From percussion rooms around the world vol.15｜Geneva, Switzerland Monka Fukano

Hello JPC members, my name is Monka Fukano.
A few years after graduating from the percussion department at Kunitachi College of Music, I moved to Geneva, Switzerland to study music education and rhythmics.
I am fortunate enough to have decided to contribute to this series.

Currently, I am neither a percussionist nor a percussion student, but I would like to tell you about my student life here in Geneva and the percussion situation in the world of rhythmic teachers.
Fortunately, this educational institution is not affected by the coronavirus and is able to offer most classes face-to-face.JapanI hope that this situation will end as soon as possible and that we will all be able to share music again.

●Life in Geneva

I am studying in the master's program in the Department of Music and Movement at the Geneva Cantonal Conservatory in Switzerland.
The students in this department aim to become Dalcroze rhythmic teachers, and there are many international students from all over the world.

Inside the school building, rhythmic solfege classes for children and rhythmic classes for the elderly are held, full of music and energy. We students will learn the Dalcroze method by listening to it and practicing it.
In addition, students will take classes in piano lessons, improvisation, solfege, rhythmics, keyboard harmony, and physical expression. (In my case, I was able to receive practical lessons from a percussion teacher as my first instrument.)
The content of the classes is a little different than that of a typical music university, soJapanmay be particularly surprising.

●To the world of rhythmics

I think it is difficult for a freelance percussionist who has just graduated from university to support himself solely through his performance work. While being a performer, most people probably also work as instructors at the same time. I had many opportunities to work with children, both while I was in college and after graduating. As a result of the work I received, I gained more confidence in myself and my desire to do something that would please children became stronger. For that purpose, I thought I had to improve myself even more, so I jumped into the world of rhythmics and music education.
When I first started learning percussion instruments, I never expected this to happen to me, but now I'm really glad I made this choice. I now realize that being interested in things you don't know about or things that seem to have nothing to do with you is just as important as learning to play a musical instrument.

●Rhythmics and percussion instruments

Percussion instruments are very active in our rhythmic lessons here in Geneva.
The lesson room is equipped with percussion instruments such as bongos and congas as well as a piano. Teachers generally play the piano to provide accompaniment for exercises, but percussion instruments are also often used when teaching pure rhythm without melody or harmony. Sometimes I give each student a hand drum or a small glockenspiel to exercise with.

Unfortunately, even experienced rhythmic teachers who teach in Geneva, the birthplace of rhythmic music, do not know how to actually play percussion instruments.
We don't pay much attention to how children play the hand drum or how they hold the drumsticks on the glockenspiel. Percussion instruments are widely used because they can easily produce sound when struck, but the current situation is that they are not used properly. I wonder if I can somehow change that situation, but I still don't have the strength right now... However, I'm struggling to find my own rhythmic lessons that incorporate percussion instruments.

When I actually teach children during practical training or as a substitute teacher, I often use the mini djembe and cajon that I bought at JPC (both instruments were flown with me across the ocean).
From the moment I take out my instrument, the children's eyes light up as they stare at me. These two precious instruments are more popular than the teacher, as the children are curious about what kind of sounds they make, how loud they are, how mysterious they are...I want to touch them myself...
I would like to continue exploring the immense possibilities that percussion instruments have for music education.

Ayaka Fukano Profile

Born in Chiba Prefecture, graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Department of Percussion. After that, he studied abroad at the Geneva Cantonal Conservatory and completed his bachelor's degree. Currently studying in a master's program.
every summerJapanWhen he returned to Japan, he held participatory concerts and workshops based on rhythmic music with a piano, singing, and percussion unit called "Poka Poka."