On our final day of Gamelan we had familiarity and some confidence on our side, having learnt to play “Baris Tumbak” and “Lengker” in the prior weeks.
It is worth brainstorming some of the main discussion points from today, as Peter had us revise some of the significant teaching strategies that he used and some of the differences between Balinese and western music teaching.
- Using no notation is significant as it engaged aural learning skills.
- Peter uses an approach influenced by his learning experiences with Gamelan; he allowed us to learn the music and correct our own mistakes which gave power back to the student. Although he would also step in from time to time if it was evident that mistakes weren’t clear to one of us!
- Once we had established learning to play a section with each of us on one particular instrument, we would switch around instruments and he would instruct us to teach each other the parts, giving responsibility and value back to the students.
- Repetition and learning through making music, rather than stopping and starting.
- Peter’s approach of breaking down difficult content into learning the moderately difficult part first, then the hard part, and finishing strong with the easy part.
- The lack of anxiety placed on learning and performing the music. Peter explained that in Balinese music teaching, teachers do not stress about student mistakes as the music is played countless times and there will be many chances to improve.
Watch us playing another complex Kotekan section here. – links to a video
Mitchell Davis Music Education Study Blog 2019-22 