Role and importance of music, rhythms
Music is an art from and cultural activity whose medium is sound organized in time. General definition of music include common elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamic and sonic qualities. Different styles of music may emphasize or deemphasize some of these elements depending on the leader of the music.
On an individual level, music can raise someone’s mood, get them excited, or make them calm or relaxed. Music also allows us to feel nearly or possibly all emotions that we experience in our lives. It is an important part of our lives and fills a need or an urge to create music.
The Keiyo and the Marakwet belong to the larger Kalenjin group of people who have some social and economic institutions as well as material culture and creative art forms. They sing while at work, and they sing for job. Indeed, these societies not only have a variety of songs and dances appropriate for social occasions but also songs and dances for different ages and social groups.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, music and dance have many roles. As indicated above, music accompany many activities but there are songs performed specifically for entertainment as a recreational activity or performed whenever required within the framework of some activities of some social occasion.
Musical instruments
Musical instruments are made or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument. It is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginning of human culture.
Cultural heritage among the Kalenjin people have been preserved over a long period of time. Dances on some of the occasions are performed while wearing ankle bells and were accompanied by other traditional instruments such as flutes, horns and drums.
Early musical instruments may have been used for rituals such as trumpet to signal success on the hunt or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications.
The Elgeyo Marakwet people put emphasis on traditional music layout. They used the vocal resources. Although pure instrumental music is performed, it is an exception rather than the rule, for people prefer to sing. They sang while working or for joy.
Musical instruments are classified using different methods. Various methods examine aspects such as physical properties of the instrument, the use of the instrument and the kind of music produced by the instrument.
Musical education, terminology and practices
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all learning domains including the psychomotor domain, the cognitive domain and the effective domain.
During the 20th century, many distinctive approaches were developed or further refined for teaching of music. Some of which have had widespread impact. In Africa music has been used to accompany marriage, birth and ward off evil spirits and pay respect to good spirits.
Music is part of the Kalenjin culture and economic interests and it helped in development of language and reasoning. It is music of identity that deploys history, mythology and narration as a means of reshaping Kalenjin self-definition and culture.
But while paying attention to those forms of self-ethnic definition and how they are used to counter the homogenizing and hegemonizing logic of the national space, there are contradictions that circumscribe the music’s gesture towards the pure ethnic, while operating from a space that is already hybrid and multicultural.
The concussion shows how music has challenged the communities’ musical and formal education system.
