Improvised Song in Schools: Breaking Away from the Perception of Traditional Song as Infantile by Introducing a Traditional Adult Practice

Abstract

Improvised Song in Schools:Breaking Away from the Perception of Traditional Song as Infantile by Introducing a Traditional Adult Practice Albert Casals (bio), Jaume Ayats (bio), and Mercè Vilar (bio) Within the repertoire of songs coming from the oral tradition of Catalonia there is an interesting corpus of melodies that have been used—and continue to be used—for the improvisation of verses. As is well known, this type of oral communication is not exclusive to Catalonia but forms part of a broad tradition deeply rooted in Mediterranean culture (Scarnecchia 1998) and in the Ibero-American world (Trapero, Santana, et al. 2000). And it is also allied to the Click for larger view View full resolution Map of Països Catalans Marc Belzunces / Albert Casals rap music that originated in the United States that has had such enormous commercial success (Munar 2005). In the Catalan-speaking regions, Països Catalans, Juame Ayats lists up to nineteen genres or classifications of "songs with lyrics that are improvised over a sole melodic formula" (2007:114-18). Most of them originate in Catalonia. In contrast to this variety, the presence of this type of singing is extremely limited within the current repertoire of traditional songs, and in the school orbit it is practically non-existent. In this article we describe a pilot project that has introduced improvised song1 in five Catalan schools. The goal of this presentation is not to present a comprehensive picture of the educational project but rather to provide elements for analysis and reflection. Specifically, we focus on the implications of the educational utilization of improvised song with regard to certain deeply-rooted ideas about its use in schools. Concepts of Traditional Song in Schools In previous research—during the 2003-04 course—we analyzed the concepts and traditional genres associated with the construct traditional song in the context of primary schools in Catalonia. And we related it to educational policies of an identity-making nature (Casals 2004). On the one hand, we examined the song repertoires proposed by the six main publishing houses that print music books for primary education and, on the other hand, we analyzed the repertoire used in 21 schools. One of the most notable aspects of this research was the discovery of the existence of a process of infantilization that affected the traditional part of the song repertoire present in primary schools. Infantilization may be described here as a process where traditional Catalan songs have become a basic and essential part of primary schooling, but one that has also entailed a loss of presence and meaning in higher courses in favor of other types of songs—traditional songs from around the world, adaptations of classical authors, African diaspora spirituals, and so forth. According to Casals, this situation may be explained in terms of at least three factors (2004:59-60): ▪ "The processes of manipulation and reinvention—by folklorists, teachers, and pedagogues—of the meaning and functionality of traditional songs when passing from oral expression to a written version." Moreover, this phenomenon is accentuated when introducing them into the school curriculum. The causes of these modifications lie in the desire to adapt these songs, in keeping with the notion of "folkloristic products" (Martí 2002:121), to the hegemonic values valid during different sociocultural and educational phases in the twentieth century. ▪ "The aspiration of anti-Francoist Catalanism—from the 1960s—to introduce traditional Catalan songs into schools as an expression of the mother tongue and as the first musical language to work with." This aspiration has largely met with success, but because of its serious, symbolic nature other types of traditional song that are more festive and suitable for young people and adults—incorporating humor, denunciation, dramatic narrative, eroticism, and so on—have been neglected. This circumstance has led to the erroneous equation traditional music simple music music for infants that often results when the traditional repertoire is being used as a basic introduction to music (Costa 1997). ▪ "The fact that teaching in schools in Catalonia adopted choral singing as the model of correct singing when choirs and choral societies were already an asset that served to defend an individual tradition." The choral model was very...