Asmara Music School

Asmara Music School

Asmara Music School has its roots in the Eritrean liberation struggle. Before Eritrea's independence from Ethiopian colonization, there was neither formal musical education nor the institutions that carry out such activity. So the school is the first of its kind in Eritrea in regard to the variety of instrumental tuitions it provides and scope of its mission. AMS's aim is to produce musicians who would be capable of preserving and enhancing our indigenous music to serve individual and societal as well as national purposes with creative and informed capacity.

Since its formal inception in 1985 the music school has been providing music training with the span of few months to 5 years, and has graduated over 700 people with different levels ranging from certificate to diploma. Most of the important musicians in Eritrea, including music teachers, were once part of AMS's and its predecessor's training programs.

Asmara Music School is a government school. Since 1999 AMS has been running perpetual music training programs of three, and five years span. Generally the curriculum of the school has two categories namely theory and practical (musical Instruments).

Theory studies:

ABC of music and intermediate theory Harmnoy History (National & International) Music technology / Electro acoustics basic

Practical Studies:

Piano, Guitar, Clarinet / Flute / Brass / Drums & local instruments - Wata, Shambqo / Krar/ Kebero are taught.

At the end of successful training, students graduate with certificates and diplomas. Certificate students will have acquired basic music theory and harmony and will have been able to read music of lower intermediate difficulty (roughly to level of 3rd to 4th grade ABRSM exam pieces) and play by ear easy to intermediate difficulty local songs.

Diploma students will have acquired intermediate level of music theory and harmony (6th to 7th grade ABRSM) and will have been able to read music of intermediate difficulty (roughly to the level of 4th and 5th grade ABRSM exam pieces) and play by ear intermediate to difficult local songs.

Achievements

Asmara Music School, since its formal inception and prior to that time has been engaged and dedicated to teaching the art of music in all of its manifestations. This dedication and continued work striving for the ultimate goal of becoming bigger and a man player in the music education system in Eritrea, has resulted in Asmara Music School being the only institution of all the other Arts in Eritrea functioning and growing constantly. ASM are contemplating of a major change and growth of the music institution in the recent future.

Past achievements of the school can be enumerated briefly as follows: From 1979 - 1997: It gave musical training to:

· Most of the musicians of the EPLF cultural troups

· Other countries liberation movements musicians

· Eritreans refugees cultural groups

· CG of the RS that became the 1st Eritrean National Marching Band in the post liberation era.

Post Independence:

· Independent students (short courses)

· Asser Cultural Group (2 years program)

· Elementary schools teachers (part of Teachers Training Institute program)

· Several summer programs with successful outcomes

Since 1998 until to date the school has graduated students with diploma 4-5 years program – five times. Some of these graduates are soon to become teachers and performers in ASM. At the moment it is running two programs simultaneously the schools certificate & diploma program and the National Marching Bands 9 months diploma program. The latest achivements will hopefully contribute to the launching of a preparatory stage for a music college. besides, the school has also started providing music trainig on extension program basis. By so doing the music school is doing its utmost to reach and provide to as diverse and many music lovers.

Asmara Music School is situated in Asmara along Tegadelti Street. It occupies approximately an area of 1864m2 - It has 12 lecture, 3 staff, 2 office rooms.

Students:

Students enrolling in the school are the ones with interest in the art of music for different reasons and ends. They come to study in AMS on their own free choice. The eligible candidates for enrollment are 7th, 8th, 9th grade students.

Generally, upon registration, their age range is between 12-17 years old. Since the students are also going to academic schools, they study music on a quasi full time basis. They study almost free of charge; they are charged a minimal monthly payment ENA 50.00 = 3.3$ (a saxophone costs around ENA 40.000). Students use the school's musical instruments for no extra charge. For the past two years the school has been holding roughly around 90 students teaching them in four shifts.

Since there is little chance in the country that can give the same opportunity, as AMS is doing, to the young citizens, the school has the deisre to expand and to have more students.

However, the quality and number of teaching staff, the infrastructure as well as other materials and equipment is inadequate for such desire to materialize.

Students future prospect:

After graduating, students can pursue careers either in music or something else. However since the school is very much interested in broadening the scope of teaching in music and related streams, the graduates are prime candidates who it wants to involve in upgrading programs later on. These candidates can become assistant instructors and researchers as well as  Music TV producers  - Music Jingles as well as performers national - international music to satisfy the unmet need of the same thereby leading by example. The school also plans to facilitate their participation in arts education.

AMS Teachers: 

Since Asmara Music School is the only of its kind offering music education in the country, the teaching staff consists of 2 musically educated (BMus and Advanced Certificate in Music composition) members and the rest are locally educated with either diploma or certificate qualifications, whom are attending a 9 month upgrading music course studying under the available top musically educated people in the country. So. human resource development is quite crucial for the school in order to have better qualified teachers. Just to clarify the shortage of musically educated persons in Eritrea, to tell that there are only 5 musicians who hold advanced certificate and above qualifications might suffice. So short term music training by expert musicians and long term in the form of scholarships is what the music school needs help on.

Musical Instruments & other helpful teaching materials: 

Musical instruments the school is using at the moment are few old functioning ones also instruments that are out of use or recycled ones. The shortage of musical instruments in the school and the unavailability or prohibitive prices of the local market prevents almost all students from owning them. Due to that and other reasons the practice time for the students is nowhere near enough. The school try to repair the broken instruments and make students practice in turns, because in the whole country there is one person who repairs wind instruments by experience and one elder musicians who is trained in piano tuning. Thus the need for musical instrument that function properly and availability of expertise thereof in the music materials instruments and piano tuning is paramount.

Most of the music materials the school use to teach the students to develop skills in music reading, harmony and theory is mainly western classical, jazz, popular music, since these are the published materials they can find.

AMS's plans and challenges

AMS provides young students with music courses that serves to get promising future music teachers, candidates for higher level studies in the field and satisfying students interests and whatever benefits they might gain from it. In this same process, Asmara music school is building up to become or to lay the ground for a music college that will undertake music education at higher level.

Towards that end since recently AMS has been making multi faceted efforts in

· Enhancing its curriculum and syllabus

· Conducting on job training for its teachers

· Increasing student enrolment

· The improvement of teaching quality

· Making the programs relevant to Eritrea musical culture and society.

These efforts are meant to ensure a continuous improvement in the growth of the music education system. These efforts with the continued assistance and cooperation of all concerned parties, the school will ultimately become a major player in the preservation, enhancement, enrichment of Eritrean music. It will also be capable of representing. Eritrea's music in any of its manifestations and forms of representation in the international arena.

Asmara Music School, believing the importance of national & international dynamics for a beneficial cultural exchange and cooperation, is seeking to become a full-fledged music school that is capable and worthy partner in such endeavor. To be that worthy partner it is trying to establish local & international ties with

Music Institutions, Music company's Eritrean communities in Diaspora, music sympathizers, musicians as well as any party who is interested in music and especially Eritrean music and the development of its institutions. The music school's development will have a considerable major positive impact on the music industry, preservation and development of the rich multi ethnic and multi cultural society's music.

Establishment of links;- please contact us on info@eritreacompass.com

If you want to contact ASM

Asmara Music School

Cultural Affairs Bureau

Ministry of Education

Tel: 002911-181607

Share this post