Critical Review- Titon

Critical Review

            In this article, Titon describes the Ewe people and more specifically, the way in which the use music known as Agbekor.  The Ewe people are a very religious people, and they rely heavily on music to evoke the protection of and communicate with their ancestors.  Agbekor is used for many purposes, including war drumming, post war drumming, funeral music, and various performances, among others.  Agbekor is not simply music, but a combination or drumming, singing, and dancing.  The dancing is often done by warriors after they have finished fighting, using dance to demonstrate how they performed in battle.  Titon then remarks that in order to learn, one must listen.  There is little in the form of formal lessons, and emerging drummers are often seen as reincarnations of deceased virtuosos.  They must attend concerts when the best drummers are playing, and learn the very complicated polyrhythm by ear.  The end of the article breaks up these many complicated rhythms into their simpler parts.

            I found the way in which Agbekor is learned to be particularly interesting.  Students don’t learn from teachers in the way that traditional musicians do.  Learning takes place mainly by means of watching and repeating what the best musicians or dancers are doing.  One does not take private lessons, but goes to concerts and tries to dissect the many difficult polyrhythms.  Practices are not conducted in parts, but rather as a whole musical performance.  You learn through doing, at full pace, over and over again.  Titon gives a quote by J. H. K. Nketia who states, “The very organization of traditional music in social life enables the individual to acquire his musical knowledge in slow stages to widen his experience of the music of his culture through the social groups into which he is progressively incorporated and the activities in which he takes part.”(93)  I wonder why the members of the Agbekor community conduct their learning this way.  Do you think that, although difficult at first, this technique creates better overall musicians because they develop the skills of listening necessary to perform with very complicated polyrhythms?