MUSIC GALORE
How many of us can really say we know much about music? I must agree, it is a wide topic. They say it is the universal language that breaks all barriers and transcends any culture, race and belief yet every culture has its own interpretation and understanding of this art. Music should be appreciated for what it is: beauty, brains and a whole lot of creativity.
Music has a story to tell: It can convey an experience, tell a story, teach a lesson to its audience, air out frustrations and satirize societal norms. All these and much more depend on the artist creating the songs and the target audience the artist wants to reach.
Music is simple yet complex in itself. It is pleasing to the ear yet the deaf can still experience it. Think of artists such as Ludwig Van Beethoven, Evelyn Glennie and Chris Buck, all deaf yet they have been instrumental in composing and defining music. We appreciate their contribution to this very day.
The essence of music is to ignite the human spirit to soar into heights of bliss. Well that is just my take on music. What about you, what do you say music is? There is music for all seasons of life: there is music for joyous moments, there is music for the low moments, there is music for relaxing, there is music for rejuvenating, there is music for healing and a whole lot more of ‘season music’.
Here is a thought to ponder; historically music can be dated back to the years between 7000 and 6600 BC. Indians, Chinese, Hebrews Greek and Romans were some of the great pioneers of this art. In the Bible, there are many sites that music was used as a medium for expressing feelings. Furthermore, some composed songs and got their “jig on” for the Lord (David). The psalms show some great poetic creativity and up to date, artists quote and look for inspiration from the Bible in their compositions. The magnificat sung by our mother Mary is another great example of how music was and still is an important art form of expression.
Just as humans have evolved so has music, from the old classics to the now hip and trendy music. Music has been classified into different categories known as genres of music. A further classification can be termed as a sub-genre. Examples of a genre include jazz, blues, reggae, rock, classic, soul, country and hip hop while sub-genres include fusion of different main genres e.g. afro-jazz fusion, Christian – hip hop, country-rap, alternative- rock.
Africa has had a lot to offer in the music scene. It has some of the most talented, diverse, creative and unique artistes not to mention the exhilarating music experiences. There is a lot of potential which is waiting to be unlocked.
At the end of the day, it all depends with your personal taste of music and what really ministers to your soul. I implore you to let the New Year, 2010, be a year to remember by listening to beautiful music because it is out there waiting for you to get your hands on it. Go on let music be the window to your soul.Steve Muthonde
SALESIAN ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR SALESIAN STAFF IN TANZANIA – 10-12 Jan, 2010
Taking into consideration the suggestion of having one single seminar for both technical and academic school teachers, sixteen teachers, who were appointed in our institutes in the last two years were present for the orientation seminar organized by DBYES-TZ at Oysterbay. The main thrust was, “Educating the young the Don Bosco way.” Various inputs on (i) Situation of the young in Tanzania (ii) Malezi kwa vijana - chang’amoto (iii) Salesian Accompaniment (iv) Educational counseling – the Salesian way, the Preventive system (v) Educating young people to Values etc. were given. Both English and Kiswahili were used as medium of communication. We thank the communities for sending the teachers for the orientation programme. But there is a lot of concerted effort needed in focusing our attention to the lay involvement in formatting them in Salesian Charism.
