Victor K. Dogah Instructor of Fine Arts: Music
Bio
Berklee College of Music. Bachelor in Music Education/Prof. Music
Areas of Expertise
Specialization in Traditional and Contemporary West African Music and Dance
Courses I Teach:
- West Africa Dance and Drumming
More from Professor Dogah:
“Hohoa nu wo gbea ye yea do” Continuation of what has been already established.
In my tradition, there is a belief system that when somebody within the tribe or outside starts a project, your duty is to continue and build upon the work that has already been started. It is my intention and I feel it is very important to build the knowledge and continue to educate the students in this unique form of tradition. Additionally, I want to explore teaching traditional music from other West African countries (beyond Ghana) Togo, Benin and Nigeria,that share a similar tradition but have different musical dialects. I believe students will succeed in learning traditional west African musical concepts through experiential application: participation and new contemporary arrangements based on the traditional drum and dance styles will all aid in student’s achievement of learning the material fluently. Some integral aspects are Call and Response, part playing, use of polyrhythm, meter, tempo, vocals and language, oral dictation, historical significance and influence. Through out the course we will be analyzing traditional West African musical concepts through experiential use, video and literal examples. There will be an emphasis on movement, dance and the integration of drumming, dancing and singing.
At the end of the course there will be recognition of these concepts and an ability to perform and demonstrate in a group setting.
The students will experience a true community through the music and a relationship to rhythm and time, which I know, has the ability to influence a western musician’s perspective and broaden their own musical knowledge and everyday life experiences.