“Deñuy jàngal seen bopp” (They Teach Themselves): Children’s Music Learning in The Gambia

The author investigated the teaching and learning processes among children in a suburban community of The Gambia, West Africa. Participants included children and adults in the community ( N = 101). The researcher used ethnographic techniques of participant and nonparticipant observation, interviews, and song and chant collection. Data consisted of field notes from observations of play and adult-centered musical events, interviews with children and adults, and transcripts of video and audio recordings. On the basis of the data, the researcher identified a music learning process consisting of listening, observing, doing, and combinations of the three. Children seemed to “teach themselves” and one another in many instances; interpretation of data suggested that this was facilitated by three factors: a rich musical environment, expectation to be musical, and motivation to learn. Possibilities for transfer of these three factors to elementary general music classrooms are suggested.