KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s rich musical legacy, which was suppressed during Soviet and Taliban rule, is being revived as Afghan youth learn music with the help of a few American Airmen.
To celebrate Afghan Mothers Day, students from the Afghan National Institute of Music and Airmen from the U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band spent a day together at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul making music, learning about each other’s worlds and performing for audiences together to strengthen Afghan-American relations.
“I didn’t understand what the American musicians meant when they ask me if I want to jam,” said one student. “But, today, I learned to jam.”
Each ensemble performed for the other. Then, both groups collaborated on a song entitled “Afghan Mother” by Afghan female pop sensation Aryana Sayeed. The ballad is dedicated to strong women across the nation, and incorporates both western and Afghan traditional instruments.
“When we put the combined song together, we got away from the music on the sheet,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Peacock, the AFCENT Band’s music director. “We just had to listen and use our musical instincts.”
The Afghan National Institute of Music “teaches music to bring comfort in the face of war and rebuild lives through music’s healing power,” according to its mission statement. Students learn western instruments and traditional Afghan stringed instruments such as the rubab, sitar, dilruba, tanbur, ghichak and the tabla drum.
"Unfortunately in Afghanistan we don't have a bass guitar teacher,” said another student. “We just learn from YouTube, so playing with someone with 25 years of experience was very cool. I learned lots of things.”
Partially funded by the World Bank and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the Institute provides a free education to 150 students ages 10-21. Half of the student body, when admitted, were described as orphaned or homeless, according to the Afghan Embassy to the United Nations.
Two female students who play cello in the Institute’s all-girl orchestra that toured the United States in 2013 studied cello with one of the Air Force bandsmen. Though verbal communication was hindered by the language barrier, the three cellists played standard excerpts of Johann Sebastian Bach and Camille Saint-Saëns’ music in perfect harmony.
“Music making requires you to really listen,” said Capt. Justin Lewis, the AFCENT Band’s officer in charge. “Music making requires you to play your part in harmony with others. And music making can teach people to get along - to live together in peace.”
The U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band is comprised of nine active-duty Airmen deployed to Southwest Asia who are tasked with using music to develop trusting relations with America’s emerging partners and motivating U.S. and coalition forces in the region. The band will perform nearly 240 events in 13 countries this year.
While in Kabul, the band also played on a national radio station and broadcasted American music to Lincoln Learning Centers in 23 provinces at the U.S. Embassy’s first-ever Skype music broadcast during which Afghans asked the Airmen questions about America’s culture and way of life.
“You must understand that a whole generation of Afghans grew up here without music,” said an Institute faculty member. “Since music can provide solace to those coping with complex grief and anxiety, teaching music is particularly therapeutic here.”
“What we did here today is a symbolic microcosm of what the U.S. and its NATO Allies are doing across the country,” said Lewis. “The Resolute Support Mission is committed to developing relationships of trust with Afghans while training, advising and assisting them to secure a more stable and peaceful future.”