Module 6

Title: Old School Hand Games

Performers: Jazzmond and Rihanna

Instrumentation: voice and hand clapping

Culture of Origin: USA

This week our readings centered around musical play and the benefits it brings to music education. In their article, Lew and Campbell (2005) say, "Play is an important medium for learning in young children's lives - wherever they may be. It assists them in their development of language and reasoning skills, and it fosters social competence and peer-group interaction" (p. 58). I chose this video as an example of play as a means of socialization because you can clearly see the teaching and learning going on. Though this is not a video of a group of peers interacting with each other, Jazzmond (the older girl) is passing on "old school hand games" to a younger girl, who, in turn, can go and teach her peers how to play. By teaching these clapping games and songs, Jazzmond is not only keeping the music alive, but the tradition as well. Lew and Campbell go on to say, "The call-and-response dialogues in the hand-clapping routines of African American children reflect an emphasis on the communal and collaborative traditions that are so valued in their culture" (p. 58). Clapping games and songs like these can be easily incorporated into the music classroom and should be celebrated by teachers, as Lew and Campbell suggest. Games like these can even give a chance for students to take the lead and teach these games to their peers, thus promoting musical independence and the same aural tradition that has kept these games alive.

Resources:
Lew,  J. C. & Campbell, P. S. (2005). Children's natural and necessary musical play: Global contexts, local applications. Music Educators Journal 91(5), 57-62.