. This year, its introduction into the revised

    basic education curriculum ( RBEC 2009) has been started in Grade 5 for Kalingga and

    Maranao music in basic education, music is integrated with social studies under a

    subject called MAKABAYAN (Nationalism) thus placing the study of music not only

    through the aesthetic mode popular during the 1950s but also, its place in nation

    building and identity in a multicultural society. The private sectors through the League of

    Filipino Corporations and grants from Australia have been coordinating with the

    Department of Education in preparing teaching materials through the project, Art

    Connection. The U.P. Center for Ethnomusicology together with the U.P. Music

    Education Department is now in the process of preparing a dictionary of Philippine

    musical terms for use in the academic community and by extension, the educational

    community as well.

    With regard to teacher-training, the U.P. College of Music together with the U.P.

    College of Education has done three things to address the needs of the new curriculum:

    (1) published lesson exemplars as possible teaching models, (2) conducting seminar-

  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

    workshops for teachers and (3) hold teaching demonstrations for teachers to see how

    these lessons can be implemented.

    In terms of non-formal applied music education, several projects are promising:

    At present, the Philippine Society for Music Education in cooperation with UNESCO has

    advocated the development of bamboo ensembles among elementary students through

    the Himig Kawayan (Bamboo Symphony) project. There is also ongoing research

    comparing Western based piano curricula with the applied music piano curricula

    prepared by Philippine piano pedagogues.

    Informal music education training sessions are also being spearheaded by

    national rondalla and band organizations among student-trainees as young as five years

    old.

    The challenges facing music education today include colonial mentality among

    many Filipino teachers who prefer teaching through the linear Western music model

    versus the sociological Philippine model, need for training and investment in music

    technology in the educational set-up, possibilities of distance learning programs in

    music, justification of music in the educational curriculum in light of the Medium Term

    Development Program of the government and the uses of music in therapy especially

    among the elderly and children of Overseas Filipino Workers.

    References

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  • QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducationDecember46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

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    Del Valle, Leticia. Music Education in the Philippines. www.ncca.gov.ph

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