adminISBN: 1-77905-138-8
Book Review by Tonderayi Chanakira
Fred Zindi’s Music Guide for Zimbabwe is an easy to read book that takes its reader down memory lane by acknowledging the development of music within a historical context.
It traces the evolution of music as personified by the outstanding talents of some music celebrities whose illustrious careers have shaped western, Jazz, Caribbean and Zimbabwean music.
The book targets music teachers, music promoters, sociologists, radio broadcasters; music students; musicians; music researchers; cultural activists and politicians. Zindi’s book also acknowledges the music industry as a business dictated by certain regulated norms bordering on issues to do with copyright, royalties; understanding publishing contracts; licensing and music promotion.
Some thorny issues regarding violation of musicians’ copyrights, which are undermined through piracy, are also discussed in the book. In this vein, Fred Zindi acknowledges that piracy is not easy to undermine as it is complicated by the innovative developments that are now a lingua-franco dictating the Information Technology (IT) industries. This has seen much software being developed by computer hackers that are capable of downloading musicians’ works via the Internet without the musicians’ knowledge, permission and consent.
The guide further samples the music industry in seven chapters which, are streamlined within the following themes:
- Avariety of musical styles were emphasis is on explaining to readers the technical jargon associated with the music industry.
lHistory of Western music in which specific historical period music themes are mentioned notably as: The Renaissance period; the Baroque period; Twentieth century popular music; Pop music etc. Musicians whose works were central in shaping such specific historical music themes are mentioned in this chapter.
- The History of Zimbabwean music chapter is arguably the main theme of the book in which Zindi further acknowledges the central role that the Mbira instrument has played in developing Zimbabwean music as evidenced by its popular use by musicians such as Thomas Mapfumo, Stella Chiweshe and Chiwoniso Maraire.
- In this chapter the history of Jazz music is credited to such music legends as Louis Armstrong as some of the outstanding figures who inspired the popularity of the Jazz revolution.
- Chapter 5 perceives Caribbean music as a protest form of music that was provoked by slavery that uprooted African mankind from the African continent to be forcibly settled in the Caribbean Islands such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago.
- The emergence of Reggae music sought to dignify African values as expressed in lyrics of some reggae legends such as Bob Marley and Burning Spear. Central to the gospel of Reggae music was the emergence of a religion called Rastafarianism whose roots and cultural source of inspiration are derived from the teachings of a black civil rights leader called Marcus Garvey whose martyrdom was internalized by another spiritual reggae artist, Wiston Rodney aka Burning Spear.
- Chapter 6 is particularly of interest to local musicians as it advises them on what to do in order to survive in the music industry with particular reference to the Zimbabwean situation.
- The relationship of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation as the country’s main media conglomerate is scrutinised with the purpose of highlighting the role that the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA) has played in assisting local musicians to co-exist with the broadcaster with respect to the issue of receiving their royalties once their music is given air play on TV and radio. The book concludes by borrowing from the expertise advice of an academic expert one Rewai Makamani regarding the need of embracing communication skills if one is to survive and excel within the music industry.
The inclusion of a set of questions to assist readers on clarification on specific themes of the book qualifies Fred Zindi as an accomplished academic and renowned scholar within the music industry in Zimbabwe.
Through these questions, he seeks to further educate readers to respect the music industry as an academic topic that scholars should seriously take note of within the academia context and strive to develop it by researching on the topic.
There is however a missing link regarding Fred Zindi’s attempt at reconstructing the history of the music industry with specific reference to the Zimbabwean situation.
Gospel music has taken Zimbabwe by storm and its success and musicians such as Baba Mechanic Manyeruke and the Charambas have personified popularity. These are names that should have graced the guide but this is not the case. Perhaps Professor Fred Zindi deliberately omitted these gospel celebrities for further coverage in another book! It is however, most encouraging to note that the Zimbabwean academia is taking stock of the developments characterising the Zimbabwean music industry in the form of recording it through publishing music books.
Such research should be a source of inspiration which should spare more research on Zimbabwean music as an industry. The development should further encourage music stakeholders to strive to take an interest in developing the industry to assume a more respectable code of contact that should earn international respect and recognition.
Thanks to Professor Fred Zindi for his initiative.
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