By the end of April, I had found two ea
ger harp students and was teaching them basic chords to a favorite jazz piece Pokie had taught me. One day, upon arriving, I quickly asked Pokie if he could find the kids I had been teaching harp the prior week. Within ten minutes, I had four kids in the room. Both kids that knew portions of my favorite jazz piece, Ntiylo Ntiylo, were given the two harps. As I was teaching them, Sivuyile, who knew the chords, began teaching Mazibuko. It was great seeing him just take initiative and help his friend learn. As the kids learned from one another, they began playing the song as a duet. By relying on one another to learn the songs, the kids independently initiated the process of teaching and being reliant on themselves to learn. This is key in situations like these where I would be leaving in a matter of months. As the two kids played, a third kid began drumming. This steady beat helped the two kids playing harp, play together. Sivuyile who was a “quick study”, immediately decided to start learning the right hand. After showing him the basic melody, he began playing with the chords. Mazibuko, who was having a bit of a challenge, played the chords as Sivuyile played the melody. Then I had the drummer set the beat and the two kids play through the song together. This was absolutely AWESOME! The youngest kid who was simply observing became the photographer…which he took to extremes leading me to delete a large volume of pictures:-). Regardless, it was great teaching harp, drumming and a quick photography class all at the same time. After two hours, Pokie, on bass, and his friend on guitar returned. We played Ntiylo Ntiylo and then I taught them a Celtic Medley, “Star of the County Down,” and “Butterfly.” Our jam session ended with smiles and laughter as we all took solos and finished with the melody together.
ger harp students and was teaching them basic chords to a favorite jazz piece Pokie had taught me. One day, upon arriving, I quickly asked Pokie if he could find the kids I had been teaching harp the prior week. Within ten minutes, I had four kids in the room. Both kids that knew portions of my favorite jazz piece, Ntiylo Ntiylo, were given the two harps. As I was teaching them, Sivuyile, who knew the chords, began teaching Mazibuko. It was great seeing him just take initiative and help his friend learn. As the kids learned from one another, they began playing the song as a duet. By relying on one another to learn the songs, the kids independently initiated the process of teaching and being reliant on themselves to learn. This is key in situations like these where I would be leaving in a matter of months. As the two kids played, a third kid began drumming. This steady beat helped the two kids playing harp, play together. Sivuyile who was a “quick study”, immediately decided to start learning the right hand. After showing him the basic melody, he began playing with the chords. Mazibuko, who was having a bit of a challenge, played the chords as Sivuyile played the melody. Then I had the drummer set the beat and the two kids play through the song together. This was absolutely AWESOME! The youngest kid who was simply observing became the photographer…which he took to extremes leading me to delete a large volume of pictures:-). Regardless, it was great teaching harp, drumming and a quick photography class all at the same time. After two hours, Pokie, on bass, and his friend on guitar returned. We played Ntiylo Ntiylo and then I taught them a Celtic Medley, “Star of the County Down,” and “Butterfly.” Our jam session ended with smiles and laughter as we all took solos and finished with the melody together.
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