Alan Dearling with Denis Kigongo
Right at the outset, we want to stress that this book and accompanying
CD are for anyone who works with, or wants to work with,
young people. It’s not just for confident musicians who
want to learn more about using African music in their work.
In planning how to structure the book, Denis Kigongo, who is
a practising musician as well as a youth worker and teacher, and
from Uganda, saw the challenge as one of engagement on different
levels.
Together with Alan Dearling, he has worked to make this book
offer different:
- Ideas for a range of ways to engage young people with
African music
- Practical activities using
 :
- active listening to music
- exploring rhythms and music making
- making musical instruments from found materials
- African costumes and costume making
- using the Internet to find out more about the rich heritage
of African music and musicians
- links to other African resources for CDs, musicians,
instruments, equipment hire and more.
 The
book and the CD do offer something for everyone and consider important
issues such as working with:
- Different age groups
- People with different ethnic backgrounds
- Music and gender
- Physical and mental impairments and special needs
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to experiment
and share your enthusiasm with the young people you are working
with. There is no ‘right way’ or ‘wrong way’
to organise this process.
Make sure that you start from the person you are – in other
words be yourself - and build on the experiences and preferences
of the young people you are working with. Participation and relationship-building
are essential parts of positive and creative work with young people
in groups. Regard using the materials in this book and the CD
as a personal journey that you are sharing with young people.
Don’t try and pretend that you
are the ‘expert’ in all things – the experience
of using the materials and activities is the young people’s
journey. Overcoming obstacles such as people who are not keen
to get involved either because they lack confidence or are shy
is all part of the process. Remember, the Youth Africa Music
Experience is all about sharing,
getting involved, and having some lively fun, making some noises,
some that may be musical, some of which perhaps may be less so!
We hope you enjoy sharing the journey…
Denis and Alan
Read a sample chapter from this book:
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Youth
Africa Music Experience