Learning to sing with the accompaniment of the gusle in Serbia in the XXI century

Abstract

In this paper, learning to sing with the accompaniment of the gusle is reconsidered within the concept of the preservation of traditional folk music as an intangible cultural heritage, that is, as a specific form of music education. Having dealt with a traditional way of providing continuity in the practice of guslars` (i. e. gusle players) - which is learning by observing and imitating more experienced family members or guslars from nearby surrounding - some crucial moments in the history of singing with the accompaniment of the gusle, which also influenced the process of transmitting this skill, are demonstrated. In recent times, singing with the accompaniment of the gusle has been mastered not only within family circles but also in associations of guslars, at private schools of music, and lately there has also been an opportunity to learn this skill at some state schools of music. Accordingly, interviews with the members of an Association of guslars association that is particularly distinguished by the fostering young guslars, and interviews with gusle teachers and pupils who attend schools of music were used as primary sources for this paper, together with the specific experience of the author as a president of the jury in a young guslars’ competition. Since the poetic content of the songs is primarily learnt from printed collections or audio recordings, future guslars in fact master the musical skills of playing and singing along the instrument, that is, the skill of the vocal interpretation of a chosen written poetic text. Concerning these, some programmes and methods are discussed, as well as their effects on young guslars’ competence, principally from the point of style and aesthetics. Attention is particularly drawn to flaws in the teaching concept of future gusle players at state schools of music. In conclusion, the necessity of applying ethnomusicological findings to activities concerning the preservation of an intangible cultural heritage, in other words, the necessity of including teams of professionals in reforming the educational system and national cultural policy is established.