As few notes as possible....

...is a rule.

Every year, 25 or so Navajo and Hopi high school students each have about 10 days in which they are required to conceive and handwrite a musical composition for string quartet. When I say 10 days, I may be off, because the end result is most likely music that they have had waiting inside of them for years, but have not always had the reason nor means nor even excuse to let it out and treat us to it.

I am amazed every year, but I should not be, by the amount of drive put in by most students to finish a 2-3 minute piece in such a short amount of time. Most of these students are guitarists and I almost fear something wrong with the water in Kayenta, AZ: nearly EVERY teenager there not only has a strong interest in music, but many are very capable and talented guitarists.
Why are there so many musicians here and why so good? It is probably not important in the end to investigate, since we already know the answer. It is a rule....

Monument Valley HS student Collin Billie jams with resident string quartet ETHEL.

My fear however, is that the students will turn in a hyper-speedmetal-baroque piece of music, not at all resembling the songs that their great-uncles sing; the score only visually looking like a Navajo rug without the sounding like one. And sometimes that is the end result. But I have only recently realized that the students want to test themselves, to see if they can create a music in the style of great Anglo long-hair-dudes (Bach to Dimebag Darrell). I will allow these compositions to be turned in because I suppose that they are "baby steps", like how the first works of a contemporary Native visual artist usually looks like T-shirt art (see: mascot bashing).

My hope is that the program will expand to include more schools/students/communities, longer lessons, and more Native composition teachers. Then can we begin to talk about the true goal they we are wanting to accomplish. The goal is to learn to walk. It is learning how to communicate, whether that includes white-man's notation, improvisation, learning your tribe's songs, creating your own notation or all-of-the-above. If you ask me, the goal is to have every Navajo band criss/crossing the country, all on tour at the same time...

...playing the quietest loud music in the world.

-rc

Ahe'hee' to: Clare Hoffman and Robert Bonfiglio, The world's most rockinest string band ETHEL, Chinle music teacher Eric Swanson, Tuba City music teacher Blair Quamahongnewa, Hopi High music teacher Brian Logan, Mike Begay, Grand Canyon Music Festival, Rosanda Suetopka.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACAP

http://ethelcentral.com/

http://www.ringtonesociety.com/ ** Each student was required to write a 10 second piece in addition to their quartet. This is a group of Dutch artists who have recorded the students' music and turned them into cell phone ringtones. Check them out/download them.

,.,.,,.,.