As evidenced under justification for the use of RIA above the RIA (Akuno, 2005), is a self contained model, which is content, processes, procedures and methods based, and therefore suits Botswana music making characteristics. From the use of RIA in Botswana primary schools, the following RIA tenets have been found to facilitate learners‟ easy grasp of concepts:
i) Considering children‟s background, interest, developmental stages.
Through this principle Botswana children were motivated to learn, since what they were offered through their own songs addressed their world and hence continuity of what they knew from home and their immediate environment.
ii) The RIA is principled on rhythm and interval as point of departure from which other skills evolve. This means that harmony; musical form and structure are all by-products of rhythm and pitch.
This approach made music teaching meaningful to Tswana children. This is because from his study the researcher has noted Tswana children to be rhythmically and melodically equipped with skills which they have acquired from their mothering games, community choirs, school choirs and religious practices (Simako, 2008). According to Molefhe (1985), a motswana child can participate at a communal activity at an early age of five years. Therefore informal music engagements are the real music foundation blocks which inform the Tswana child‟s future music making capacities. Elliott (1995) was aware of this when he asserted that musicianship encompasses informal musical orientations. Consequently, Batswana learners do not have much problem with rhythm and interval.
iii) RIA method uses children‟s songs as content material and gauges the learner‟s musical capabilities on the basis of the nature and quality of songs they engage in.
From classroom application of songs in Botswana primary school, the researcher could confirm this to be true. Moreover, the song approach basically made the job easier for teaching because musical concepts which were latent in children‟s songs were testimony of the children‟s musical maturity.
iv) The RIA takes cognizance of the fact that schools have now taken the educational role which homesteads used to play with children, as such the approach seeks to compensate what children are losing out from traditional pedagogy.
This principle made teaching relevant to Batswana children because it is detrimental for children who stay in a context where birds and animals form part of their environment to be welcomed in schools with English songs, crotchets and quavers, whose repertoire they do not have. As the researcher introduced the background of the songs which he taught, children felt at home and eventually almost the whole class was participating, which showed that children identified with what was familiar to them.
v) RIA introduces musical literacy in a sequential culture sensitive approach thus children spend time working with musical sounds and relevant mnemonics prior to notation.
This principle was effective with Batswana pupils during the trial of songs in the classroom because it catered for logical and systematic assimilation of ideas in their thinking. This was noted through their ability to relate pictographs and stem notation to practical work which they did on beat and rhythm. Ideally, when pupils are done with some practical work, it becomes easier for them to transfer the idea into some form of notation at their level.
vi) At the heart of the RIA is the analytical-creative learning process, as pupils are cued to identify musical patterns and concepts in the songs they perform. Pupils are later given the opportunity to improvise and create their own compositions using what they have learnt.
This tenet also proved effective with Batswana learners. In most activities given, learners were introduced to songs with particular musical concepts which the researcher wanted to impart. After practical work learners were tasked to improvise and create their own melodies with particular motifs, extracted from songs, which they successfully did. This showed that the practical based activities enhanced learners‟ retention skills, divergent thinking skills and subsequent creativity as they had to apply what they learnt in practical situation in their own creative way.
vii) The procedure used to facilitate learning in this regard is listening, performing and composing.
Approaching activities through the listening-composing and performing angle proved effective in Batswana learners because the approach facilitates high lasting encoding of musical ideas within learners. From classroom practical it was evident that learners had kinesthetically grasped musical ideas, due to their response to questions related to musical activities at hand. This is because aural skills on their own have been proved to be effective especially in African musical transactions where music is not formally written down (Campbell, 1991). As such when they are enriched with performance and composition, the combination leads to long lasting musical establishments in learners.
viii) The RIA uses the aural/oral approach of teaching.
From the researcher‟s observation reflected in the use of the approach, aural/oral approach heightens learners‟ receptive and attentive skills. Since it is spontaneous, learners have little time to screen ideas through bit by bit. Ideas come as a whole and learners also receive them in the same manner. The researcher noted that concepts which could otherwise been challenging are taken for granted by learners and they easily grasp them through the same channel of perception. This scenario was observed by Dargie (1996) when he was trying to teach a song to Xhosa children using part singing approach to which learners became so confused, until he asked one Xhosa teacher who introduced the song orally and holistically to the learners‟ swift response. This therefore means that learning and conceptualization of ideas is partly determined by the degree to which its practice conforms to learners‟ experience.
Aural/oral approach as prevalent in Botswana culture is the appropriate method through which learners could effectively grasp musical concepts.
ix) RIA emphasizes an activity based classroom music education, where pupils participate in cultural activities through performance of their indigenous music.
An active class is in-fact the point of convergence for most music educationists. For Tswana pupils, it is a continuation of what they musically do in their background. So it basically gives them a home ground, through which they could freely experience and enjoy the musical activities. This was experienced with learners, where everybody was jubilantly singing and performing, which subsequently added to their retention capabilities since they were motivated to learn. Musical songs being in the learners‟ language added to their identity with the music including the musical concepts which were subsequently derived from the known songs. This therefore means that Batswana learners are likely to perform weakly in musical excerpts extracted from Mozart concertos, not because they are musically weak, but because the music and composer do not trigger in them that sense of home-ground and its reminiscence.
RIA tools
During the use of voice and the basic musical elements (rhythm and interval), the researcher noted that pupils managed to grasp musical concepts further and better still, they were able to reflect on the songs and musical concepts the day after. This is so because the voice could be applied any time by learners after the lessons. Rhythm and interval are also the basic components of every song so children experience them quite often. In most activities given some learners who appeared slow were able to catch up with others the following time. This was evidenced by the manner they positively responded, as the researcher asked them to sing the songs, clap their rhythm and sing their melodies. Learners used the voice to their advantage for exploration of other varying pitches and intervals which were similar to the ones addressed during the lessons. Using the voice also facilitated rote learning as pupils easily sang along after the researcher‟s demonstration. This did not only inculcate musical concepts in learners, but memorization skills were also heightened.
The Tonic Sol-fa system used by RIA is a well known musical approach. Both literate and non-literate Batswana people have sol-fa background. On this basis, the Botswana music education sector should recognize this privilege and explore and exploit all the possibilities of how it could benefit music education. In the researcher‟ songs teaching approach, sol-fa was heavily relied upon and it effectively facilitated melodic and pitch conceptualizations.
The Hand Signs approach was beneficial to Batswana children especially the Standard 1 and 2 who still needed much support as far as concretization of musical concepts were concerned.
With time hand signs can make children handle any pitch which could otherwise be abstract.
Hand signs were also effective in dynamics where learners were cued to distinguish between high/low, soft or strong sounds.
Rhythm-Time Names proved to be effective in Batswana children because it helped them to successfully discover the rhythmic aspects of the songs which they sang. With much consideration teachers would realize that rhythm time names reflect melodic patterns and speech patterns. That is why Dalcroze used it in practically transcribing learners‟ speech patterns e.g. Mary could be ta-te.
CHAPTER FIVE