Born to sing: Fiji's "singing culture" and implications for music education in Canada

McGill Journal of Education, Fall 2001 by Joan Russell

The larger picture: As I travelled around Viti Levu and Vatulele - two of the more than 300 islands - I heard boys and girls, and men and women sing with skill and enthusiasm. I noted that they sang without self-consciousness.

Except for elementary school-aged children who sang in unison, the singing that I heard and participated in was always in harmony, whether it was two people singing at a bus stop or group singing in more organized contexts. How is it, I asked myself, that so many people are able to sing in harmony, and are disposed to do so? I began to ask questions. I concluded that for Fijians, singing expresses and embodies Fijian culture, that in Fiji there exists a "singing" culture. My ongoing research interest in Fijian singing culture (Russell, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999) has led me to conclude that a range of socio-cultural, economic, historical and geographic factors contribute to the fostering of widespread skillful singing.

During my second visit to Fiji, in 1998, 1 went with the intention of learning more about Fijian singing practices and the Fijian social structures that support widespread, skilful singing. In this paper I describe the features of Fijian singing culture, and I suggest how others might adapt these features to create a singing culture in their own social contexts.

Group singing is important for a number of reasons. Many educators consider the voice to be the primary instrument in music education (Atterbury & Richardson, 1995; Campbell, 1998). Indeed, the entire system of music education in Hungary is based on the pedagogy of Zoltan Kodaly. His vocal approach to teaching music literacy has produced a population of musically literate singers (Choksy, 1974). Group singing has important educational value from musical, cultural and social perspectives. Singing immerses us physically in a musical language and lays the foundation for musical development (Russell, 1996b). Furthermore, it fosters group identity, helps us to know ourselves and others, and alleviates alienation. Singing transmits the cultural values and products of a culture; it serves as a "personal and communal reminder of roots, heritage, and tradition" (Boyea, 1999) p. 31. Much is known about the technical aspects of voice production and song interpretation. Collections of song repertoire are readily available for singers of all levels of expertise and interest. Yet little is known about singing as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Little is understood about the relationship between the musical practices and attitudes that characterize larger communities and what goes on in Canadian schools.

Unfortunately, not all of our communities value group singing, and not all of our schools provide opportunities for group singing. In Quebec, ministry directives do not demand singing in schools. Music specialists meet with resistance to singing especially from students in early adolescence. Classroom teachers tell me that they lack confidence to sing with their students, or they say that they have a music specialist in their school, so they don't have to sing with their students. Because of our school policies and practices, many students emerge from our school systems with limited, or no experience of singing. Some emerge with memories of negative experiences.