Muslim Palestinians Introduce Music Appreciation to Children

Palestinian girl attends a music class at the Gaza Music School Project in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza City, on 27 October 2008.

The school, the only one of its kind and was opened with funding from the Al-Qattan Foundation and the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.

The students are to be taught the fundamentals of the oud, guitar, violin, keyboard/piano, and kanoun.

Only five students per instrument are accepted into the program.

It was explained to me that this concept came about because I was required to study music appreciation in a school when I was about twelve or thirteen, which I will admit was beneficial for me.

While I was in the state of Oregon at the time and my music teacher who was an excellent teacher on this subject and took a special interest in me because I wanted to learn especially in the reading of music, which after this much time is probably poor; but nevertheless he was from Albany, New York.

I have never forgotten him because he was such a good teacher to all the students and they thoroughly enjoyed taking his class, as to my memory; he only came for a time to teach this particular class on music.

Something I did almost forget is for a time, I played the flute when I was about ten or eleven years-old; with a different school teacher who was before the one above, which she thought I was very good. But nevertheless, like so many things, it was only for a short time.

As even a younger child, I had a very good ear when it came to understanding about the playing of musical instruments; which was a bit interesting even for me.

I could here a piece of music played on the instrument of some type and then could play the piece of music on the same or similar instrument flawlessly, I was told; which was one of those thing’s I never could understand, how I could do this.

Guess it is just a gift, that I am not sure if I still have.

To what I understand of Edward Said, he was like so many people for a time in Palestine that was like a rabbit following the carrot when it came to the truth about the war and what is sad, he never lived long enough like the majority of us from Palestine to learn the truth.

To my understanding Said, was actually a good man in many area’s; which I will admit, I am not an expert on the man‘s life as a whole.-HRM Deborah