Billy Monama traces South African guitar history in new book

Billy Monama. Picture Siphiwe Mhlambi

Billy Monama. Picture Siphiwe Mhlambi

Published Aug 15, 2022

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Johannesburg - If you can read music and have been looking for something that traces the history of guitar music and its players, then Billy Monama’s Introduction to South African Guitar Styles: Vol. 1 may entice you.

The book, written and compiled by the guitarist aims to decolonise the curriculum and it presents the comprehensive story of what makes South African guitar music special, from the earliest days to the 1980s, and from Durban and Giyani to Jozi.

It is an exploration of the history of the guitar in black South African popular music over five decades and the most important styles to have evolved around it: marabi, maskandi, African jazz, kwela, mbaqanga and Xitsonga.

It is an accessible tutorial for those who can formally read music and those who play only by ear, and it contains online visuals for reference purposes. Biographies of the artists profiled and the historical background of each of the musical styles are provided.

To add depth and perspective, guest artists were invited to address various aspects of the tutorials and provide demonstrations and interviews in videos that are available on www.billymonama.co.za. All demonstrations are presented close-up in slow motion for learning purposes and also in their original faster tempos. Stave notation is also provided.

On why the book, he said it is astounding that something as intrinsic to African life as music is given such spare treatment in black South African schools.

“Music as a subject in African schools in South Africa is given only a peripheral position and not the central position it occupies in African life in South Africa. As far as the formal structures of African education are concerned, nothing is really provided by way of specialist training for the music teacher. The teaching of music in black South African schools is erratic and inconsistent, firstly through a lack of facilities. Secondly, music teachers are inadequately grounded in the musical culture of their pupils because their own teacher training lacked sufficient dimension and orientation with regard to African music,” he said.

Billy Monama. Picture Siphiwe Mhlambi

He believes we need to mean what we say when we speak of decolonisation in Africa.

“I believe the first place to implement decolonisation is our educational institutions, where our African languages, music and cultural history are diluted and fading. We need to transform the educational system in South Africa by bringing in the youth to participate in writing educational books that capture the memory and traditions of our black people. That should be integral in the broadening and advancement of the curriculum,” he said.

He added that what started in 1976 has not been finished, and it is in the hands of the youth of South Africa to emancipate the Bantu Education System that was installed by former South African prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd in 1953, and implemented in 1955.

“And still, to the extent of poor resources and service delivery, in existence: Verwoerd said: ‘I will reform black education so that the natives will be taught from childhood to realise that equality with Europeans is not for them’. Perhaps if we start with music, the rest will follow,” he said.

The book is the culmination of 15 years of work: six years envisioning, investigating and planning, then the past nine packed with intensive research and learning how to publish a book – all this alongside releasing his debut album Rebounce in 2017 and continuing to develop his career as a performer and teacher.

On what to expect after this body of work, Monama said the second volume to the introduction could be in the pipelines.

“Expect another book – Introduction to South African Guitar Styles Vol. 2 – "The State of BluBoQanga" from the 1980s to the 2000s, though it might take another five years because publishing a book is a lengthy process. Now in it, I’d be unpacking genres such as Afro Pop and reggae,” he said.