A Contemporary Study of Musical Arts Informed by African indigenous knowledge systems Volumes 1 to 5
Meki Nzewi
ISBN: 0-920051-40-6
210 x 197 mm
R550


Volume 1 The Root: Foundation
Meki Nzewi
215 pp.
210 x 197 mm
ISBN: 978-1-9200051-62-4
R180

Volume 2 The Stem: Growth
Meki Nzewi
181 pp.
210 x 197 mm
ISBN: 978-1-9200051-63-1
R180

Volume 3 The Foliage: Consideration
Meki Nzewi
214 pp.
210 x 197 mm
ISBN: 978-1-9200051-64-8
R180

Volume 4 Illuminations, reflections and explorations
Meki Nzewi
301 pp.
210 x 197 mm
ISBN: 978-1-9200051-65-5
R180

Volume 5 Theory and practice of Modern African Classical Drum Music
Meki Nzewi, Odyke Nzewi
210 x 270 mm
R100 each

About this publication

Modern literacy education in African music has hitherto focused more on observed context studies. The philosophical rooting and the psychological and therapeutic force that ground African indigenous musical arts have not been much discerned or integrated. Much needed in contemporary education, then, are integrative studies and literature materials that represent the intellectual base of the knowledge owners and creators, and which will ensure cognitive understanding of the indigenous musical arts systems of Africa.

There is as yet no comprehensive, learner-centred book that fosters African indigenous knowledge perspectives and rationalisation about the musical arts. The concern over the years has been for the production of research-informed books for modern, systematic education in African musical arts that derive in essence from the original African intellectual perspectives about the sense and meaning of music – indigenous to contemporary.

The five volumes of the musical arts study series derive from 36 years of research and analytical studies in African musical arts. The volumes address the pressing need for learning texts informed by the indigenous African musical arts systems that target tertiary education. The texts incorporate knowledge of conventional European classical music as they relate to the unique features of African musical arts thinking and theoretical content. The contemporary African musical arts specialist needs secure grounding in his/her own human-cultural knowledge authority in order to contribute with original intellectual integrity to African as well as global scholarship discourse and knowledge creation.


Structure of the five volumes

The series is in five volumes designed for the study of the musical arts in the music departments of colleges and universities in Africa in particular.

Volumes 1 to 3 are designed as a graduated series for musical arts education at the tertiary level under the following module topics:

Volume 3 has two additional modules: African musical arts and historical process, and history and literature of Western classical music.

A module is subcoded into unit themes developed as lecture topics that are broken down into steps of study.

Volume 4 of the series is a collection of essays in indigenous music, dance and drama that could enrich perception on issues in musical arts scholarship for students and researchers engaged in disciplinary specialisation. It includes specialist discussions on dance and authentic African drama.

Volume 5 is on modern African classical drumming as an instrument of specialization for contemporary concert performances. It contains repertory for solo drumming, drum and voice/saxophone/trumpet duos, and intercultural drum ensemble works.

The imperatives of advancing the indigenous philosophy and theory into global classical practices have informed the literary compositions demonstrating indigenous African compositional theory.

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