Composition framework for contemporary artists who use traditional tunes

Abstract

Music composition in Kenya has been undertaken alongside Western classical traditions comprising compositional techniques, styles, forms, and harmonies. This phenomenon also manifests itself in traditional music arrangements by various artists. Most of the composers are products of Western classical music tradition because this music education curriculum is the one in use in Kenyan institutions of higher learning.Traditional music in Kenya does not have an agreed method of representing musical notes on paper apart from the Western oriented methods of transcription. In this view, it is important for contemporary composers to discover elements of traditional music that would characterise the music of a community before writing it. The approach will assist in maintaining the musical whole of a society including functional roles thus assisting the audience to participate and identify themselves with the created music. This paper is based on research work that was carried out on art music created from traditional music of the Samia community of Busia County in Kenya. The paper discusses traditional music creations for societal use and suggests ways in which contemporary artists composing in traditional styles may work in the music idiom of a community. There is non-consideration of musical components that are important in the Samia traditional culture by contemporary artists; which include syllabic intonation, scales and speech rhythm. If not taken care of, the end result is a distorted melodic flow, with misplaced accents in the syllables of words of the Samia songs. A format that contemporary composers could use while working in traditional music style is proposed.