MY DEAR IMAGINARY FRIEND…

I wish I could tell you that life is perfect with a bubbly spirit but…I’d be lying to myself if I did. As much as we kid ourselves into believing that life is unfair, it just doesn’t change. It is the way it is right now because that is just how it should be-given the circumstances caused by our actions and attitudes.

My sister passed away today. She had AIDS. She was in so much pain and so was I because there was nothing I could do to change the situation and her attitude towards it. I am glad she is at peace now, although my heart is aching because life didn’t have to turn out this way. All it takes is one bad decision. Just one…and you’re gone…Last week I felt that she was leaving soon. I just broke down at work and felt embarrassed because I wanted to keep my problems to myself and not have to expose them in a professional environment. I kept trying to control my emotions saying, “Kgomotso! Just relax!!! Don’t entertain these negative emotions…just except things as they are.”

Seeing her like that…her system couldn’t even take food in anymore-never mind the fact that she refused to take care of herself and eat properly. When I was growing up, I looked up to her so much. It was so hard to except that that was her…She just changed when I got older. We are all going to die. I wonder how strong I will be when it’s my time.

THEN IT GOES ON...

Although I have reached the end of the World of Work Training and Internship program, I am not too sad- nor amused by this. The feeling is that of uncertainty-DETACHED ATTACHMENT. It certainly means that I will be spending less time worrying about going to Wits University to get adequate access to the internet. It also means that my posts will no longer be limited to my work experience. I'm glad for this kind of platform though, because it makes you feel like you have a worthy voice in the world. BIG UPS TO THOSE THAT CREATED THE IDEA OF BLOGGING:-)I think the world would certainly be a better place if people shared in proportion to what they receive.

:-)yyyyyyeeeepppeeee!!!!!

I feel so lucky!!! The whole world needs to know that THE SAMRO ENDOWMENT FOR THE NATIONAL ARTS TEAM ROCKS and such a privilege to be part of!!! From the day we arrived at SENA, we were welcomed with open arms. Since then, the department is still filled with a lot of sense of humor coupled with a great sense of work ethic. Last Wednesday, we officially signed our contracts of employment. Vorster (Rams) and I are finally legal employees of SAMRO!!!! I want to thank everybody at SENA for giving us a chance being patient with us more especially. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME! Adding to that excitement, the SAMRO Endowment’s Overseas Scholarship awards/GALA evening is just two weeks ahead! The office is quite busy with all the logistical issues involved in organizing the event. I am really looking forward to the performances and the experience of being surrounded by and hosting VIPs!! Ooohhhhh!!! Some of the attendees are the Head Of the Department of the Nelson Mandela M University, David Alexander of Moshito, Constant Michelle who is the CEO of Business Arts of South Africa or BASA, and Lefoka Dan of ATKV!! AAAAHHHH!!! I feel like such a groupie right now:-)

SAMRO LIVE MUSIC PROJECT

SAMRO/SENA is looking at initiatives that are aimed at promoting live music in South Africa. This is good because it is in line with SENA’s objectives. A clear strategy will be needed in doing this. In order for that strategy to happen, research has to be done regarding the status quo in live music venues. I felt like a journalist this weekend because I went to a club and a live performance venue with a pen and note-pad.

On Friday, my cousin was celebrating her 18th birthday at a secluded club in Woodmead that she booked out for the evening. It was a perfect opportunity to test all that we discussed at work. It turned out that the club is strictly designed for a dj set up and there is no visible accommodation for live music performance. The music that was played was ragga, hip-hop and pop. There was literally only one South African song that was played. The rest of the evening was dedicated to American music. The crowd really appreciated the American songs and that one South African song that sounded pretty much like the other American songs. I felt like I was in Hollywood-especially because the dress code was “DSTV fashion t.v style”.

On Saturday, a friend of mine who is a promoter invited me to the commemoration of Fela Kuti’s death. The evening started with American, Cuban and European jazz. There was a Nigerian ragga music performer and then a local jazz band that really got the crowd even more excited. People were singing along and encouraging the jazz band’s performance as it was further enriched by a saxophonist and trumpeter who just joined in and started displaying their musical skill. The rest of the evening was dedicated to African music. I felt at home.

These events I attended got me thinking about the need for SAMRO to support live music in Johannesburg from a marketing and PR point of view. At the House of Nsako, I met a music journalist and managed to schedule a meeting with him tomorrow. That will be an interesting meeting. I also e-mailed Sifiso Ntuli, the manager of the House of Nsako, a questionnaire about this subject. I will have to slightly compromise my ethnomusicological endeavours this week though, because I have to submit a draft report for Mr le Roux this Thursday (the 7th).

VALUE FOR THE SA MUSIC INDUSTRY

This past week was special. I am so grateful for the opportunity Mr le Roux offered me. His emotional intelligence is admirable. I think that skill lacks in many organisations' managers, judging from other people's comments and perceptions about their bosses. From Monday, my tasks were extended to assisting Alpha Mampane and Anriette Chorn with some administrative tasks. Alpha also helped me to grasp the basics of some Microsoft programs that SENA uses for organisational purposes. I practiced using some of these programs at home and gained a better understanding of organizational issues and the importance of professionalism.

Although SAMRO is currently receiving negative publicity, it is that publicity that keeps the SAMRO brand in people’s minds. I wonder whether SAMRO’s competitors gave much thought to that, especially because of the saying “Any publicity is good publicity”. On SAMRO’s side though, the pressure is on to convince SAMRO’s stakeholders that SAMRO is really an organization that musicians and literary artists can trust and be proud to be associated with. As a student assistant at SENA, the SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts' music archives section, it is imperative for me to understand the way the organization works and project their professionalism to onlookers. Anriette Chorn, a very smart, diligent woman, was kind enough to lend me some booklets that explain the initiatives SAMRO is part of.

One of these booklets is titled “South Atlantic Jazz Music Conference”. From what I read so far, this book highlights the need to have a sector body that brings all relevant arts (e.g music) industry players under one organization, “Those involved with such a sector body would have to develop an understanding of the industry and its complexities and maximize its value and profitability”, Delecia Forbes contributed in page 12 of the booklet. All this would require more research into the music industry business. I think it is a great idea! Organisations such as the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers and the American Guild of Musical Artists have made things easier and more professional in terms of the business of their artists’ craft. This gives artists more time to produce a higher quality of work. This morning I received some exciting news!!! Andre le Roux, SENA’s general manager invited Vorster Ramonyathi and I to take part in discussions about improving the live performance sector of the South African music industry. Should the projects to be implemented become successful, the value of our South African music brand will increase, thanks to SAMRO.

ORGANISING MYSELF

Thank you so much, Lesley, for taking the time to read my blog and giving me those references! I just googled Vilfredo Pareto and am already fascinated by what I’ve read so far!!! I will definitely get those books!!

Yesterday I analysed my behavior during the previous week and realized that a part of me was still clinging on to music creativity-not that I would completely ban myself from listening to my music, but I was investing too much time in it, whereas it is not such an important task at the moment. Now that I have identified the most important tasks, I have placed much more emphasis in them in my time table. I must say that I feel more relaxed now.

EXCELLENCE, CONVENIENCE AND TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS

These past few weeks have been good for me. They certainly made me realize that I need to maximize productivity but still maintain producing work that is of excellent quality-not a very easy value to maintain…When I first started my internship at the SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts I was very concerned with the quantity of work I was producing. I guess my understanding of data capturing was that shallow. Noeléne Kotzé quickly observed this and then advised me to be conscious of quantity but become more quality driven. She truly stands for SAMRO’s organizational values that I highlighted as the title of this post. She inspired me to think more like an ambassador for SAMRO. As I checked my work, I realized that it is so easy to make a mistake and fixing that mistake is additional time spent. Technology does help in identifying mistakes more rapidly and improving the presentation of the work. By the end of this week, I must have made time to explore other computer software that will make my work more excellent and convenient for those who may explore the SAMRO music archive in the future.

It is increasingly important for me to understand the way the organization works and ask questions about certain issues relating to the organisation’s mandate that I am unsure of. I read samro’s seasonal magazine called “Notes”. It helped me to have a better view of each structure at SAMRO and how it fits into the organization. It was helpful to note and have a clearer understanding of SAMRO’s sales and marketing department regarding their current achievements and goals. At the end of the day, people that I socialize with will ask me questions about SAMRO and expect answers they can trust. The research skills I acquired from university do help because instead of waiting for information to come to us, we seek to find it in order to improve the way we do things. The challenge for me at the moment is time management. Lately, I do less ethnomusicological work than I would like when I get home. I work better when I don’t turn my tasks into a routine but I realize that I need a time table so....ja. I’m thinking of doing a monthly plan and then slightly changing it once a month. What do you think?

VALUE IN COMPOSITIONS: from yesterday to the present

Yesterday, I was listening to Donny Hathaway’s CD. Some of the songs he sang are titled ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Superwoman’. None of them are his compositions but the way he sang them was as if he was the one that composed them. Through the songs, he represented his soul and shared it with his audience. Just when you think that a song you like can never be performed any better, another performer personalizes it and gives it a new feeling and interpretation that makes one fall in love with the song and the performer all over again. This is one of the reasons why I love music and the creativity involved in its spiritual dimension. I am so greatful for recieving my stipend from the National Lottery because it empowered me to support musicians and take care of some family obligations. After hearing Donny Hathaway's version of superwoman, I was sold! I did not even bother listening any further.

Donny Hathaway just captures you emotionally because he is one with the song. He sounds so sincere and although in the live recording, the audience is screaming (because of the emotions the performance evokes out of them) at various points of his performance, he is just not distracted. It is as if he is in a state of a trance because he is intensely focused in communicating what this song has to say. I believe that he gracefully carry’s his audience’s soul using his velvety, warm voice. His band supports his mission so simplistically, with technical brilliance, and yet so emotionally effective.

This makes me realize just how far I am in my Afrikaans Music Study because the ethnomusicologist has to internalize the music in order to understand the creator’s point of view. I still have to overcome the language barrier. I guess I should be more patient with myself.

Reflecting back on the music industry, as I read the headlines on the Music Industry Online magazine a few minutes ago, I came across the Composers’ Association of South Africa’s (CASA’s) announcement about the General Meeting they are holding for composers that is taking place on the 16th of July 2008. I then explored their website and came across the Quest Worldwide Production Music. I am so thankful for such international organizations that publish composers’ music to film, television and radio media worldwide. I am aware that SENA (SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts) is looking at scanning and digitizing music scores in its goal to promote the use of the Southern African music archives. I wonder what strategy the SAMRO archive is looking at regarding promoting the reproduction of the music in the archives so that it is at an internationally accepted level. The reproduction of this music may increase the scope of the use of background music for the international market. This may further increase our audience and force a lot of South African musicians to increase their standard of performance.

AFRIKAANS MUSIC CULTURE

One of the major challenges we face as South Africans is redefining our identity as a republic. The remains of apartheid have scarred and crippled our understanding of each other. My understanding of Afrikaans culture and its representation in musical scores is limited to my high school Afrikaans literature education. Each musical score that I record into the SAMRO archiving system has a rich story to tell. A portion of our South African musical heritage lies therein. At times, that portion is inspiring. At times it evokes some negative memories. At times it is humorous and eye-opening.

There are benefits in analysing Afrikaans music from a score rather than physically participating in the Afrikaner community and observing their lifestyle from an “insider’s” point of view. The advantage is that a musical score will not prejudge me or mistrust my intentions in wanting to understanding Afrikaans music from an Afrikaner’s perspective. A musical score will not be reluctant to express the creator’s emotions and attitude towards certain issues that he or she values. This endeavour is therapeutic to me because it is helping me in resolving some negative attitudes I had towards the Afrikaans speaking community. This is the beginning of my road to self redefinition

MUSIC INDUSTRY BUSINESS EDUCATION

This post is dedicated to Lesley Emanuel’s comment on my blog titled “EDUCATION IN THE ARTS” The question she asked me was very challenging- considering my credentials and having very little knowledge when it comes to the current Music Education system and practice. I will thus reflect on my experience with music education in high school. I cannot speak for the entire arts industry, although I am hoping that my suggestions will be relevant to other arts disciplines as we share the same sentiments when it comes to our ability of complaining about how bad things are :-).

Going back to my high school days, I remember how we were encouraged to do sports as extra-mural activities. There was a school choir that was barely surviving and one practical music teacher who specialised in western classical piano and flute tutoring. There were approximately three students out of a school of about 800 students that took music lessons. After school, one would listen to the rebellious students ciphering their poetic rap songs. Some of us used music and dance to escape from some subjects we felt were so irrelevant to us because we had already decided what we wanted to become in the future. The main problem was that the arts were viewed as undisciplined. Our parents feared that if we became artists, we were guaranteed to become victims of exploitation, depression and drug abuse-if not AIDS victims. That view was not misguided because we always read about musicians who are facing these dilemmas.

I always think to myself that had I not received university education, I would have become the next Lebo Mathosa or Kelly Khumalo. I would have continued to try very hard sounding and looking like Beyonce because she was my role model when I was in high school. She still is for many young girls in my generation. After gaining some insight into marketing and its relation to the arts at Wits, my focus and admiration for these stars was slightly altered. Instead of focusing on their performance and visual stimulation, I began to wonder what it is that makes these super-stars so appealing to people. If I and many other aspiring musicians had a basic understanding of branding, publishing, copyright law and South African music culture from high school, I would have valued the power of music more. I would have probably performed better at school if the mentioned subjects were part of the high school curriculum. I was going to be encouraged and more disciplined not forgetting taking me and my art more seriously.

ARE YOU AN INDEGENOUS AFRICAN?

Mr Le Roux, SENAs general manager almost had me chocking on my food when he asked me this question during lunch on Thursday.

As usual, I was sitting quietly at the table among the SENA staff who are my seniors. I become very shy when I’m in the company of people who are much more mature and knowledgeable than I. Back when I was a child, I stayed with my grand-mother, who would chase me and my younger brother away to play in the bedroom- as long as we kept our distance from the lounge where we would not hear any conversations that were considered too serious for children and are meant for adults’ ears only!! As I became older, that was translated as a sign of respect.

Anyways…back to the whole notion of indigenousness…it is a pretty loaded term because people may not interpret it the same way. For simplicity’s sake though, if we were to unpack it from a denotative point of view, my dictionary states that it is about “belonging naturally…of people regarded as the original inhabitants of an area.” My interpretation of this definition- and please correct me if I am missing the point- is that nature isn’t static. From a genetic point of view, I am definitely not an indigenous African because my ancestry, although I would not say that I am such an expert in it, is mixed due to migration. I know that in my mother’s family for instance, there is some European blood. Although my surname is Tswana and my mother's is Zulu. I may be originally from Japan for all I know:-). What I do know is that I was born and raised in South Africa, and brought up to value ubuntu. From a cultural perspective, I would say that I am an indigenous African. What makes me an indigenous African is that I believe that there is so much power in human relationships that can be magical in a state of unity. As an African, I believe that I am just a human being who isn’t exclusive and limited to one area. How does effective synergy prosper when we limit ourselves to indigenous efforts? Steve Covey would say, in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, that when one has reached a healthy level of independence, a heightened sense of synergy is achieved in one’s interrelated relationships.

ARE YOU AN INDEGENOUS AFRICAN?

Mr Le Roux, SENAs general manager almost had me chocking on my food when he asked me this question during lunch on Thursday.

As usual, I was sitting quietly at the table among the SENA staff who are my seniors. I become very shy when I’m in the company of people who are much more mature and knowledgeable than I. Back when I was a child, I stayed with my grand-mother, who would chase me and my younger brother away to play in the bedroom- as long as we kept our distance from the lounge where we would not hear any conversations that were considered too serious for children and are meant for adults’ ears only!! As I became older, that was translated as a sign of respect.

Anyways…back to the whole notion of indigenousness…it is a pretty loaded term because people may not interpret it the same way. For simplicity’s sake though, if we were to unpack it from a denotative point of view, my dictionary states that it is about “belonging naturally…of people regarded as the original inhabitants of an area.” My interpretation of this definition- and please correct me if I am missing the point- is that nature isn’t static. From a genetic point of view, I am definitely not an indigenous African because my ancestry, although I would not say that I am such an expert in itJ, is mixed due to migration. I know that in my mother’s family for instance, there is some European blood. Although my surname is Tswana and my mothers’ is Zulu. I may be originally from Japan for all I knowJ. What I do know is that I was born and raised in South Africa, and brought up to value ubuntu. From a cultural perspective, I would say that I am an indigenous African. What makes me an indigenous African is that I believe that there is so much power in human relationships that can be magical in a state of unity. As an African, I believe that I am just a human being who isn’t exclusive and limited to one area. How does effective synergy prosper when we limit ourselves to indigenous efforts? Steve Covey would say, in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, that when one has reached a healthy level of independence, a heightened sense of synergy is achieved in one’s interrelated relationships.

EDUCATION IN THE ARTS

Yesterday, I accompanied a friend to the Theater and Dance Indaba conference that took place at Museum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg's cultural precinct. Sibongile Khumalo was the program director for this event. The main speakers were members of organisations such as the Arts and Culture Council, the Department of Arts and Culture and the newly born Business and Arts of South Africa (BASA) NGO. When the speaker from BASA spoke, I was so interested to hear what she had to say, particularly because Anriette Chorn, SAMRO’s music education officer, mentioned that she attended the BASA awards recently. The attendees of the Theatre and Dance Indaba were mainly theatre and dance practitioners whose main concern was the issue of inadequate funding for the arts. There was a question and answer session whereby a discussion around these issues was implemented.

Although it was by default, I’m glad I attended this event because I was able to get a sense of artists’ experiences and concerns at grassroots levels. The main problems that were communicated were the limited budget allocation for the arts by the South African government. Artistic practitioners were also concerned about the supposed inefficiency of synergy between the South African government’s arts and culture policy, its provincial and local arts organisations. Another major concern was the ‘dying’ capacity and ineffective management of community arts projects that are meant to foster nation building and encourage solidarity in communities. I then remember the xenophobic attacks that have scarred our image as South Africans. Could the government perhaps be underestimating the value of the arts and their ability to build and strengthen the character of South Africans? The NGO representatives argued that the onus is upon musicians to take themselves seriously and stop acting like victims.

Although the scarcity of funds is an issue, one of BASA’s objectives is to assist musicians in forming business relationships with the corporate business sector. BASAs concern was that artists hardly sell themselves- probably due to a lack of understanding the marketing skills required. The SETAs were said to be less than useful when it comes to educating artists about their industry. I then wonder why these skills cannot be accumulated from the time we are at high school level. Quality education then becomes an imperative for artists because it challenges our artistic intellectuality and personal discipline. I believe that there should be a stronger implementation of the arts' industry business education in all of South Africa’s public schools. I think that the quality of music we produce will thus be elevated and therefore increase our status as South Africans.

DREAMS VS REALITY

This past week really questioned and challenged my supposed mission that directs and motivates this little life of mine. I thought about whether my ethnomusicological mission is far fetched and impossible to complete in one lifetime. Meeting Professor Mzilikazi KHUMALO fueled these insecurities even more, especially because his experience of life is exceptionally longer than mine and is professionally focused on one ethnic group.

He spoke about his study of Zulu traditional music and his application of it in the choral music genre. His insight in Zulu traditional music marries the linguistic and musical nature of Zulu music. I became more intimidated by this dream I have of wanting to understand each South African cultural group from an ethnomusicological perspective. I must admit that I am not the most talented when it comes to knowing many languages, although, my abilities lie in analysis and open-mindedness. I believe that having a healthy dosage of curiosity also helps.

Andre le Roux, SENA’s general manager, is the one who kindly introduced Vorster and I to Professor KHUMALO. Mr Le Roux made me realize just how clueless I am when it comes to the South African music business. Archiving also reveals how I am not alone in this predicament. I am beginning to wonder whether this is a “Light Music bug” because most of the people I record in the Light Music archiving system are not published. Perhaps they do not have access to this kind of information. Perhaps they are not looking hard enough. Perhaps they are not reading because Noelene Kotzé, my supervisor, informed me that this knowledge is in the little brochures that one can collect at SAMRO. Although this is a great idea, most up-coming composers I know don’t even know where SAMRO is. As I write this sentence nê, I find myself laughing about this because any negative reactions are guaranteed to tear me apart one way or another. Perhaps I worry about the future too much. Perhaps finding a solution to this communication problem between musicians and SAMRO will resolve any animosity that may arise.

Speaking of animosity, I just read an article on the Music Industry Online magazine about musicians and composers who want to strike against SAMRO’s supposed royalty management rules that composers feel are against their interests. Could this be the result of a communication breakdown or misunderstanding between SAMRO and its members? I would not comment at this early stage until I understand the dynamics at play.

On a slightly different tangent though, Ptolemy Thompkins' book titled "The Book Of Answers" may have inspired a strange dream I had last night- Life is just too short- last night I dreamed that I died. Right now, I just want to live and do all that I can to be happy and contribute to others’ happiness. I really enjoy archiving and I believe that this experience will help me in contributing to others’ happiness-even just a little bit.

The importance of music archiving to Ethnomusicology

The first couple of days at SENA were very much based on getting used to archiving. At first glance, some may view archiving as a pretty mundane and redundant task because all you do is collect historical musical data and place it in a computer cataloguing system right? For me, linking archiving with a young discipline such as ethnomusicology is challenging yet necessary. The reason is because ethnomusicologists use a participant-observation research method that is adopted from Anthropology. Archiving, on the other hand, is office work as opposed to the real environment in which one can participate and observe the musicians as they produce their musical works. The importance of archiving is in gathering historical music data. Although one may not be able to participate physically in the act of creating music, having access to our South African music history is so enlightening.

THANK YOU for your comment on my previous post titled “MY FIRST DAY WORKING AT SAMRO” It would be inspiring to hear from great minds such as yourself as to how you go about linking your career with your education qualifications. I would guess that it’s only a matter of doing more research, brain storming, forming strategies, working and praying really hard that your ultimate objectives become reality.

For those that aren’t familiar with the Study of ethnomusicology, it is the study of music as culture. Ethnomusicologists aim to understand, in depth, a particular culture from an insider’s point of view. The aim is to assimilate one with a particular culture. Others would call it colonization but that term has such negative connotations that I would rather refrain from using. From a more personal point of view though, ethnomusicology is a tool that can assist us as South Africans in understanding our diverse, multi-ethnic identity. At home, charity always begins therein and then flourishes abroad. The goal is to then appreciate and invest our energies into our unique identity as South Africa. Music is a way of finding that common ground where our South African culture informs, inspires, and transforms our society into one community as the International Journal of Community Music would suggest. I’m sure you would agree that as South Africans, we have read, experienced, observed and heard of some form of ethnic bias and discrimination. Xenophobic prejudices are the most worrying behavioral temperaments of South Africans that encourage this act nowadays. Is it not interesting that these attacks occur just about two weeks before AFRICA DAY? AFRICA DAY AT SAMRO was fun and interesting. It made me feel like I was part of the organisation and that our floor is not isolated from others. It is a great idea because it encourages nation building within the organisation. If indeed umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu, those that encourage ethnic prejudice are only expressing the inner turmoil and disunity within their identity. Are South Africans suffering from an advanced inferiority complex? If so, when will we heal? When will we seek to understand and manage ourselves? When will we give love to ourselves?

My concern as an ethnomusicologist does not lie in trying to define the meaning of music. I am more concerned about how South Africans can redefine and solidify their identity through an understanding and empathetic spirit.

Archiving is therefore a tool for South Africans to understand their music cultural history. It will arm us with an understanding of what our common values are as a country and then seek a way to a progressive future. I want these thoughts to become well refined as time goes on. They will become immensely richer with your input… http://www.samro.org.za

MY FIRST DAY WORKING AT SAMRO: 15th of May 2008

The time is 22:47 and my energy levels had a real work out today. The explosions in my stomach managed to numb all traces of nervousness. This morning I arrived at SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) at 8 am, hoping to help Noel`ene Kotze (my supervisor) with setting up our work spaces. I was so anxious to start working because of being completely annoyed by the fact that I was no longer kept under pressure by Wits University’s academic demands. Having time in abundance is a blessing UP TO A CERTAIN PERIOD whereby it’s just too much time to relax and cook up little research endeavors on the internet that all point to one fact. Information is only consolidated through practical experience.

When I read Vorster Ramanyathi’s blog post on his visit to SAMRO, a part of me thought that he was being overly optimistic about the organization and its people. Well, that was prior to my personal experience of SAMRO as an intern there. It turns out that I was being a bit pessimistic about my experience there. I pictured a dodgy, isolated and quit working space with long corridoors and bad lighting. My reality was that there is not a single person that I met so far at SAMRO that lacked humility in any way. Noel`ene Kotze, Oscar Phophi and the rest of the SENA (SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts) staff made so much effort to make us feel at home. Noel`ene's chocolate cake and qute pink pencil gift just made my day:-) That really stood out for me. It is no wonder Alpha (One of SENA’s staff members) decides to carry on working at SAMRO after 5 years of being employed there. I hear that there are staff members that have been there for 30 years. This makes SAMRO such a unique organization-especially because of the picture painted by some of the World Of Work Internship Program’s guest speakers. The last thing I expected was feeling completely energized after work-especially after losing 3 hours worth of work probably because of my incompetence!! I could have listened to Oscar more carefully as he was training me. It was good that he allowed me to make that mistake. I did learn my lesson though.

Eish…Anyways, I get home and start cooking. As I carry on, I receive an sms from Jean Power (the WOW facilitator) that Judy Nkuna and I have been nominated for The Best Intern Award!! This just made the explosions in my stomach worse because I was already nervous about my performance at the World Of Work Training and Internship Program’s (WOW) graduation ceremony-that is tomorrow by the way! I'll be singing some jazz and one of my compositions. The explosions are coming back again!!! Hawu madoda (Ooh, my goodness!!)!! Ok. I’ll be alright… Ja… That reminds me- I should paste this article on my blog tomorrow morning. I don’t have internet access at home. It’s just a matter of time before I do though:-)

Rag Naran: PREPARING THE C.V

At the age of 15 I was in grade 10 and was very confident about the career path I wanted to assume. Nothing was going to change my mind-not even my father who insisted that I should take my academic work more seriously! I wanted to become a performing musician and I believed that all my high school subjects were irrelevant to what I wanted to become. I, stubbornly, continued to spend most of my time on musical endeavors and watching television. I still wonder how I managed to get an exemption to study at Wits University. Going to university was a complete waist of time, I thought. When I was younger, I was afraid of dreaming and challenging myself. I just wanted to live an ordinary life. The value of life was not an issue I thought intensely about until university drove me to think critically whether I liked to or not.

Here I am now, having completed my degree and not regretting even one second of it. The last thing I would have pictured doing is preparing a C.V. Now I realize the importance in having a diverse qualification. Apart from word of mouth and media creditability, a C.V allows ‘unknown’ artists the opportunity to show their career objectives, intellectual ability, communication abilities, teamwork and emotional intelligence to those it may concern. I believe that the more people are aware of your skills, sense of responsibility and interests, the better understanding they have of your intended contribution to their lives and the world.

VISIT TO THE JSE

Before this day, I was completely frustrated by all those acronyms and jargon used in the JSE reports that I could not understand!! Every time I looked at the finance section of the newspaper, I felt alienated and completely unintelligent. I really appreciated this visit because it simplified the world of business and resolved some emotional inadequacies I felt about the entire subject. I now understand that the successful companies listed on the JSE choose to use this kind of investment for their companies because they want their business to be driven by public sentiment and opinion. As a musician, there is plenty to be learned from this because the entertainment business is driven by public sentiment and opinion. I cannot stress enough the importance of image and getting the public to want to be associated with your brand.


Those that invest in the JSE have to accept the consequences of this. The market price for whatever company they want to invest in will rise and fall precariously. It is, however, advisable that an investor should have a thorough understanding of the company’s financial history that he or she is planning to invest in. Similarly, companies that are listed therein have the responsibility to make sure that their company brands have exceptionally positive perceptions in the public eye. Whether we like it or not, no man is an island and all individuals are brands. Terrence Chauke emphasized on this point by urging us to be as informed as possible when it comes to financial affairs. Another reality shown by the JSE is the extent that the South African economy is dependent on first world investors. It then became my concern that most people I know believe that in order to make a better financial life for yourself, you need to invest in foreign currencies and companies whose exchange currency is more valuable than South Africa’s. The ironic thing is that we turn around and complain about how poor our country is becoming whereas we are not prepared to invest in it. I then look at our music record industry. There are constant complaints from the music industry’s participants about being mistreated and not receiving enough marketing for their albums by the very record companies who expect the album to sell like cool drink. Fiona McDonald said in her Leadership presentation that good leaders create positive energy, set people up for success and are able to manage conflict. She then says that a great leader has a strong sense of identity, empathy and love for people. A good leader also has a balanced dose of emotional and cognitive intelligence. Being overly emotional and pessimistic about our quality of life as musicians leads us to a destructive kind of lifestyle. When will we take care of our own brands within, by developing ourselves qualitatively, then without, by leading others to do the same?

Josie Rowe-Setz: WORLD COMPETITIVENESS

Competitiveness is measured by the standard of living and quality of life. Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (scroll to the bottom of blog) was then used as an example of how other nations assess their own success in life. The beauty of having a well populated living environment is that everyone is unique. If we were all to work and collaborate together, we would fit like a jigsaw puzzle. My weaknesses would be complemented by someone else’s and vice versa. In South Africa, our various cultures could function interdependently rather than with a conflict centered mentality of “survival of the fittest”. On a broader perspective though, am I dreaming too much or is this really attainable? The book titled “The World is Flat” says that as soon as we bridge the gap between underdevelopment and enter the technologised world, the possibilities are endless. I agree with Bhutan’s happiness index because without a united spiritual identity, a world of interdependence may just be a dream. What do you think?

Kuseni Dlamini: EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

Mr Dlamini’s words are that we should “think globally and act locally”. His topic was about globalization, continuity and change, beyond faddism, leveraging regionalism, knowledge economy, India and China.

In this globalised world we live in, companies with more diversity outperform those who don’t. That is the reality of the situation. I then wonder why South Africa is behind in the global entertainment industry because we have such a uniquely diverse multi-cultural society. Dlamini then raised an interesting point that the information economy is so vast that the saying “there is nothing new under the sun” prevails. He advised us to rather master the knowledge in “old books” to avoid being compulsive consumerists. The state of being a consumerist is so enslaving for the music industry where most people in South Africa do not know how to create their own ethnic music. Is music not what makes us creative human beings? It seems to me as though the “dumbing down” of South Africans is due to our lack of creating and making our own products-our own music. Why do we need to pay for education? Our ignorance is the cause of our dis-ease! Adding to this, we are the ones that vote for a government that does not deliver on these key necessities. Are we just spectators of globalization- helplessly affected by first world countries? What is our national vision? The rest of the world deserves a significant contribution from us if we want to function in an interdependent relationship with them-not to say that Africa is so bad and the rest of the world is better off without us, but there is always room for improvement in all societies of the world.

Roy Blumenthal: BLOGGING AND CREATIVITY

My experience with Roy Blumenthal’s approach to the world of work was an emotional roller coaster ride! With him, I’m sure the WOWers would agree that our emotional intelligence was tested. Roy constantly presented problems that we had to learn to solve practically. The first was to get our networking forums running and interlinking each to the other. I would say that this seminar can be linked to every other that we attended in the World of Work Training and Internship Program. I always wanted to tap into a deeper state of meditation. Thank you for helping me in reaching that core, Roy. I needed to see the source of my inspiration for my future goals. I would, however, love to find out about other people’s experiences related to deep meditation.

Shameen Naidu: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

I learned that stress is a response to a circumstance or event that threatens and taxes one’s coping abilities. Regarding the issue of stress management, Ptolemy Tompkins would say, in The Book of Answers, those extreme forms of emotional behavior or responses create discomfort in one’s psyche. Steve Covey would state, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, that one should be mentally self conscious in order to acknowledge that they can choose a response to a given stimulus. This is termed-emotional intelligence. An emotionally intelligent person recognizes a negative stimulant from an analytical rather than emotionally driven point of view. I love our comedians because as much as they bring out the lighter side of life, they do it with such wit that the stresses of life end up seemingly bearable. Perhaps, we dwell so much on outside forces that we have no control over to a point where our stress management is lowered to exhaustion.

Well, anything that deals with the problem is much better than having to stress about how one is actually going to deal with him or herself-alone-in silence-right?

I have even gone as far as drafting a personal constitution. This constitution sums up all the ethics that I value the most. This personal constitution is my source of self-regulation and meditation as I can assess myself according to whether I am aligned with my wants or not. Would you agree that without a form of spirituality, our sense of happiness and intrinsic balance is in a state of war?

Andrew Hofmeyr: PRACTICAL BUSINESS

Andrew Hofmeyr is self-employed and encouraged us to take charge of our own destiny by practically observing and identifying opportunities in our environment where a group of people have similar needs and wants. We should take initiative and offer people and organizations products and services that we know they will appreciate. This lesson was followed by a trip to The Business Place. This organization aims to help SMMEs in starting, saving and broadening their vision and has tapped into a market that is in demand in the world of work due to the unfavorable unemployment rate in South Africa. I was inspired to start my own business-especially because there is an organization out there that is prepared to guide me as I go along succeeding in my mission in life. It made me proud to be a South African.

Aki Kalliatakis: Customer Care

The main point that was presented in this seminar was centered on getting customers to be loyal to you. This makes me think about the Proudly South African campaign through which the government encouraged South Africans to support South African products and invest within the country. Would you not agree that this is hard to attain unless we assume a unified, courteous, secure and credible cultural identity for South Africans through nation-building? This is the focus for my practice as an ethnomusicologist. From what I have observed, there is no South African culture that can truly say that they understand the other 10 cultures within South Africa empathically. Please correct me if I am wrong. A lot of friends of mine that work in the corporate environment are still faced with racial prejudices and a work environment that undermines our democracy.

Kalliatakis suggests that customers become disloyal to products or services because of the following shortcomings:
* poor quality services
* high defect rates
* deficient service
* lack of understanding of the customer’s needs
* time pressure
* poverty
* overwhelmed by cluttered information
* no trust and relationships
* they want to feel special
* they want to be involved in the product design and value-labelling decisions
* the product or service has no integrity
* the product or service does not seek to invest and inspire its employees

Kalliatakis then reveals an alarming 68% of customers that support other products and services because they were bored, felt unappreciated and not special. This is the highest figure in his market research followed by customers who leave because of bad customer service. This reminds me of a performance I recently attended where the jazz artist was so unapproachable that there was no moment of inclusiveness between him and his audience. At times we forget that business is created and supported by human beings. Does it help to treat your audience as if they are not really there and that perhaps they do not see that the performance you have given lacks quality? Is it so hard to put more effort into finding out what your audience wants and to make them feel like they are part of your performance in a pleasurable manner? Like I stated in the beginning, I am not yet convinced that South Africans are loyal to their country. May you be my witness as I strive to be an example of patriotism to my country?

Janet Askew: TIME MANAGEMENT

An important point that stood out for me was that one will always find time for things that matter to him or her. I would be lying if I said that I learnt volumes of knowledge from this seminar because her presentation was contrived from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I do hope that my other blogthinking partners absorbed some valuable points that I possibly overlooked.

Fiona MacDonald: NETWORKING

Networking is highly relevant for me as a musician because of the precarious nature of the music and media industry. Fiona McDonald defines networking as a manner of connecting with people for social or business related reasons. This manner is mainly driven by mental preparation, confidence, empathy, humbleness, persuasion and expressing a positive image through non-verbal communication. This may sound easy but practicing it is another story!

On Sunday, the 13th of April 2008, my father decided to snatch me from my activities at home to visit a family friend. As usual, he did not want to tell me about the occasion we were to attend. A corporate minded person would think that I was a fan of Shrek because my entire outfit was lime green! My father, of course, had no problem with the way I dressed. He then ingeniously decided to tell me that we were attending a dinner party for the FEPACI (the Pan African Federation of Film Workers) members when we arrived at the gate. I began feeling a bit under-dressed for the occasion but then decided to just be myself instead of letting my insecurities crowd my confidence. The outcome of the situation was that I was surrounded by high profile, yet humble people.
If I did the mental preparation for projecting a controlled image of myself, I may not have had a natural experience of networking that forced me to be myself. Maganthrie of www.input2008.org.za is such a humble and intelligent woman who did not make me feel inferior to her. I then had an enlightening conversation with Hlengiwe Vilakati of www.khomanimedia.co.za .

Shameen Naidu would agree that this manner of networking requires emotional intelligence. A relationship based on emotional connection, giving and advocacy is established where both parties feel that they can have an effective interdependent relationship. In an environment of creative workers, my experience taught me that there should not be a step by step method of networking. Roy Blumenthal would say that the creative thinking hat will free us at any pressurizing situation that requires improvisation.

Abey Mokgwatsane: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Mokgwatsane’s recipe for success in the world of work is from an executive or leadership point of view. It includes making sure that he adds value to the company through balancing his organizational strategy by managing and measuring every aspect of the organization thoroughly. He strongly believes that empowering employees with knowledge regarding the organisation’s target market, financial and cultural nature, acts in favor of the organization in the long term. An example of this is that once the employer has a better vision of his or her position in the company and understands the organisation’s culture, the employee willingly becomes an ambassador for the company at social occasions as his or her worker morale is boosted. This interdependent approach to viewing the employer and organizational efficiency works wonders for Mokgwatsane’s marketing business. The essence of this marketing firm is that a brand that people want to be associated with is created inside-out. Similarly, if I want other people or organisations to be associated with me, I need to continuously develop and broaden my skills in order to ensure that I am a brand that they can rely on and be proud to be associated with.

Dan Sonnenberg: AN INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS

Social etiquette in the workplace was Dan Sonnenberg’s approach to introducing us to the business world. In the three hour seminar that he presented, the command of English was his point of departure. One example of this lesson is that when facing a problem in the workplace, one has to pay careful attention to how a good report or e-mail (DR KEMPE) says a lot about how you think as an individual. Roy Blumenthal stresses that one should ideally aim for control over the resulting reader’s perception of whatever that is presented on a public forum. Going back to Sonnenberg’s seminar, one should not present an issue or problem without suggesting possible solutions to the problem. Being courteous is another communication skill that is valued in the workplace. I cannot help but wonder when one may draw the line between being courteous and being pretentious. My sense of creativity and unconventional behavior may be a challenge if I become a part of a strictly formal business environment, although it may not be detrimental to my character.

Lesley Emanuel: CREATING THE RELEVENT JOB TITLE

Lesley Emanuel is the most energetic person in the WOW team! I love her enthusiasm!! She made us realize that the nature of the world of work is that employers want to know that the skills I have will benefit them at the end of the day. They may not be concerned about how many degrees I have. She argues that the reason why humanities students are the least employed is because they are already perceived as unemployable in the world of work. The reason for this is because their skills are unidentifiable through tangible evidence. She then equipped us to use mind-maps to link all those lessons that we learnt through the World of Work internship program as the tool for persuasion. This method of note-taking helps us to save time and absorb the information rationally and creatively at the same time.

The mental process required in doing a mind map includes silencing the critical left side of the brain and allowing the right side to take precedence in order to allow our creative juices to flow. One needs to create links and allow organizations to surface in order to create new paths. This strategy to learning and connecting new ideas with existing ones will be even handier during our internship where we will have to adapt to the environment as quickly as possible!!! A mind map can be simulated through blogging and may be used in learning, education, meetings, problem solving, planning and verbal presentations. I will definitely take this skill to my workplace as it links the analytical and logical left brain to the creative and vision oriented right side of the brain! For more information, visit the following website: http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2007/08/the-creativity-.html

Dr Elspeth Kempe: PROFFESSIONAL WRITING SKILLS

Dr Kempe is an expert in writing skills. She suggested we join Linked In, an alternative to facebook. My linked in address is as follows: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kmakhene . The benefit of joining this website is that you are automatically linked to professionals who are in the same career as you are. The profile is set almost as a C.V as you will learn more about my activities throughout my university and professional career. This website enables you to improve your connections by expanding your contacts to potential employers, business partners etc. I strongly urge you to visit the site for more information if you haven’t already.

Dr Kempe’s advice was centered on how one may secure a job through an internship. The onus is upon us, as work seekers, to research other employment opportunities through word of mouth within the company, blogthinking and Linked In. She also advised us to keep our e-mail messages professional and respectful in the workplace. The importance of the subject heading was also highlighted because it reveals one’s ability to think rationally-equipping one with the skill to make the reader’s life easier by making an all inclusive heading. This is very important because time constraint is one of the key determinants of a company’s success. Wasting time on less urgent matters can be avoided through a clear subject heading. Adding to this, in writing a report or bibliography, one has to avoid verbosity, grammatical, format and spelling errors. This lesson is invaluable. I will be forever thankful to Dr Kempe and the WOW facilitators for polishing our level of professionalism. As a South African musician, this program has equipped me with the responsibility to change people’s perceptions about musicians and their level of professionalism. For that, I am eternally grateful.

GOOD SUNDAY TIMES

It's Sunday and I am at Wits University catching up with all the blogging activities. I was reading about Bhutan's Happiness Index and realised how relevent this is to South Africa's socio-cultural development. I even included the website under my additional post "MORE THAT JUST MUSIC" if you scroll down to the end of my blog. I am so excited!!! I just discovered a way of linking my blog to other websites!!! Wow! You won't believe how much fun I am having!... I wish I could do this everyday.

Anyways, I have decided to write my reflections on what I have learned on my p.c at home. In doing this, I will no longer worry about leaving the internet lab late at Wits University, or worrying about my safe journey to Walkerville using our special taxis. I decided to rather dedicate my sundays to posting what I have learned during the week. This extended post will therefore be exceptionally long as you will notice from the date. During the week, I wrote about what I have learned from the very first seminar that we had. I will post each daily report on my personal development through the WOW training course separately. This is to allow you space for comment.

LESSONS FROM THE WORLD OF WORK TRAINING PROGRAM

Dr Tanya Abramse: EMPLOYABILITY

Dr Abramse is very passionate about people’s development and environmental conservation. She places importance in diverse specialization for one’s employability and self development. In order to increase one’s chances of employability, one needs to be mentally prepared regarding knowing as much information as possible about the potential employer. She advises one to have a close relationship with the specialist magazines relevant to one’s career. The information gathered will empower the work seeker with ideas on how his or her skills will be undeniably beneficial to the employer. Above all else, it is important for one to have a thorough understanding of one’s intrinsic centre.

My understanding of this intrinsic centre was deepened by Roy Blumenthal in the Creativity workshop that occurred two weeks later in the course. Prior to this experience, I did not realize that my drive for a democratic and cultural music direction was driven by the most emotional experience in my life. This event resulted in my loss of a dear friend who was killed in my presence. Having experienced the harshness of the remains of apartheid, I looked into the initiatives produced by the SABC and the City of Johannesburg. With the SABC, there are programs that display the beauty of the remains of South Africa’s traditional cultures. I have not yet seen or read of an initiative that will link our diverse South African musical cultures into one that will unify us all as South Africans. I am so passionate about this that I will find my place in the workplace to unify our South African musical cultures into one.

THE BENEFITS OF BLOGGING FOR THE WORLD OF WORK

Essentially, the benefits of blogging become evident as soon as one recognises the quality in failing. Steve Covey would say that failure equals opportunity. All we need to do is recognise that opportunity. Roy Blumenthal would explicitly state that in blogging, we have to take complete responsebility for the kind of information we display to a public forum such as this one. This should teach us- amature bloggers, to write reflectively and proactively. This all reminds me of ethnomusicological research methods that require you to think rationally by writing in a reflective way.

In Venda, each night we would right about our experiences of vhaVenda's music and its function in their culture. We would then look at our understanding of their music and culture as outsiders and how our presence affected the way we learned to become like them. The aim was to think about their music and culture the way that they do.

This brings me to my point about the benefits of blogging. I am discovering more things about myself,the way I view others and possible ways of managing my weaknesses through my interaction with others as they are the observers of what I do.

My Initiation to blogging

I love learning new and valuable information so this will be such a great platform to pose my ideas and sense of being to you. I am also looking forward to your responses. The power of word of mouth is more powerful than I emagined because before we discussed networking today with Fiona McDonald, I was slightly sceptical about about forming my own blogspot. After her insightful presentation about the value of networking, I am convinced that my ethnomusicology and musicianship success will depend immensely on it. Life is trully interdependent because had it not been for this program, and Fiona's presentation more especially, I would not have imagined that I could have anything incommon with an independent management consultant proffessional whose main interest is working with corporate businesses such as the Rand Merchant Bank.

I must salute the World of Work Training and internship program team for assisting graduates in the mental preparation required to fit in and retain your place in the world of work.