Preliminary Exploration of a Semai Musician’s Transmission of Indigenous Musical Traditions in Peninsular Malaysia

This article presents the pioneering outcomes of a non-interventive ethnographic observation of a Semai musician’s transmission of indigenous musical traditions using selected indigenous musical instruments from his community. The musician, who is primarily a performer, was placed in the role of teacher. Fifteen Semai children from his village between the ages of six and nine were involved. The Semai musician conducted the workshop in his village hut in Tapah, in the state of Perak, over a period of six months. Findings showed that teacher-student mobility, freedom of choice, intuitive responses, integration of cultural concepts, flexibility and adaptability were approaches utilised by this Semai musician in response to the children and particular situations. This paper further posits that teachers need to consider cultural nuances and differences in musical experiences when designing their music curriculum and assessment approaches for music education. Furthermore, this paper argues for versatility and adaptability of the teacher to actively construct and reconstruct his/her teaching approaches by accessing the musical understanding, talents and competencies of children from various cultural backgrounds.