narrative – Music Intervention

Reflections: Challenges of Building Critical Music Education Spaces Within Inter-Group Conflict

Often as a practitioner-music educator, I find myself pondering many questions that arise from my work in practice and how they relate back to theory. Most days, questions arise that I would like to unpack further, but cannot find the time. In fact perhaps each day new questions arise that I can never fully unpack. Many times I feel lousy that there is not the time to explore everything that comes up in practice as fully as I would like. I assume this constant struggle with time is the story of every educator. During these times, I think of my teachers and inspirations who somehow seem to do so much, if not all, as practitioner-educators. Teach. Question. Write. Ponder. Produce. Examine. Challenge. Reflect. Suggest. Be Present. In the spirit of their tireless work, I will share one of my current quandaries.

Recently, I wrote an article for 972.Mag questioning the criticality of the work of Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding and reconciliation educational organizations, emphasizing that if even we in the peacebuilding and reconciliation fields cannot name the inequality in front of us and within our programs, how do we expect those in our spaces of learning and in society to do so either? As you have perhaps guessed, I am also a part of this field, working for two such music education NGOs. But even the former statement is overly simplified, and paints an incomplete explanation of the issue at hand. We, as educator-practitioners, must constantly look much closer and deeper through a critical lens at what we are creating (or not creating) within our programs. Every decision and action of ours, whether in determining structure and pedagogy of the program to facilitation techniques and overall theory of dialogue, does not happen within a vacuum. The continuity of experience (Dewey, 2007) for our youth musicians[1] within our programs is in continuous formation, and directly affected by our choices of action, and inaction. We are responsible, and one of the largest “of all pedagogical fallacies is the notion that a person learns only the particular things she/he is studying at the time.” (Dewey, 2007, p.48) All of these factors matter. And in that same light, all of these factors determine if we, as practitioner-educators, are actively choosing to build with our youth musicians a just, positive peace. (Barash, 2009, p.146)

How can we look at this issue through an educational theory lens? A good starting place is beginning with John Dewey’s theoretical examinations of educational experience or experiential learning. Experiential learning is a basic component for all learning, and a particular component of many Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilding and reconciliation educational organizations with such a large focus, across all mediums, on sharing one’s narrative and experiences, and learning by listening to others. John Dewey in Experience and Education explores the differences between traditional and progressive education, with a concentration on the possibilities of either, and how these relate to the conception of learning through experience.

Dewey challenges the assumption that traditional education is inherently negative, and therefore against progress, while progressive education must be automatically better by default because it is modern. Instead of placing the old and the new as reactionary, direct opposites of each other, Dewey points out that experiences aren’t lacking in traditional education, but rather they are “defective and wrong character- wrong and defective from the standpoint of connection with further experience.” (Dewey, 2007, p.27) The inability of traditional education to foster experiences that lead to further growth limits learning, equality within learning experiences, and the ability to adapt to our globalizing, ever changing world. In other words, “It is not enough to insist upon the necessity of experience, nor even of activity in experience. Everything depends upon the quality of the experience which is had.” (Dewey, 2007, p.27) An often missed point is that this does not only serve as a reason to not teach with traditional education, but in addition applies dually to any type of progressive education in both formal and non-formal education.

How does this relate back to musical spaces of learning amidst inter-group conflict? The majority of Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding and reconciliation educational organizations exist within the structure of non-formal education, meaning that they exist outside of the formal school system, but have some type of structured learning, largely with an emphasis on experiential learning. In any of these educational youth programs, music or not, each has the potential to either be mis-educative or lead to further growth depending on its structure and pedagogy. “The belief that all genuine education comes about through experiences does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.” (Dewey, 2007, p.25) Some experiences can be “mis-educative” (Dewey, 2007), and any experience that is mis-educative “has the effect of arresting or distorting the growth of further experience.” (Dewey, 2007, p.25) Of course the obvious choice is: we would all like for our programs to lead to further growth. Yet, the chances of this happening is connected to our ability to foster quality experiences dependent on:

“an immediate aspect of agreeableness or disagreeableness” (Dewey, 2007, p.27)
“its influence upon later experiences” (Dewey, 2007, p.27)

If inter-group power dynamics manifesting in the representation of who is speaking over another, constant use of the dominating language in the group, speaking in a language not everyone understands equally, and control of one ethnicity group in decision-making processes within the group over the other ethnicity, are not identified, challenged, and disrupted, quality of experiences will be lost and be unequal. Practitioner-educators and staff personnel cannot just learn to be aware of what are these dynamics. A critical, youth-centered pedagogy and structure must be adopted, and even beyond that, implemented with Paulo Freire’s critical ingredients of love, care, humility, and solidarity.

Like most uncharted educational territory, new questions bubble to the surface, such as: what is a “quality-of-experience” educational structure for a music peacebuilding/reconciliation education program? What should dialogue look like? How should understanding and knowledge be assessed? What is considered a successful program? All of these questions could be answered differently by different organizations depending on context. No matter the context though, addressing power dynamics and the experiences of learning within the bounds of the program, and considering experiences of learning outside of the program occurring simultaneously, are nonnegotiable. In the words of Dewey, “A principle responsibility of educators is that they not only be aware of the general principle of the shaping of actual experience by environing conditions, but that they also recognize in the concrete what surroundings are conducive to having experiences that lead to growth.” (Dewey, 2007, p.40) This is even more crucial in peacebuilding and reconciliation educational organizations to challenge existing power dynamics while also transforming violent conflict. Ultimately, one cannot be won without the other.

Within a protracted conflict, cycles of violence and systemic injustice are reoccurring everyday, often affecting Israelis and Palestinians in disproportionate ways. As the conflict continues to spiral, its affect takes a toll on each ethnicities’ socialization. It is the duty of peacebuilding and reconciliation educational organizations of all mediums to disrupt this socialization of separation, segregation, violence, hate, and incitement by using a critical pedagogy in education to foster new structures and frameworks of equality, freedom, rights, and dignity. After all, education is not synonymous with socialization (Hansen, 2010), whereas the opposite is the case of socialization, which creates and informs experiences of learning, both of quality and mis-educative.

As music educator-facilitators, it is our responsibility to build a musical space that is loving, caring, dialogical, and critical for our youth musicians. Within this space as a location of possibilities (hooks, 1994), youth musicians are enabled to fully explore the boundlessness of music, while also learning for and about peacebuilding, nonviolence, solidarity, human rights, social justice, coexistence, and coresistence. Ultimately, this is a means and an end, a continuity of experiences, a process-product-process-product progression of raising the critical consciousness of youth musicians, in which they can transfer their new and renewed knowledge, understanding, and skills to less safe spaces in their world. We must pay attention (from the linguistic root “to hold”) to the balance of individual youth musician growth within the group dynamic and the overall encounter dynamic in and between the group identities of Israeli and Palestinian- not to mention as well gender dynamics. Our curriculum, or beginning formations of curriculum, must be built with the structures and pedagogy of values, such as equality, freedom, rights, dignity, in addition to musical content and pro-social skills, that will lead to (e)quality experiences[2] “that live fruitfully and creatively in subsequent experiences.” (Dewey, 2007, p.28)

Recognizing the need always for more context and examples, I leave you with a few questions to reflect upon and a few articles to peruse:

1. When building an educational musical space, what are our assumptions about those participating, and the underlying power dynamics within space, language, knowledge, and culture?

2. How do we address the needs and feelings of every youth musician equally? And along those lines, how can this musical space be a safe or safer space for every youth musician equally?

3. How do we introduce meaningful musical content through a critical pedagogy that is connected to the new, and yet the local? In other words how do we as music practitioner-educators foster a space where what is loyal to the local/known, and what is open to the new/unknown (David Hansen’s Cosmopolitanism and Education) can co-mingle, exploring harmonies and dissonances between the two and beyond.

4. Confrontation and pedagogy: Cultural secrets, trauma, and emotion in antioppressive pedagogies – Ann Berlak

5. How to Talk About Privilege to Someone Who Doesn’t Want To – Jaime Utt

6. Education and Experience – John Dewey

I hope these support further questioning and bubbling to the surface that will take us all beyond dualities and into places of “in-between” and “becoming,” as we navigate the daily challenges and excitements of this work with our youth musicians.

“The relation between freedom and the consciousness of possibility, between freedom and the imagination- the ability to make present what is absent, to summon up a condition that is not yet.” (Greene, 1988, p. 16)

[1] I refer to youth participants as “youth musicians” throughout the article to address specifically my context and for ease of understanding. The term “youth participants” of any project, whether arts-based, sports-based, etc., is also an applicable term instead of “youth musician” in every instance.

[2] I have placed the “(e)” in front of “quality” to emphasize that the quality of experience in an inter-group space depends on whether “equality” is present in structure, pedagogy, and content. This is a new theoretical musing of mine that I will investigate further in upcoming posts.

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APA Citation: Gottesman, S. (2015, February 24).Reflections: Challenges of Building Critical Music Education Spaces Within Inter-Group Conflict. Retrieved from: https://musicintervention.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/reflections-challenges-of-building-critical-music-education-spaces-within-inter-group-conflict/

REFERENCES

1. Berlak, A.C. (2004). Confrontation and pedagogy: Cultural secrets, trauma, and emotion in antioppressive pedagogies. Counterpoints, 123-144.

2. Dewey, J. (2007). Experience and education. Simon and Schuster.

3. Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.

4. Greene, M. (1988). “Freedom, education, and public spaces.” In The dialectic of freedom (pp. 1-23). New York: Teachers College Press.

5. Hansen, D. (2010). Cosmopolitanism and education: A view from the ground.The Teachers College Record, 112(1).

Beyond the Checkpoint: A Day with Musicians Without Borders

Upon discovering Musicians without Borders (MwB) earlier this year, the opportunity to see their work in the flesh during my visit to Jerusalem was a must! For the duration of a 10-hour music-filled adventure throughout the Bethlehem area I explored the versatile approach of Musicians without Borders, where we fueled joy, empowerment, and imagination to those fallen through the cracks of history and current society.

Their motto is, “WAR DIVIDES, MUSIC CONNECTS,” which is more than appropriate considering MwB has pinpointed music programs in locations of some of the most infamous conflicts and post-conflicts: Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Palestine. In communities where development is interrupted time in and time out again for even the span of decades by full-out hostilities and systemic injustice, how can the creative process of music serve as a powerful mortar, piecing back together the fabric of a community and as well enabling spurts of growth anew? What can be learned from MwB’s versatile approaches in the Bethlehem area? And finally at the end of the day, what can YOU do to join this transformative work fostering creative ways of learning and self-expression in and throughout music?

The day starts early with my trek up to Jerusalem from the bubble of Tel Aviv. By mid-morning, MwB’s project manager for the area, Fabienne, and I are already exchanging our backgrounds throughout the car ride from Jerusalem, pass the checkpoint, and into Bethlehem. We then arrive at our first destination: Al-Azzeh Refugee Camp.

Al-Azzeh is one of a handful refugee camps, ranging from al-Fawwar in South Hebron to others in the Bethlehem area like Aida and Deheishe refugee camps, that Fabienne visits throughout the week to run various music education and expressive arts programs. Al-Azzeh is considered to be the smallest Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank with around 60% of its members originating from the same initial family.

It is my first time visiting Al-Azzeh. Though it is mid-morning, the sun is already reminding us both that it is July in the Middle East. There is nobody around as we walk through one of the main roads of the camp, which is really a dusty, dirt pathway. After a few minutes of walking, none other than a group of girls meets us, awaiting our arrival. I’m not sure whether they knew we were coming or anxiously waited for Fabienne to come any which day; I do know they are incredibly excited to see that we had made it.

Al 'Azzeh Camp — Children playing in Al-Azza Refugee Camp

As the girls are instructed by Fabienne in Arabic to go gather other children for our workshop, I take in my surroundings further. There are short houses or structures on either sides of the pathway, with only street art and graffiti tying them together. The majority of the street art and graffiti are images, political and identity-based. There is a narrative present there on those walls encompassing many feelings. Nationalism. Sorrow. Death. Suffocation. Oppression. Loss. I want to stare more and digest, though ultimately I have to let go.

The program begins with around 10 children sitting on lawn chairs in a circle in what is a nice, newer one-story structure meant to serve the community’s needs. Before I know it, all attention including my own, is on Fabienne as she so seamlessly gathers the energy of the group by initiating with a song playing in the background and responding to it with various hand movements in the air, on the body, on the floor, etc., which are then mimicked by the group. It isn’t long until the various percussion instruments from different types of tambourines and shakers to triangles and wood blocks appear from her bag. Each percussion instrument is passed around the circle and everybody is given a chance to create sound. Shaking a percussion instrument upon Fabienne’s non-verbal instruction, passing it to your neighbor, and receiving a new instrument to discover is quite the task, but we did it!

One of the most interesting aspects of Fabienne’s method is seen in her use of non-verbal instruction. Rather than falling apart as the circle of children, ranging from the ages of 3 to ten, continues to uncontrollably grow, there is perhaps even more concentration than expected and less strife. Fabienne had shared with me beforehand the difficulties of conducting workshops in Al-Azzeh related to outside factors, such as divisions between the different families in the camp, widespread poverty, and conflicting gender norms. Upon looking closer, children wear hand-me-downs that need washing (Palestinians in the West Bank experience water rationing, especially in the summer months, usually meaning a few days in a week of no available running water. Jewish settlements, also located in/occupying the West Bank have available running water usually every day of the week*). As well, children do not just sit next to any other child. Children sit next to their siblings, girls sit next to girls, and boys sit next to boys. Fabienne had created options of interaction for the children, in light of these issues, to increase comfort and provide a safe space for participation. For example, those who feel uncomfortable participating because of gender norm issues or another child’s participation from a family involved in the camp strife, should leave the exercise and sit on the side until he or she is ready to return. When have these children ever had safe options of choice in their lives? Some children sit outside of exercises every now and then because they are exhausted, and yet it is only 10am in the morning. Several do not even seem present at all.

Two exercises of Fabienne’s that seemed most enjoyable are drumming rhythms with drumsticks and learning sing-a-longs. Learning and improvising on different rhythms with the drumsticks is like a heartbeat discovering all of its potential. First, all of us in the circle keep a constant, medium speed beat. Then one child at a time beats another rhythm within the base rhythm, whether it is tapping the sticks together, tapping the floor, tapping the chair, or just a combination of everything possible. After several children are given the spotlight, we break up into smaller circles and continue with a similar exercise, except for the instruction of mimicking the rhythm of the leader. This allows more creativity and spotlight time for each individual. If creating rhythms together in a big circle isn’t loud enough, this makes the room burst with the sound of an entire nation.

After such a rhythmic exercise, the transition to sing-a-longs introduces rudimentary songwriting, melody construction, and collective singing. Each song possesses a particular framework, where the children decide which words are used in certain phrases and which hand movements accompany those words. All of these childhood sing-a-longs are in Arabic, so you can only imagine my learning curve trying to sing in Arabic and remember hand movements and melody. In retrospect, if it was not entertaining for the kids, it was definitely entertaining for me.

As the workshop begins to wind down after an hour and a half of facilitation, several of the girls beg us to stay longer and ask when we will return. It is amazing after all that we practically worked with the bare minimum of supplies in an environment with no previous resources to work with and yet, we all learned and bonded. The relationship fostered between Fabienne and these children is not of vertical capacity from outsider to the vernacular. The cultivation of new civic strands of social responsibility, learned through the expressive arts where children can engage, express, share, and lead, are all the beginnings of a repairing community.

After several other stops, including a government-sponsored event for Palestinian families from low socio-economic backgrounds with children undergoing cancer treatment, we end our day at the newly built recording studio in the Deheishe Refugee Camp. The studio, built by a Holy Land Trust volunteer from California who is a producer himself and runs a free recording studio for “in-risk” youth at Sunset Youth Services, is a means to use music as a form of self-expression and nonviolence communication. Meeting with the 20-something rappers of Deheishe now responsible for the studio is inspiring. Not only did these young men prove to their community the benefits of building a recording studio in the camp, they are now trained to use the recording studio and are giving back to the community by opening the studio to children in the refugee camp. More about their story can be found here: How to Build a Studio (and a better world). Their most recent project was recording the hopes and dreams written down by the same children undergoing cancer treatment present at the government sponsored event Fabienne and I attended.

MwB engages in many other activities in the area besides the several I experienced that day. A key component to their current success can be attributed to the partnerships they foster locally and internationally, such as with the Holy Land Trust based in Bethlehem and WE-ACTx in Rwanda. As well, MwB is searching for sustainability in how it teaches its methods and how to instill them at the grassroots level with the future leaders of Palestine. This is apparent in two important MwB achievements of late:

1. The publication of the next edition of the MwB facilitator guide. The guide outlines their methodology, how to be a facilitator, and lesson plans. Now, any trained practitioner possesses the tools to be a MwB facilitator in any community.

2. The initiation of a facilitation course for young community leaders, which will help spread MwB grassroots methods throughout the West Bank. The second level of the facilitation course is currently in the making.

All of these factors contribute to MwB’s success, allowing for a transparent, sustainable platform of constructive change flexible in development and initiation.

How can YOU help MwB? In the typical dilemma of a music intervention non-profit, all of these projects require funding, which means that MwB most likely spends a considerable amount of their time fundraising. Imagine how many other projects could be started by MwB if it was not necessary to spend so much time fundraising only to keep current projects running? You can help! Give a local concert in your hometown to raise money in their honor. Ask a company to provide a matching gift to your MwB donation. Choose MwB as a focus in a school project and set a fundraising goal for the end of the semester. The possibilities are endless.

Secondly, spread the word! MwB has two blogs (Music Bus Goes Middle East) (Music Bus Goes Africa) and Facebook pages: “Musicians Without Borders”, “Rwanda Youth Music”, and “Music Bus Goes Middle East”. The more people become familiar with MwB, the wider its reach to share information about its programs and its needs. Who wouldn’t be inspired upon hearing how the creative process of music can empower entire generations seeking a better future? Who says your voice can’t be the voice for change today?

Go beyond the checkpoint using the creative process of music.

I attempt to cite all of the sources used in my writings and research as correctly as possible, so please adopt the same policy toward the works presented here and as well my own writings by citing this blog’s findings correctly. This blog is meant for sharing, not plagiarism. Thank you for your respect.

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* BBC News: Obstacles to peace: Water

1. Al ‘Aza Camp (Fact Sheet). Rep. Jerusalem: Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem, 2009.Al ‘Aza Camp (Fact Sheet). Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem, 2009. Web. 17 Aug. 2012. <http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/EN/Al%20’Aza%20Camp_fs_en.pdf>.

2. Al ‘Aza Camp Profile. Al ‘Aza Camp Profile. The Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem, 2010. Web. 17 Aug. 2012. <http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/VP/Al%20’Aza_cp_en.pdf>.

3. Asser, Martin. “Obstacles to Peace: Water.” BBC News. BBC News MMVII, 23 May 2007. Web. 19 Aug. 2012. <http://www2.aes.ac.in/mswebsite_07/teachersites/mtabor/1_Geography/southwest_asia/BBC_Water/Water_Wars_BBC.pdf>.

4. Lederach, John Paul. The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

5. One Love. Children Playing in Al-Azzeh Camp. 2011. Photograph. The Sun Shines Everywhere (blog), Al ‘Azzeh Refugee Camp.

6. “Projects and Programs.” Musicians without Borders. MwB, 2010. Web. 17 Aug. 2012. <http://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/>.

One Beat, With the Right to Many Narratives

“Art is not an option, it’s a right. That is what I’m working to change here” (El Nabawi).

Quoted in a recent article in thedailynewsegypt.com, Tony Kaldas, Egyptian singer and 2012 nominee for Music Prize in Time for Peace Music & Film Festival, begs into question the bounds of art as a societal change agent through the self-expression of narratives. At what point does the self-expression of the individual chafe against the status quo of the familiar in a community or government, and at what point does community or government infringe on the individual’s right to self-expression? How can music play a role in this relationship by serving as a medium of common ground for government, community, and the individual to explore the right to self expression of narrative(s)?

Based upon his artistry intertwined with humanitarian messages, Kaldas received the nomination for his song, “Anta Akhy (You are my brother).” The song awakens the lyrics of famed poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran with Kaldas’s warm melodies.

Kaldas’s quote is one embedded with the Egyptian cultural scene in mind. By challenging the concept of religious observance utilized in society to construct one politically enforced truth, the words of Gibran sung with Kaldas’s sweet voice unveil religion bringing those of different faiths closer in the moments of Egypt’s dire stand for justice. Each narrative highlighted in the song describes the varied practices of bowing in the mosque, praying in the church, and kneeling in the temple coalesced into a vision of one communal future.

You are my brother and I love you.

Both of us are sons of a single, universal, and sacred Spirit.

For we are prisoners of the same body, fashioned from the same clay.

You are my companion on the byways of life.

You are my brother and I am in love with you brother.

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple,

pray in your church. (Gibran)

You may say that Kaldas is an optimist, a little drop of water in a big ocean full of uncontrollable elements. On the other hand, who empowered Kaldas to use the arts to foster transformational change? It is Khalil Gibran in expressing his right to the art of words. Thus, we can see that even a drop of water can produce ripples of change affecting the entire surrounding area. A successful pro-social effect is not stagnant; it must be fluid, connecting many. Music in its multiple forms can serve as a medium for this transformational change.

Let’s take this discussion to the next level. Instead of a singular stream of change, imagine many young musician activists from throughout the world joining in one place to create new music built upon each others’ narratives and shared ideals for a better world?

OneBeat, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs recent partnership initiative with Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation, will foster an international music exchange encounter in the U.S. consisting of youth musicians (ages 19-35) from all over the world this September 2012. Lasting a total of 4-weeks, OneBeat will begin with a two-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida where the youth musician participants will “write, produce, and perform original music, and develop ways that music can make a positive impact on our local and global communities” (OneBeat). The last two-weeks will consist of a tour along the east coast from Florida to New York City. Besides public concerts, much of the citizen diplomacy element will be instilled by engaging workshops lead by the youth musician participants at cultural community centers along the way.

Sounding like “The Survivor” of all music experiences, sans being voted off the island or perhaps the “Musician Peace Corp” (which might just be the same thing according to some), what is required to make this initiative successful? How will the individual from Kyrgyzstan find his or her right to voice and narrative alongside individuals from Haiti, Hong Kong, Russia, the Czech Republic, Iraq, Panama, Mozambique, amongst 32 other nations? In order for participants to create a pro-social effect in American communities, and yet as well within the communities of their birth country, how and where should the drop of water fall into the big ocean? Advantageous, you ask? Indeed. None the less, success is possible beyond a doubt.

As in any diplomatic venture, creating an environment with a level playing field for each individual to express his or her narrative is crucial. Much like the curriculum of a music intervention program that empowers youth and transforms conflict, the State Department and Found Sound Nation will need to configure into OneBeat an infrastructure that challenges the youth musician participants to push beyond the familiar. The end goal cannot be to simply agree with the status quo, without question or exploration. Searching for the fine lines where dissonance transforms to consonance and consonance transforms to dissonance must be discovered musically and discussed interactively.

Here are 10 suggestions, according to week, to assist OneBeat in producing “a musical journey like no other” (OneBeat). Each suggestion is a summarized statement originating from an in depth curriculum (to access the entire curriculum, please contact me). Though not addressed in the descriptions below, the use of social media is an important facet that should be implemented for PR, networking, and communication.

Week 1

The purpose of the Week 1 is to:

Create a safe space for the youth musician participants to learn more about each others’ backgrounds and culture by listening to participants’ narratives.
Express personal ambitions, needs, and fears attributing from their narrative.
Adopt an interactive process of transforming initiatives that will help the group bond, exchange musical ideas, and converse pertinent social-action issues.

1. Warm Beginnings

Consider all of the possibilities to foster warm beginnings. This might be in the form of icebreakers, eurythmics, group dynamics, jam session, etc. Even one smile is contagious.

2. Partner When Composing the Social Agreement

Every participant must feel comfortable in expressing his or her voice musically and in group dialogue. By agreeing upon a “social contract” written in conjunction with the youth musician participants, every person is included in deciding the retreat’s immediate/long-term goals and methods of engagement. Producing a social agreement is crucial, yet will only prove fruitful if its contents embody the vision of the retreat elaborated by the participants.

3. Explore. Listen. Improvise. Share.

Remember the activity “show- and-tell” from your childhood? Though you may be older, this exercise is without shelf-life. This exercise can provide the perfect opportunity for each participant to introduce their narratives from ethnic and religious allegiances to social issues they care about. In addition, much of this could be discussed in dialogue groups under adherence to the social agreement. I suggest to take this exercise beyond dialogue by including a musical component as well to substantiate the dialogue. This could be in the form of sharing the melodies of one’s culture, the sounds of one’s favorite composer or band, tributes to artists most inspirational, amongst many other creative possibilities. The inclusion of a jam session would also be great.

Week 2

The purpose of Week 2 is to:

Build upon the exercises of Week 1.
Initiate intensive song writing and rehearsal.
Reflect upon the learning experiences thus far to add depth to writing songs and rehearsing.
Participate in masterclasses.

4. Adventures in Intensive Song Writing & Rehearsals

There are so many great song writing exercises that provide bonding opportunities, further “out-of-the-box” thinking, and not to mention, are a lot of fun. Once a song is drafted, rehearsing is necessary for accuracy and testing musical ideas. Though musicians may groan at the prospect of rehearsal, it is a repetitive bonding experience that can deepen relationships.

5. Round Table Discussions: Reflections Thus Far of Experience & Its Meaning

Providing time for reflection and group dialogue is essential for such an intensive experience. Participants will need space to digest the new realities they have created, which may be very different from what would usually occur in their birth country. To facilitate this process, I also suggest that each participant consider writing in a small journal to document and express their personal feelings and ideas.

6. Masterclass: Learn From Artists in the Field of Music Intervention & Performance

Masterclasses presume several goals in this case. One aspect is for the youth musician participants to observe well-known artists on stage in the moment. Experiential learning is important in music performance. Secondly, masterclasses provide a great opportunity for performance-practice and feedback from the guest artists and peers. This is also standard music performance teaching, and creates the youth empowerment attribute of putting participants “on edge” to produce an exhilarating outcome in front of their peers.

Week 3 & Week 4

Week 3 and Week 4 both focus on the tour, including public performances and workshops.

7. Grassroots in Action, With the Involvement of “Top-Down” Connectors

The performances and workshops are valuable products of the retreat. In planning, the organizers must strive to make these appearances highly accessible to all communities, and especially those represented amongst the participants. Grassroots, or bottom-up efforts, are meant to invigorate the people by involving them in the act of social change. The rural areas must not be forgotten. None the less, dignitaries, elected governmental officials, and key “top-down” connectors must be involved in a strategic way as well. Ask the question, “Who is our target public(s)?” and from there, set a date and a place for each event, with who to invite in mind.

8. Engage the Audience/Workshop Participants via Interactive Elements

The purpose of the concerts and workshops are not merely for an audience to listen to the presentation and then go home. Both of these community outreach events must be interactive! In other words, the transfer of information should not flow one way, but rather in both directions as in a musical dialogue. Additionally, explain how and why music can be used as a tool for social activism in reference to the newly premiered music written during the retreat, which could add another level of depth to the entire experience. Lastly, include interactive elements, where the audience can join the music-making as well. This might entail requesting audience feedback during the performance, using eurthymics during a workshop to describe a point, utilize a few of the short exercises from the retreat, live-streaming of both productions for watching-parties locally and internationally, etc.

It is also important to consider who is invited to decipher what type of interactive elements are required. For example, specifically invite the music educators of music intervention programs and their students to attend a workshop. Automatically, you know which types of exercises would be helpful for this group and skill level. It might be a good idea to distinguish which exercises are for a beginners group, advanced group, or even at a level the general public can grasp. As a general rule, come prepared with more, than less.

9. Personalize the Message

Though personalizing the message may sound hokey, this is how many audiences will connect with such an unusual project as OneBeat. Similarly to the performed music, bring light to the narratives that exist within the group of youth musician participants. Engender compassion, empathize, and humanize.

10. “Glocal”: Think Globally, Act Locally

After the retreat and tour end, the youth participants may feel like an entire world has been taken away from them as they return to their normal lives. This feeling can be devastating, without suggestion of how to encourage the same creativity and excitement created during OneBeat. Truthfully, the drive for social activism instilled by OneBeat is only part A of the bigger composition. What about part B, C, A1, or leaving the exposition entirely to enter the development? Like in peace education, this type of conflict transformation is successful via long-term goals, rather than short. Luckily, the Internet provides plenty of possibilities to continue the intercultural music exchange, despite borders and time zones. It would be great if OneBeat developed material that addressed the ways the youth participants can continue to share ideas, produce music together from afar, and coordinate local discussions and performances pertaining to their experience with OneBeat. The imparting of one’s narrative interactively through music can go a long way.

Good luck to the many young musicians across the globe auditioning for OneBeat. Remember, even the smallest drop of water will create a ripple effect transforming its surroundings. Every narrative counts; every beat counts. It is your right!

FYI: For more in depth explanation of each suggestion, e-mail me (shoshibee@gmail.com) with your comments, suggestions, and questions any time!

I attempt to cite all of the sources used in my writings and research as correctly as possible, so please adopt the same policy toward the works presented here and as well my own writings by citing this blog’s findings correctly. This blog is meant for sharing, not plagiarism. Thank you for your respect.

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1. El Nabawi, Maha. “For Tony Kaldas, ‘art is not an option, it’s a right'”Thedailynewsegypt.com. International Herald Tribune, 06 Feb. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. <http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/music/for-tony-kaldas-art-is-not-an-option-its-a-right.html>.

2. Gibran, Khalil. “The Voice of the Poet.” 4umi.com. 4umi.com. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://4umi.com/gibran/vision/5>.

3. U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affiars. “OneBeat.”About. U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affiars. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://1beat.org/>.