Description
Through the course of my undergraduate studies at Kabarak University School of Music and Performing Arts (SMPA), I observed a standardised curriculum for the study and examination of Western music Performance, through established systems and exam boards such as Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). This was absent in the study of Kenyan indigenous music performance. Standards and expectations of growth and learning for Kenyan instruments were put out vaguely with no standardised definitions. This disparity between the two disciplines was also seen in practice requirements; where for Western music performance, the curriculum demanded a ten hour practice with a submitted log each week, it demanded no definitive practice routine or time requirement for Indigenous Kenyan instrumental performance. In the case of SMPA, this disparity becomes a problem, seeing as the two performance areas were equally scored and averaged to award an overall grade in the Performance Unit each semester.
The primary objective of the proposed study is to establish a standardised curriculum for the study and examination of indigenous Kenyan music performance; subsequently aiming to improve the quality of performance in the stated field. This is set to be achieved through the following definite objectives: to find out whether the disparity between study of Western performance and Kenyan indigenous music performance exists across other music institutions of higher learning in Kenya? To determine what standards are currently in place for the study and examination of Kenyan indigenous music performance? To establish a general guideline by which a curriculum can be set up that accounts for the different cultures and ethnicities represented in Kenyan indigenous music. These objectives are set to be attained by the use of investigative research of Kenyan indigenous music performance curriculum, and historical and anthropological research of Kenyan indigenous music performance.
