Global Music and Conversational Solfege

Global Music and Conversational Solfege
Karen Howard
Saturday, July 26th – 2:45 – 3:45 PM Session III

This session will demonstrate steps for incorporating music and movement from several cultures into the Conversational Solfege process. Songs from Ghana, Tahiti, and Macedonia will be presented in a sequential manner while retaining their unique cultural qualities.

Participants will be able to create a sequence for a folk song from outside of the Anglo/European canon.

Participants will be able to analyze a folk song for its main concepts (rhythmic, melodic, or structural) that can be developed into the steps of the Conversational Solfege process.

Participants will be able to sing three traditional songs: an Ewe song (from Ghana), a Macedonian song (Oj, Jano) and a Tahitian song.

Karen HowardKaren Howard is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of St. Thomas.  She received her BMus and MMusEd from The Hartt School, and PhD from the University of Washington.  Her research interests are multicultural education, movement and dance pedagogy, ethnomusicology, and all things related to music by and for children. She was an elementary music teacher and choir conductor for 19 years in Connecticut (East Hartford and West Hartford) and 3 in Seattle. She founded and directed the East Hartford Early Childhood Music and Movement Program.

Karen is a frequent clinician presenting at national and international conferences (OAKE, AOSA, NAfME, ISME, SEM). She has traveled extensively around the world to study song, dance, and drumming traditions including such places as: Ghana, Tanzania, Morocco, Cuba, Tahiti, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Croatia. Her work has been published in International Journal of Community Music, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and General Music Today.