Pedro the Music Man CDs

Pedro has over the years created a number of story-telling and music CDs for children. These are available from Pedro directly.  If you live in Cape Town, phone 021 6854704  or 084 2300683, otherwise order by email from musicman@iafrica.com

Pedro's Song and Dance

A collection of favourite songs from Kideo, the kids' magazine programme that featured Pedro the Music Man.   It includes 13 infectious songs composed by Pedro, with lyrics by Lisa Jacobson. They're great for movement and dance, and are perfect for the pre-school classroom and for children at home, aged 2 to 7.

 

   

Seven Stories from The Little Library

These stories were developed by READ with some of South Africa's best children's writers, illustrators and teachers, in response to the need for high quality books for children reflecting their own local world.  Pedro was involved throughout the project, and produced the audio versions, as well as composing all the music and songs.  This cd includes 7 of our favourites.  For children aged 2 to 7.  The books can be ordered from us too.  

   1 Crocodile's Sore Tooth   read by Moses Mphahlele

      2 Yawning is Catching   read by Gcina Mhlope

      3 Mama Mabena's Magic )  read by

      4 Thuli's Mattress          )   Nomsa Nene

      5 Baby Monkey's Bananas   read by Soli Philander

      6 Hic Hic Hiccups read )  read by

      7 The Little Lost Goat  )  Moses Mphahlele

 Two Monster Stories 

Vusirala the Giant and The Terrible Grakwa are two longer stories from The Little Library (see above.) Both these original African stories have the elements of classic fairy-tales, including a fierce monster, and a child hero/heroine whose bravery and clever plan saves the day.  Again production and music are by Pedro.  For children aged 3 to 7. 

 The Lekgodilo Flute

Pedro's signature instrument is the magical Lekgodilo, a flute with no holes, made with kelp, pawpaw leaves or plastic irrigation pipe.  It's the most simple instrument to make, but it takes a long time and lots of practice to play it well, so Pedro has made this child-friendly version with PVC piping and an easy-to-play mouthpiece added (designed for the penny-whistle and imported from Ireland). 

The flute above is made out of a length of piping with a mouthpiece attached to it.
See below how the traditional instrument is made out of a piece of dry kelp on a Cape Town beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN1OAXyjf9c

A full pack including flutes in several keys and a CD of flute examples and musical backing tracks in different styles is available.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS SHOWS

Playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" in Cape Town

Touring schools in Cumbria UK

Touring schools in the Eastern Cape

Thulani and the Rabbit
 and other musical stories from 

Pedro the Music Man

THULANI AND THE RABBIT is all about how musical instruments are made and played.
At the heart of each story there is a musical discovery. In the title story the audience meets a crafty rabbit who gets the better of a boy who wants to be a hunter by persuading him to turn his bow and arrow into a musical instrument.   This is followed by a traditional story from Zimbabwe about a crocodile who gatecrashes a birthday party and gets addicted to sweets and mbira music.
Then there is a story is about the smallest boy in the village who finds an instrument, that gives him
the biggest voice out of a simple instrument he makes. 
I  also introduce the Lekgodilo, one of the most magical of all the instruments I play – it’s the worldʼs first flute,  made with dry kelp found on the beach and without any side holes or mouthpiece.

My aim is  to introduce children to the wealth of music that surrounds them, with a special focus on African music and its influence on modern music all over the world.   The show highlights the elements of music and many different musical styles, and I demonstrate how to make and play string, wind and percussion instruments from easily available materials.  It is  designed to provide a real support for teachers, covering specific aims of the arts and science curricula in a fun and creative way.

African music is very seldom played by one musician alone and audience participation plays a very big part in this show.   The children set the scene for each story, making sound pictures of the forest,  the seashore,  the bushveld, or a busy village scene.  Volunteers are brought on stage to create an orchestra of kazoos to end the show in style. 

The show includes a CD of the music played and examples of the instruments demonstrated. 

To make a booking  please phone 021 685 4704 or  084 2300683
or  email musicman@iafrica.com

 

                                              Telling stories on the Iziko Museum lawns



                    Another Lion on the Path
                                                   ( aka The Sweet-toothed Crocodile”)

This show features three stories from Zimbabwe which are great tales with unforgettable characters, and very special music. All of them include call-and-answer singing, and they showcase the mibra and the kalimba, the most complex and unique African instruments.
The first story is about an hyena who learns to sing so he can trick his way into the heroine Karizowe’s cave. Then there’s the lion who can’t help dancing when he hears kalimba music, which is very useful for the man who finds the lion on his path. Finally there’s the story about Nyangara the Python who knows how to cure the village chief as long as you sing a nice song to him.

Some biographical notes

I  was born in Spain and went to live in France with my family at the age of eight.  I came to South Africa as a nineteen-year old with my two older brothers in 1972 to make our living as  professional musicians.  Not long after I arrived here I had the good fortune to be introduced to African music by Andrew Tracey and I began what became my lifelong career, learning and teaching in this field. 
I established the African music programme at the University of Cape Town and went on to establish and direct the music department at the Giyani College of Education. I continue to run teacher-training programs for education authorities and NGOs across Southern Africa.   
As much as I am committed to teaching, I also love my work as a performer, musician, composer and story-teller.   I became well-known in South Africa as “Pedro the Music Man” from my long-running television series in 1990's.  I often  perform at conferences, schools and festivals in Europe and the USA.  In 2010 I created the Vuvuzela Orchestra as a link between music education and the Soccer World Cup. I have performed with Madosini for many years now and are about to publish our first CD as the MadoJazz group playing with Hilton Schilder and Jonny Blundel.


Some comments on previous work

"I was stunned by your workshop. You are clearly very deeply involved with children and their teachers and have honed a manner and style that loses no time in getting people right to the music making."
Patricia Campbell, Professor of Music, University of Washington, USA

"You inspire the children to want to learn more about music, to want to make music and to develop their respect for the music of other cultures."
Director of Childrenʼs Education, San Francisco Botanical Gardens, USA

"It is simply impossible to explain to you how much the staff and children enjoyed your performance... you really breathed a breath of fresh air and enormous joy into all our lives."
John Wesley Primary School, Pinetown, South Africa

"The teachers and the children were enchanted by the performance.  The older children told us that this was the best show they had ever seen at school."
Principal, Newtown Primary School, Wiltshire, UK