understanding aboriginal music for the understanding of aboriginal cultures
abstract
how do aboriginal musicians and music professionals make connections between their music
and their cultures? this qualitative study explores the interconnections between aboriginal music
and aboriginal cultures and considers the implications for teaching music. scholars contend that
aboriginal cultures and their music are related and holistic, offering an understanding of each
other (kennedy, 2009; makinlay, 2008; whidden, 2007). canadian scholars mostly explore
traditional aboriginal music. fewer scholars explore the connections between contemporary
aboriginal music and culture from across a range of nations within the canadian context. even
fewer scholars study connections between contemporary aboriginal music and culture and how
these linkages inform teaching music. to address this gap, hovorka designed a study employing
indigenous methodologies with portraiture methodology. she combined arts-based methods and
ethnomusicology to create textual portraits of participants. she purposely selected five
participants, including traditional and contemporary aboriginal musicians, as well as music
industry professionals from a variety of nations across canada, to explore the connections they
make between their music and their cultures and how it might inform music curricula in schools.
data collection methods included videotaped individual semi-structured interviews followed by
two focus groups. the data were transcribed and then coded and analyzed using descriptive,
interpretive and pattern coding methods. three themes emerged, aboriginal music: (1) heals the
effects of assimilation and colonization; (2) expresses connections between aboriginal traditions
and music through spiritual and physical connections to the earth with an emphasis on the drum;
and (3) serves as an essential tool to disseminate knowledge from generation to generation.
keywords: aboriginal musics, aboriginal cultures, aboriginal education, colonialism.