How much do we cherish the traditional song in the courses of solfeggio and musical culture?

Abstract

The analysis of the contemporary syllabuses of the courses of Solfeggio and Musical Culture reveals a tendency to marginalize the traditional songs of the local surroundings. This observation has initiated a research whose goal is to examine the level of knowledge of the traditional songs of the Niš and Leskovac region, as well as the degree of their presence in (absence from) the contemporary syllabuses of the courses Solfeggio and Musical Culture. This paper depicts part of the research conducted in the territory of the Niš and Leskovac region among the teachers and pupils of elementary music schools and comprehensive music schools in urban, suburban and rural areas. The obtained results indicate that the syllabuses of both courses lack adequate knowledge and practical use of traditional songs of the region, which implicates the necessity of designing new ways of learning about the local cultural and national identity with the purpose of preserving the national tradition and its 'popularization' among the young. This task can be accomplished only by a greater inclusion of the traditional songs in the syllabuses of the courses Solfeggio and Musical Culture.