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).
Showing posts with label samro report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samro report. Show all posts
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 14, 2008
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?
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?
Monday, June 30, 2008
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
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
Sunday, June 15, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)