Seeing the world through music

Music is a form of communication magically understood by everyone. Melodies send messages throughout the world and open minds. The only thing needed is exposure.

Professor Todd Caschetta is doing his part by teaching Southwestern College students about music from Africa, the Caribbean, Indonesia, China, Japan, India and the Middle East.

“Our goal is to appreciate music around the world and how people all over the world make music,” Caschetta said.

Caschetta takes great satisfaction in knowing students are learning about not only music, but also the story behind it. He said people everywhere make music for the same reasons, and listening to music from different cultures helps students grow.

Caschetta brought World Music to SWC in 2000. He has a master’s in both music performance and ethnomusicology and developed a syllabus for a class that explored many cultures of the globe. He designed it with an optional textbook.

“There is really no other materials that the student need other than a notebook and a desire to learn,” Caschetta said.

Caschetta said the course is designed to be approachable for anybody who wants to learn about music, regardless of the musical knowledge an individual retains.

“He (Caschetta) is the textbook,” said Marissa Love, a student currently taking the class.

She also mentioned that a student is only required to come to class ready to take notes because the professor will provide all the essential knowledge.

“He specifically made this class so that music majors and non music majors could enjoy it,” Love said.

Love also enjoys that the class is interactive. Caschetta will have his students watch certain videos and replicate the melodies by tapping on their desks. Students can attend musical events in the community for extra credit. They can also improve their grades by attending African drumming classes once a week and working alongside with the African dance class. These experiences give students the real-life experience of the instruments and melody taught in class.

Daniel Jurado, a music instructor at Southwestern and former student of Caschetta said learning about music of the world really opened his eyes to different cultures and their employment of distinct instruments, the practiced costumes, diverse religions and forms of leisure.

“Music itself is universal,” Jurado said.

When sharing his favorite part about the class, Jurado mentioned how Caschetta assigned his students to an Indian music concert at the University of California-San Diego. Jurado believes that within today’s society there are many limited views concerning culture and race and taking the class today will open student’s eyes.

“It would open their mind through information and also experience what they are hearing, what they are seeing,” Jurado said.