"This is music for all; it just needs to be given a chance."

 

There are inherent qualities in music that seem to amplify humans’ feelings of togetherness and collaboration, both in making music and enjoying it together with others. Someone stood by your side at your last concert, whether friend or stranger, all taking in the sonic vibrations of a live performance, and Mick Jagger still has Keith Richards by his side after more than fifty years together of creating and playing music. Musicologists refer to the practice of “musicking,” which generally involves band members working together to create their own unique and flavorful sound. It’s an overzealous word to describe making music together. In a broader sense, it’s creating together. Everyone serves a unique purpose in a collaborative environment.

 

Taking this concept of “musicking,” and borrowing elements from marching bands popular in the US, the Field Band Foundation (FBF) has developed a long-standing music program tailored for South African communities in need. Founded in 1997 under their mission to “create opportunities for developing life skills in youth through the medium of music and dance,” each project is designed to bring together young people in the spirit of both collaboration and creativity. In programs like this, art (or music, in this case) is used as a catalyst for growing a community of an empowered, self-confident and healthy band members and staff alike. Success is contingent on everyone in this band, thereby promoting the idea that a combined effort is greater than the sum of its parts. The Field Band Foundation enables all participants in the program, some as young as seven-years old, to learn Afro-jazz arrangements both with each other in classes and rehearsals, as well as in front of their communities through live performances in street parades, community events, and holidays. In fact, the Field Band Foundation’s biggest performance came on a global stage, playing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

 

Such advancement is rooted in a cyclical process designed “to create an empowered, healthy, and self-confident society made up of young people, largely centered around education.” Young participants learn how to play from their elder role models, many of whom choose to “give back” in the form of tutorship, which ultimately leads to becoming part of the staff – altogether fostering a unique bond with all levels of the community.

 

This “Theory of Change” model, developed by the Field Band Foundation, empower today’s leaders to instill in the group values centered around camaraderie, learned from the leaders that came before them. It’s a promise that permeates throughout the organization and fuels everything they do. Members see themselves as leaders, collaborators, artists; all exhibiting a greater sense of psycho-social and physical well-being for having played a role. The equipment is well-maintained and even improved. Conventions are repeated and optimized, thereby setting a precedent for how all members see themselves as part of the working unit. There are also other paths for members to take more focused around management. The local band management team, made up of a project leader and a handful of tutors, also plan rehearsals & performances, arrange music, and orchestrate the performance from start to finish. Yet, for all that goes into learning both the technical (music & dance) and practical (life skills, project management) skills needed to perform, it’s the opportunity to partake in positive, joyful and affirming activities that nurtures and ultimately strengthens the community. Much of this is driven by education. The idea is, increased education to the masses, both members and tutors in this context, contribute to an environment where positive mental and physical behaviors and practices are championed.

 

This platform for education set up by the FBF borrows principles from Philosopher John Dewey’s Pedagogical Creed, written in 1897 about the role of education in developing identity. The essence of Dewey’s thinking centers around experience in a variety of social situations, a process that begins at birth. These situations, constructed by social norms and thereby a valuation of intellectual and moral resources, is an unconscious education that ultimately forms identity. These social situations, which inherently draw on the past, orient how we see ourselves in the world based on what he or she or they can offer it.

 

Music and performance sit at the core of what FBF is, together nurturing a newfound sense of community in an environment that’s both supportive and joyful. Today, the Field Band Foundation hosts 21 programs in seven of the nine provinces in South Africa and growing, with exchange programs established in Norway, Flanders, and the United States. Such programs enable collaboration on a global scale, thereby broadening members’ perspectives and perhaps even their skillsets.

 

The Manguang String Programme, also founded in the late 1990s (1998), is similar to the FBF and targets local youth and stimulates them with music for both personal and professional growth. A 2006 study published in the Journal of Medical Arts analyzed the impacts of the program both on the participants and their community. One key difference from the FBF is the style of music. String instruments are core to the program’s sound, as the name suggests, rooted in more Western music styles. Members learn to play variety of music (both classical/African), which demonstrates versatility both in their African-derived instruments and in themselves by playing varied music. In an environment absent of political/cultural boundaries and elitist tendencies, the children can experience the music more freely, and perhaps even enjoy it.

 

“The kind of music cultivated by the programme has never been played by black people before; this interest me in the programme,” one student remarked as part of the 2006 study. Another said, “This is music for all; it just needs to be given a chance.” This is sort of the ethos fostered within these musical education programs, in environments that promotes learning and curiosity, and seemingly creating a productive, inspired, and collective people. These are remarkable insights from anyone, let alone from young people. It expresses a sense of openness towards experiences – music, social, or otherwise.

 

Music is inherently diverse, characterized by provocative anecdotes about any and all aspects of life, from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. After all, music is a form of expression, regardless of what it sounds like. Even more explicit topics and themes – sex, drugs, and violence – persist in nearly all forms of music and creative outlets without becoming blacklisted. All of this is seemingly more agreeable in theory than in practice, as some artists and genres face a double standard for reasons unrelated to talent, particularly with hip-hop in predominantly black communities. Hip hop music incites passionate discussions around awareness, both within oneself and in their communities, not unlike other forms of expression. What prevails are a variety of perspectives which promote empathy and understanding for oftentimes black cultural experiences in a way that’s both authentic and raw.

 

For hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar, the presence of the late great hip hop artist Tupac Shakur in his community of Compton, CA “impacted not only me, but also the culture as a whole” in Compton, CA. Speaking about the importance of hip hop, Kendrick vividly remembers growing up with Tupac as an iconic figure in the community. His perspectives are deeply rooted in these experiences and memories, which now are a part of his purpose. To Kendrick, hip hop is more than just a sound, “this is culture…people live their lives to this music. They listen to rap every day because it’s the only thing they can relate to their own stories and tribulations,” he tells Zane Lowe in a 2017 interview in promotion of his album DAMN, further proving the power and influence inherent in hip hop’s form of expression. It’s impressive for a musician like Kendrick, once a student, to now shoulder the same responsibility Tupac had for marginalized communities in southern CA; a weight he bears with a rigorous commitment to providing the same level of impact with his life.

 

Not that hip-hop needs any sort of validation, but the form has proven efficacy in clinical research around music therapy, particularly in identity development among adolescents. Michael Viega, Ph.D., LCAT, MT-BC, an Assistant Professor of Music Therapy at Montclair State University, and a Fellow in the Association of Music and Imagery, has helped drive this progress. A music therapist for over twenty years, Michael has notably used hip hop in his practice, which have included stops in Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago. Using hip hop to form a connection with his young adult patients, Viega recalls a therapeutic songwriting session in which the group asked to listen to Meek Mill, then an up-and-coming artist from Philadelphia They observed, “his flow is the fire of someone wanting to get out of poverty, something we can all relate to.” The payoff here is quite powerful. This experience resonates as relatable, not unlike what Kendrick Lamar experienced in the shadows of Tupac. Meek Mill, in this context, is both the poet and role model, but also a product of an impoverished upbringing.

 

Hip hop is not as widely utilized in music therapy as other genres, for reasons related to its structure and often explicit lyrics. Viega is one music therapist leading the charge, immersing himself in the genre and creating resources to help meet the needs of the communities he served (in Philly, DC, and Chicago). One reason behind hip hop’s resonance with young people is its candor, especially surrounding the temptations – among them, sex, drugs, and violence – that often challenge young peoples’ identities. It further demonstrates how important it is to discuss and explore these topics by any means, whether through music or otherwise.

 

In a rapidly changing world, Dewey’s vision for education seems paramount to the survival of the human species. It’s simply impossible to predict what skillsets will be required to enable community growth (or really to do anything) in the next year, much less twenty years from now. Dewey’s approach to education, one that promotes continued learning and growth from experience, could be invaluable as society navigates unknown waters, both in the present and future. Both in South Africa and Philly, music education has proven beneficial in the maturation of young people and further facilitates identify development. 

 

 

 

Source List

Apple Music. (2017, April 27). Kendrick Lamar: “DAMN” Interview | Apple Music [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwNhoyDjAPg

 

Cloete, E. (2006). “Broadening a horizon of expectations”: a qualitative investigation of The Mangaung String Programme. Journal of Musical Arts in Africa, 3(1), 16–38. https://doi.org/10.2989/18121000609486707

 

Dewey, John (1897) 'My pedagogic creed', The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897).

 

Field Band Foundation. (2008). Who We Are | Field Band Foundation. https://fieldband.org.za/Contact_Us.html

 

Field Band Foundation. (2018). Life Skills Implementation | Field Band Foundation. https://fieldband.org.za/Resources.html

 

Field Band Foundation. (2018). Theory of Change | Field Band Foundation. https://fieldband.org.za/Resources.html

 

Hadley, S. J., & Yancy, G. (2012). Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip Hop. Routledge.

 

Music As A Global Resource. (2008). History. https://www.musicasaglobalresource.org/history