Enhancing the development of practical musicianship among secondary schools in Bungoma County: An assessment of the students’ learning activities

Abstract

Many scholars of music such as Kodaly, Dalcroze and Campbell have argued for the need of developing practical musicianship among learners in Music Education. One of the purposes of Music Education is the creation of an environment in which the human potential is nurtured to bring forth an understanding of a variety of musical experiences. Music is a phenomenon that is experienced by nurturing the intrinsic interest and motivation of a leaner. This paper is therefore based on a study that was conducted to examine the development of practical musicianship among students of music in secondary schools. The main objective of the paper is to determine the various learning activities and strategies that students engage in to enhance practical musicianship. Adopting a descriptive survey design, secondary schools in Bungoma County that offer music as a subject formed the area of study. The respondents included 19 teachers and 177 students of music from 15 purposively sampled secondary schools. Data was collected using personal interviews, observation schedule, document analysis and a questionnaire. The collected data was then analyzed descriptively, and its findings presented in bar charts and tables. The study established that students engaged in dancing, singing and playing musical instruments as a way of enhancing their practical musicianship skills. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the balance between practical and theoretical components of the curriculum should be addressed. Provision of opportunities for students to talk about their musical interests, likes and dislikes on a regular basis in order to better facilitate meaningful musical instruction should be encouraged. Stronger marketing of musical activities might ensure that learners are fully aware of the music opportunities in the schools. Provision of new activities, such as jazz and popular bands, jazz choirs, folk groups and other kinds of ensembles might generate wider enthusiasm from the learners alongside traditional orchestra and choir groups.