A popular comic duo of another era had a famous sketch where they enticed a world-famous
conductor on to their show to conduct their orchestra while one of the duo played the piano in what
was to be Grieg’s piano concerto. After messing around for a few moments (not being ready to play
at the allotted moment; not being able to see the conductor), the pianist did start playing a tune
which was clearly not Grieg’s piano concerto, so the conductor (managing to keep a straight face
throughout all of this) went over to the pianist and pointed out that he was playing the wrong notes
to which the pianist replied, “They are all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.”
We might think that there could be nothing better than listening to music when the notes are clearly
all in the right order but there is; that is when there is tremendous harmony, when all the notes
come together, when all the parts come together and complement each other. One of the great
occasions in school life over the years that showcases this has been the Combined Schools Concert
which comes to its climatic crescendo with the massed choir of over five hundred pupils singing a
collection of songs with great rigour, rhythm and rhapsody, when melody and harmony combine to
deep and lasting effect, reflected powerfully at the same time by the harmony of the different
schools in their different uniforms with their different backgrounds, all working together.
A modern song that tests the talents of choirs is Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with its wonderful
collection of harmonies surrounding the melody. The popular song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ also
provides incredible opportunities for harmonisation, as do ‘golden oldies’ like the Beach Boys’ ‘I get
around’ and Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’. Here in Africa it seems we do not have to
teach harmonisation; it seems to come naturally to people, even from a very young age – and it
sounds beautiful. For others, however, it has to be taught.
The staff are the ones who play the melody, the main tune, the recognisable music. Meanwhile, the
harmony is provided by the parent body, by the Board and by the former pupils, all combining in
different ways with different notes to produce a wonderful opportunity for the child’s education and
development. The parent body has the stronger harmony, ensuring that all that happens at home
complements the ‘music’ that is played at school; they perhaps are the altos. The Board provides a
deeper, quieter, softer tone, supporting the melody with rich undertones, along the lines of the
tenors while former pupils can provide the bass line, quiet reminders of where all the music has
come from but no longer taking the lead.
Through the conductor, each has to play their own part in playing the music. The ‘music’, which
takes the form of the Vision, Mission and Values (each of which brings that unique harmony to the
piece) of each school, has been composed by the original founding fathers and been given by the
Board to the Head to play. In turn, the music’s melody is made up of the Vision but the harmony is
found in the addition of the twenty-first century learning skills, the local situation and the individual
needs of the pupils. All of these bring greater harmony as well.
The music we seek to play is a Zimbabwean Rhapsody (where the word ‘rhapsody’ is wonderfully
defined as being an “effusively enthusiastic and ecstatic expression of emotion”). Each of us must
play our part to ensure the harmony comes through, that the harmony builds on the existing
melody. Are we playing the right notes in the right order with the right purpose? This is serious, not
a comedy. Play the wrong notes, come in at the wrong time, push our own tune and the whole piece
will sound disastrous; get it right and it is beautiful! Everyone will sleep tonight when that happens!
