EMERGING ISSUES IN AFRICAN MUSIC ACADEMIA: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

Nnamdi C. Onuora-Oguno, Ph.D.

Introduction Music is germane to the life of Africans, such that every social activity in their lives is accompanied by some kind of music. Many theses have been written on the subject of parental prejudice to the formal study of music in African society. The belief was that the average parent cannot conjecture that a child will go to school to study an art which principally exists and is practiced by rote learning and oral tradition. The introduction of Western Music Education has changed all that. Issues have arisen and have been tackled by scholars of past and present generations. This paper is an overview of what the writer considers issues emanating in the new millennium (2000 – 2016). The participant observatory- method based on empiricism as an active player in the music academia was used, using the Nigerian music academia as case study. Issues were identified, solutions were proffered, projections and possible solutions were suggested towards making the African music academia better.

The writer identified eight plagues that could jeopardize the growth of the music academia in Nigeria in the new millennium if treated with kids‟ glove. Ironically, most of the plagues identified are more intrinsic than extrinsic to the corpus of music academia in Nigeria. We must look at ourselves more closely before laying blames on non-music scholars. Below are some issues of concern.

Computer Related Issues The basic deficiencies of the Nigerian music academia are issues arising from deficiency or lack of knowledge of the Information Communication Technology (ICT). The most neglected aspects of the use of computers are those emanating from the following:

1 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… Deficiency in the use of Microsoft word: We have reached a stage where Projects, Thesis and Dissertations must be typed by supervisees or at the least a researcher should have his typed work edited by himself. Examinations question papers must be typed by lecturers and printed by the lecturers from the closet of their offices. Personal printers must therefore be a sine qua non to scholars. The mastery of the use of the micro-soft word will enable an electronic data base to be formed in our Departments of Music.

In the course of this thesis, we visited a first generation Music Department in Nigeria recently and the heap of dust-laden files found on a lecturer‟s table can induce sneezing on any vulnerable individual. Besides heaps of files constitute an eye-sore and offer no aesthetic appeal. Music is an aesthetic art and we must maintain a good level of decency in our offices. Hard copies must be neatly packed in a store-room and called up when needed. It is easier to electronically call up information and print it out if well organized in folders. How many Heads of Departments can with the use of the micro-soft word call up bio-data of their existing students and have a history of past graduates of their Departments? Electronic data base of students will go a long way in determining the Teacher Staff Ratio (TSR) in our various Departments in line with the National Universities Commissions (NUC) guidelines to facilitate employment of staff in needed areas of specialization. Often times, wrong grammatical expressions during Post Graduate Seminars and defenses are blamed on typists simply because we pay lip services to the simple computer application like the micro-soft word.

Music writing software: As coordinator of Post Graduate programmes in my institution, we have discovered that the percentage of music scholars who are conversant with Finale, Sibelius, A capella 1200, and other software applications for scoring music are very few. There must be conscious effort for music scholars to undergo personal courses on the application of power points, Microsoft word and excel work sheets to enhance their efficiency. These applications enhance professionalism in a global world. Caution must also be applied in the minds of scholars for music writing software are meant to enhance neater notations and make publications easier. Computers do not out rightly compose music.

Most of the software are designed based on the Western derived ideologies in music. The task lies with Nigerian music technologists to formulate software or 2 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… contribute ideas to software manufacturers that can accommodate Nigeria lexicography and other concepts of Nigerian/African music.

Recording software applications: The use of computer based applications must extend beyond notation, MS-word and the application of the World Wide Web (www) for research. Practical application of software like fruity loops studio (fl), Cubase, Nuendo must be learnt. Institution must be well equipped with functional studios and good technical hands.

Virus and anti-virus related issues: Watson (2001) wrote that: By definition a virus consists of a set of instructions that attaches itself to other computer programs, usually in the computers‘ operating system and becomes part of them. In most cases, the corrupted programs continue to perform their intended functions but surreptitiously execute the virus‘s instructions as well. A virus is usually designed to execute when it is loaded in a computer‘s memory. Upon execution, the virus instructs its host program to copy the viral code into, or infect, any number of other programs and files stored in the computer (p.20).

The infection can then transfer itself and code on other computers through magnetic disks or other memory storage devices, computer networks, or online systems. The replicating viruses often multiply until they destroy data or render other program codes meaningless. A virus may simply cause a harmless joke or cryptic message to appear on a computer user‟s video monitor each time he turns on his computer. A more damaging virus can wreak havoc on an extremely large computer system within a matter of minutes or hours, causing it to crash and by extension destroy valuable data! How many music educators know the intricacies of the application of the anti-virus and back up storage devices to avoid loss of data occasioned by theft, computer crashes and virus attacks?

Most people install anti-virus in their systems and do not know that without updating it regularly, it becomes less effective and leave your system vulnerable to viral invasion. Interchange of mass storage devices between your personal

3 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… computers and commercial computer work places without an up-to-date anti-virus are a high risk game akin to having unprotected sex with a stranger.

Poor Literature Base of Scholars Often times, publications of scholars in the music academia emanate from researches carried out in Project, Thesis and Dissertations which in itself is not bad but often times there are no conscious effort to update the literature base of new papers written by same scholars and often times, references by scholars are copy and paste.

An analysis carried out on five (5) academic journals across the Federation show that sixty percent similarity in references used by one author for different papers. The cause is simple: Most scholars are lazy and make no effort in up- dating their literature base. It is a sore point that has to be improved upon. Musicians must look inwards first for their problem before facing the external foes. Adegbite in his lead paper during the Association of Nigerian Musicologists‟ (ANIM) conference, held at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in 2006, warned against regionalization of reference materials. It is now very common for West-based scholars or students to quote authors from the West alone. Same goes for the East and other geo-political zones in Nigeria. We must ensure the maximum use of Wide Area Network WAN as well as Local Area Network and ultimately ensure we do not have a circle liberation movement in our academia (Adedeji, 2004). If we fail to know what others are researching on, we cannot make progress and collaborative research which is in vogue now will be in jeopardy.

African music nay Nigerian music is fraught with homogeneous practices. It is the nomenclature or taxonomy that often changes. This is as a result of homogeneity in environmental resources. In Nigeria for instance, we have the tropical rain forest, the Sahel savannah, the grassland, and the semi-arid regions of the North. Issues that affect one tribe in a region, affect other tribes within the same geographical zone, so write ups and references in music must not be compartmentalized. The growth in the music academia must be all encompassing. Reviewers of academic papers for publications assessment for promotions must subject papers to proper scrutiny to ascertain the literature base of the researcher under investigation. If we fail to do so, not only will the depth of our researches

4 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… wane, budding musicians will find basic Joint Admission and Matriculation Board Examinations (JAMB) questions difficult to comprehend and answer.

Employment Procedures for Music Scholars Education is all about shaping our thoughts for the better, equipping the younger generations for a better future and to be free from superstition occasioned by ignorance. We must therefore look seriously on the issue of the employment procedure or processes at all levels of music learning. This process must actually start with the caliber of graduates we produce in our institutions; such that degrees must not be awarded on sympathy grounds. Our watch-word should be guided by asking ourselves if we can conveniently place our own child or ward under the tutelage of that student we are graduating with a poor quality grade and feel safe that our child would make progress in learning. If our answer is in the negative, we need to do a self-appraisal of our actions. Objectivity must override emotions. The former Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi stated inter- alia: “the society we abuse today will take revenge on our children tomorrow”.

The first generation of music educators in Nigeria has made more impacts than hundreds of graduates being churned out from our various Universities, Colleges of Education and Polytechnics. Imagine a scenario where a student waltzes his/her way through a system, such a person may be well connected with the political class and take plum jobs ahead of their more qualified peer and our children and the society are at the receiving end. Kodaly in Onwuekwe (2015) asserted that: It is much more who is the music teacher than the Director of the Opera House in Budapest---.for a poor Director fails once but a poor teacher keeps on failing for thirty years killing the love of music in thirty batches of children.

Vice chancellors, Provosts and those at the top echelon in Ministry of Education must consult relevant authorities before employing people and on the other hand, those that are being consulted must be honest in our recommendations. Square pegs in square holes, round pegs in round holes!

5 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… Emergence of Cultural and Creative Arts as a Subject We are of a strong opinion that the evolvement of cultural and creative arts as a subject is as a result of the non-performance of the majority of our music teachers at the Secondary School level. It is on record that before its emergence, it is only a negligible percentage of candidates who apply through JAMB for University entrance to study music sat for music at the WASC or NECO levels.

At the University now, we do more teaching than lecturing. The remedial programmes like Diploma have now been scrapped from the Universities. Professional music associations like Conference of Music Educators in Nigeria (COMEN), and Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM) must invite people from the ministry to attend our conferences. Communiqué must be issued at the end of our conferences so our yearnings will be heard. Teachers at the secondary schools must wake up. Even the marginalized allotment to music in the present curriculum is largely unattended to. Teachers must squeeze out time for rehearsals outside official hours to make themselves and their subjects relevant.

We must not be content with the teaching of lines and spaces alone and forget the creative outlet that will engender the love of music in the young ones. We were in a secondary school in the course of this research where the Music Teacher taught civic education on the pretext that the kids were not interested in music studies, by the time we orchestrated a simple tune with the resources on ground, music became the love of all students and today the school has a functional orchestra.

Dynamism in Curriculum Content The only permanent thing in life, as the popular saying goes, is change. The formal study of Music in Nigeria came with the colonial masters and as nationalist ideologies grew; indigenization of ideas and curriculum in all spheres of human activities was encouraged within the context of the globalized world and the music academia must not be left behind. In line with the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004): There is need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive, united Nigeria; to this end, school programmes need to be relevant, practical and comprehensive; while interest and ability should determine the individual‘s direction in education (p7). 6 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… The content of music courses must change to subjects that will position the students for relevance in present society. Okafor observed that when this idea was first introduced in UNN in 1999; it stirred the bee‟s hive.

In his Magnum Opus “History of Education in Nigeria” Fafunwa (1974) stated the seven cardinal aims of African traditional education as follows:-  The development of the child‘s talent and physical skills  The development of character  Inculcating respect for elders and those in position of authority  The development of intellectual skills  The acquisition of specific vocational training and the development of healthy attitude towards labour  The development of the sense of belonging and the encouragement of active participation in family and community affairs  Understanding as well as appreciating and promoting the cultural heritage of the community at large (p.20).

Today, popular music is given greater attention and ensemble courses have helped explore the creative instincts in the Nigerian student as well as encourage group cooperation. Indigenous music practices must be encouraged and cultural area studies encouraged because it provides a platform for deeper and greater insight in research. A virile curriculum without an empirical teacher base is of no use. We have to encourage what Lucy Ekwueme (2009) postulated as regards the training and re-training of music teachers. Amongst many others, a modern music curriculum must include bench mark courses in Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws, Entrepreneurial Studies, Music as Art and Science, Music Technology and Popular Music Studies. Nwamara & Onuora-Oguno (2013) and Onuora-Oguno (2014) have made different cases to this effect.

The Art Musician versus the Ecclesiastical Authorities Most art musicians have their creative outlet through the churches. Serious issues have developed between musicians and the men in white–the clergy. The relation between art musicians and church authorities are in most cases neither mutual nor symbiotic. The musician and the church authorities view each other with mutual suspicion. The musician is called upon at the inception of a church 7 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… service when the choir files out and is hurriedly forgotten during entertainment. Similar sour scenarios existed between Archbishop Hieronymous and W. A. Mozart (Kamien,1988).

We had elsewhere enumerated how the ecclesiastical authorities maltreat the band of singers (Onuora-Oguno, 2010:63). The services of musicians are invaluable in the Christendom and should not be taken for a ride. The musician too has a role to live up to his billing, have a good carriage and maintain a cordial relationship with church authorities. The relationship between the two ought to be cordial. The churches provide the platform which most musicians use to showcase their expertise. The musician on the other hand must respect constituted authorities.

Music is a high profile job and the musician occupies the top echelon, either as a composer, organist, or choral director. The aforementioned positions often make one a celebrity of a kind and often times the priests think they are being robbed of the shine, and most times look at the remuneration of musicians with envy akin to the biblical Ahab viewing the Naboth‟s vineyard from his Orchard. The musician is a special breed and must be accorded his rightful place in the church. We advise art musicians to have an alternative source of livelihood outside the church to avoid the kind of treatment Archbishop Hieronymus meted on Mozart. If you do not, you stand the risk of being short-changed once a substitute is found for you or when a new Pharaoh comes into ascendancy. Musicians must avoid scandal, sexual irresponsibility and must learn to live above board.

Motivational Stampede/Mentorship As young scholars, we looked up to our seniors. Their wishes were subtle commands and it is no good news if one saw a missed call from any of them. You immediately call back to ascertain why you were called. And once you determine it is not for the wrong reason your blood pressure comes back to normal. Today our students at various levels flash us on phones from the comfort of their phones to know whether lectures will hold before coming to school. How many Post Graduate students attend conferences? When we were junior fellows in the University, seniors would give you an ultimatum to submit your paper for publication in a journal and you dare not fail yourself! The same man would give you summons of what to do towards an accreditation exercise and give you a time 8 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… frame of twenty four hours for a four day job and once he is sure you are on it he relaxes knowing that you will deliver a good job. The short time frame was usually to make sure the job was ready well ahead of time. The days in between was used for corrections in case of any. Such was the state in which we met the lecturing job and as younger fellows we were ready to spend and be spent. Such were the motivational stampede we got from senior colleagues and it has equipped us well for greater responsibilities. Primarily, we were ready to listen and work harder despite all the assignment we were saddled with! You did your teaching job, invigilate exams, rehearse the ensemble groups assigned to you, and take a lead role in performances for the University, sometimes at the expense of the comfort of your home. The maxim was “hard work does not kill;” ironically none of us died from motivational stampede.

Today, students are more concerned with the easy way out. Very few want to be mentored and only a small percentage attend conferences; very few invest in books and journals. Many lift their references from the ones done by the senior colleagues and hardly see the primary source of information. Some do not even have library cards neither have they visited any library. Motivational stampede could be a preparatory ground for success through resilience in professional practice. Instruments were fully restored into the instrument room. The big question now is: Are the present breed of students ready to be mentored or ready to accept the motivational stamped strategy? The answer is like that of the six men of Hindustan who went to see the elephant, the one who touched the animal on the tummy screamed he was like the elephant, the one who touched it by the ear said it looked like the fan, the one who grabbed the tail said it looked like the rope. The one who grabbed the legs said it looked like the tree, at the end all where partly right but all were wrong. Today, post graduate students do not read wide. A friend of mine once fancied himself with writing a beautiful seminar paper but without a reference and was asked by a professor rhetorically “is this an academic paper? Ordinarily, when a sage confronts you with such a question then “herdsmen are in your backyard,” therefore you do the needful.

In this era of globalization, unfortunately, the internet facilities at our disposal are used for To-Go, Whats-App, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc., and not even for reading newspapers and accessing research materials. The good scholar must

9 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… have a systematic inquiring attitude. The computer is garbage in garbage out and information passed through it must not be taken as a law.

Lack of Maintenance Culture/Craftsmanship Most acoustic pianos in our higher Institutions are “distuned”. Millions of money go into its purchases. We know what Heads of Departments suffer to get budgets approved for purchases and care must be taken to cater for the ones purchased. Our instrumental technologists must strive to make their marks in the area of maintenance of equipment. There are virtually no repairers for our stringed and woodwind instruments, yet we have people designated for such duties. It is either they are not so proficient or not given a conducive environment to carry out their responsibilities. In Nnamdi Azikiwe University, we encourage students to understudy craftsmen and construct their own traditional instruments. The art of constructing instruments has become a source of livelihood to many.

Conclusion In this era of globalization, it is suicidal and an anathema for any dynamic minded music scholar to neglect the issue of computer literacy. It is an age we have found ourselves in and we must key into its many uses to be relevant in the scheme of things. The issue of poor literature base must be dealt with by every scholar having what we propose as a yearly academic retreat. It is a period when a scholar hibernates to read new materials to update his literature base. The attendance to academic conferences must be encouraged. It not only offers an opportunity of fellowship and comradeship but also exposes one to new environment and ideas. Conferences afford opportunities for procurement of resource materials as well.

The hiccups we encounter in organization of conferences could be alleviated by members having a firsthand experience of the Nitty-gritty of hosting conferences. There is a wide gap between theory and practice. We do not learn by staying at home and hosting conferences are not learnt by gleaning books alone. We must be firm but kind in our assessment and production of students because the student of today is the teacher of tomorrow and the key to not only the survival of the academia but in shaping the future generations.

10 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… Students at all levels must show the eagerness to learn. Learning could be subjecting yourself to some kind of apprenticeship or a voluntarily servitude in order to reach the Promised Land. Many have done it and they are better today. Dynamism in curriculum must be pursued with dynamic approach. Every musician is encouraged to have an alternative means of livelihood other than the church. Save for the rainy day and have a good investment to back you when you are less active or when your art wanes or becomes unappreciated. Having an alternative income source will also give you some measure of respect especially for those whose survival revolves around the church. If one is a lecturer for instance and serve the church as a choral director, he will earn more respect than when he is seen as an itinerant person akin to the troubadours and trouveres of the ancient France. The leadership of our various professional bodies must make conscious effort to invite key players in Government for our conferences. They initiate and take most policy decisions and most times act in ignorance. Effort must also be made to sensitize the vice chancellors, provosts and rectors of our higher institutions on the need for proper consultation in the employment of music teachers. Communiqué of our conferences must get to the world through the electronic and print media because the issues we raise and discuss are community based.

References Adedeji, S.O (2004). Computerizing and networking music education in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA), 2, 1-9. Ekwueme, L.U. (2009). Competency based teacher education in music/cultural and creative arts: a suggested approach for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme. Interlink, A Journal of Research in Music.4. Pp 33-47. Fafunwa, A.B. (1974). History of education in Nigeria. London: Allen and Unwin. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education (4th Edition). Abuja: National Education Research Council.Kamien, R (1988). Music: An Appreciation. New York; McGraw-Hill Book Company Nwamara, A. O & Onuora-Oguno, N. C (2013). Developing Nigerian human capital through music entrepreneurship. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA), 10. Pp 253-261 Okafor, R. C (2005). Music in Nigerian society. Enugu: New Generation Books.

11 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nnamdi Onuora-Oguno: Emerging Issues in African Music Academia… Onuora-Oguno, A. C (2014). The Nigerian legal system and protection of musical works: an overview. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA), 10. Pp 32-44. Onuora-Oguno, N. C (2009). Applying computers to music pedagogy in Nigeria. Interlink, A Journal of Research in Music.4. Pp 1-10. Onuora-Oguno, N. C (2010). The travails of the itinerant musician in the Igbo society. Nka- Ana, Journal of the Association of Nigerian Authors 1, Pp 61-69. Onwuekwe, A. I (2015). Repositioning professional music practices to meet evolving challenges. Lead paper presentation 13th International conference of the association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM). Held at Obafemi Awolowo University. Ile-Ife. 17-21 August. Watson J. (2001). Maintaining your pc. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.

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EMERGING ISSUES IN NIGERIAN MUSIC EDUCATION: THE SITUATION WITH POLICIES

Caroline A. Etim, Ph.D.

Introduction Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It occupies a prominent position in the building of a self-reliant nation through the building of a self-reliant individual. Building a self-reliant person means making one to be independent in the context of self-reliance, through self- employment. Self-employment reduces the incidence of unemployment syndrome, which is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society. This in part may account for the conclusion of music education in our school curriculum because it has the ability to satisfy the needs and aspirations of both the individual and the society at large.

Musical development is part and parcel of total mental and material development of human society. Like every school subject, music seeks to develop the individual totally touching all the domains – Cognitive, Psycho – motor and Affective domains. The duality in function of school music-entertainment value on the one hand while academic knowledge on the other –gives it a unique position in the curriculum as well as in the life of the school community and, is recognized as an important feature by most teachers in Nigeria. Nigeria‟s National Policy on Education (NPE) (1998, revised), has provided for music as a school subject at the various levels of schooling. The way the government‟s position is interpreted and the level to which it has been implemented are part of the the reasons for this paper.

Various music education scholars have, in their researches document the background development of Music Education at the different stages and levels of 13 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… Education in Nigeria. They include, Okafor (1992), Agu (2001), Omibiyi-Obidike (2007), Vidal (2008), Emielu (2011), among others. Accordingly, they all submitted in their findings that there is progress but that the progress is very slow and sometimes confusing. Music Education requires a greater commitment than any other school subject because it requires skilled, highly trained staff dedicated to year after year of patient toil. It requires quality curricula and books, and in this digital age, computers and multi-media. It requires buildings and other infrastructure. This is because, we live in an age of transition, the transition from a resource-driven economy, society and culture to the new and emerging economy and culture which is knowledge based, technology-driven and responsive environment concerns.

Issues with the National Policy: Regards to Music Considering the fact that every educational system has its goals and objectives, the curriculum of each school programme, as well as its mode of implementation or mode of putting into effect need to be assessed and evaluated as much as possible to establish its effectiveness. This paper is specifically concerned with music as a school subject in its implementation with the attainment of Nigeria‟s education goals and objectives.

On that note, one of the objectives of music education as is contained in the National policy on Education (1981) stated: The acquisition of appropriate skills abilities and competence both mentally and physical as, equipment for the individual to live in, and contribute to the development of his society.

In conformity with the above statement, Omibiyi-Obidike described music education as a comprehensive education system geared towards a functional and artistic career in the society. As a functional career, therefore, music education has the potential and ability of making or training a learner to be self-reliant on graduation. Agreeing with the above, Ademefun (2001) observed that: Music Education is highly useful because its occupational content offers the students the opportunity to acquire skills, attitudes, interests and knowledge to perform education, socio-political and economic activities that are beneficial not only to themselves but to the society in general. 14 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… The Philosophy of Music Education Music Education is far more crucial to be survival of society than is generally and presently appreciated; this is because it is concerned with the study of human value, not merely its national apprehension. It involves conscientious engagement with questions of value, with their scrutiny and assimilation by the individual. The ultimate purpose of the music education is the formation of social, ethnical, aesthetic and religious contemporary society; its disparate ethnics, ambitions and values. The philosophy of music as outlines by Ekwueme (2010) includes: i. Preservation, promotion, projection, perpetuation and transmission of the people‘s culture; ii. Provision of opportunities for the inculcation of permanent literacy in aesthetic arts; iii. Provision of opportunities for pupils to see the usefulness and relationship among art subjects; iv. Increase awareness; interest and sensitivity towards our culture and other world‘s cultures; v. Provision of basis for moral character training and the development of sound attitudes; vi. Promotion of culture Education by providing information in developing a sense of culture and social responsibility and encouraging social participation in school and the community (p.220). Consequently, the Nigeria Education Curriculum and Development Council (NERDC) on the directives of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) reviewed and published new curricula for secondary schools with effect from September 2007. The curricula comprised the new 9-years Universal Basic Education curriculum and the 3 – years Senior Secondary Education Curriculum.

According to Ekwueme (2010), the new curricula where designed to fill the gaps in the curricula; introduce new subjects to replace obsolete ones; redefine core subjects and to meet the targets of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). These targets according to NERDC are expressed as: values re – orientation; poverty eradication, job creation, wealth generation and employment of the citizenry through education. Cultural and

15 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… Creative Arts (CCA) which comprises; Music, Fine Arts and Drama has been listed as one of the core basic subjects by NERDC in the new curriculum.

The Issues According to Ekpo (2015), as societies change, so are instructional and other programmes in school to meet societal needs. It is therefore, imperative that societal needs be fully relevant to be achieved. Since Curriculum development is a dynamic process, changes in society and in the subject content calls for review in the form of reforms and improvement of curriculum.

In line with the Federal Government of Nigeria‟s directive, the NERDC, established to carry out the Nigerian Educational aims and objectives reviewed and published new curricula for Secondary Schools with effect from September 2007. The curricula comprise the new 9 – years Universal Basic Education (UBE) and the 3- years Senior School Education (SSSE) Curricula. The Curricula are designed to include the Cultural and Creative Arts Curriculum, in which music is a part. It is not only important for the government to propose curriculum review, but it is also much more important to ensure that it is well guided to an anticipated conclusion. It should be understood that Cultural and Creative Arts is not a synonym for any of the art subjects but an inter-disciplinary arts which should be taught and learnt as an integrated subject.

Ekwueme (2010:48) described Cultural and Creative Arts as “the product of an integrated activity which underlines an effective interplay of the various components of the art”. She further posits: “as a curriculum, it is a planned sequence of activities designed as a guide to the teaching of an integrated arts programme”. Empowerment is the goal we have for our programmes. It refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered, developing confidence in their personal capacities. Furthermore, it is the process through which managers enable and help others to gain power and achieve influence within the organization.

Philosophy of Cultural and Creative Arts The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in the National policy on Education (2004:7) outlines the philosophy of the Cultural and Creative Arts as: 16 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… i. The development of the individual into a sound and effective citizen; ii. Full integration of the individual into the community; iii. Inculcation of national consciousness, national unity, right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and Nigeria society; and iv. Acquisition of appropriate skills and development of mental, physical, social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the society.

The National Teachers‟ Institute Course Book – PES, Cycle 1 Module 1, explains further the philosophy of the Cultural and Creative Arts, thus: i. Cultural and Creative Arts can develop the Nigeria child fully into a good citizen, as a useful member of the society ii. The mental capacity of the child is developed as the child learns the theory, practice and literature in dance drama, music and visual arts; iii. The social capacity is development as the child expresses his feelings of either joy or sadness in the performance of creative arts. The physical capacity is developed through the process of work exercise of the body in the creative arts activities; iv. Cultural and Creative arts can help the child to develop the ability to perform in the area of manipulation of tools, equipment and materials. This ability helps the child to adapt equitably to his environment and develop all the potentials necessary for well- being.

Ekwueme (1991:220), in her understanding of the philosophy of Cultural and Creative Arts explains further that the Cultural and Creative Arts as a subject should encourage: i. The preservation, promotion, projection, perpetuation and transition of our cultural heritage; ii. The provision of opportunities for the inculcation of permanent literacy in aesthetics using musical, performing, creative and visual arts; iii. The provision of opportunities for pupils to see the usefulness and relationship among concepts that makes up a Cultural and Creative Arts. iv. Increased awareness, interest and sensitivity towards other cultures; v. The provision of basis for moral and character training and the development of sound attitudes; vi. The development of the basic skills in various art forms; and 17 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… vii. The promotion of cultural education by providing information in developing a sense of cultural and social responsibility and encouraging social participation in schools and the community. The Nigeria Education Development and Research Council (2007) and Creative Arts curriculum for schools points out that the above educational demands go beyond the acquisition of bits of information from Fine Arts, Drama and Music and that, for Cultural and Creative Arts curriculum to adequately reflect the provision of the National Policy on Education, the curriculum should do more than catalogue some set of facts, concepts and generalization as its content. It is an integration of Visual Arts, Drama, and Music which is primarily concerned with the role arts and culture can play in the education of the present and future generations as the search for meanings. The integrated approach is emphasized in other to produce artistes that would understand and appreciate the inter- disciplinary nature of the arts.

The Crisis Perhaps the most difficult curriculum to design is the truly integrated one because it is largely motivated by a child‟s interests. This is a curriculum in which children immerse themselves completely in a topic of study or area of interest that they examine from all points of views. Ideas and resources are networked, and the boundaries between subjects are blurred or eliminated. In this design, as pointed out by Hendrick in Ekpo (2014), there is no separation among subjects; they all form part of a larger whole.

Music education faces the crisis of relevance in Nigeria when compared with other school-subjects. The digital age has kindled the fierce demand by industry for graduates who can use their “heads” and their “hands”. Any kind of education that does not prepare and equip the recipient to be numerate, to think analytically and to be eager and open to new ideas, is done for. The seeming inability or unwillingness of educators, curriculum makers and teachers to find a common ground to reverse the sliding trend or the confusion in Music Education has not helped matters. For any discipline to continue to be relevant, it has a duty to continually re-invent itself, its methods and processes. Rather than wallowing in self-pity, it is only through introspection and systematic openness to best practices

18 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… (emerging trends) from elsewhere, that the Music Education in Nigeria will not only survive but also thrive and flourish.

Approaching the Cultural and Creative Arts Integrated Subject In a recent study on music teachers‟ motivation and students‟ achievement in secondary schools in South-South Nigeria by Udoh (2015), it is reported that there is serious confusion in the approach to implementing the curriculum in the schools where there is no music teacher, there is no music teaching, except some half- hazard singing and cultural dance done as “recreational activity”. But its most interesting yet pitiable situation here, is that music as well as Fine Arts and drama all put together is a compulsory subject in the final Junior Secondary external examination.

Ekwueme (2010:51) points out that “the integrative nature of the Cultural and Creative Arts programme requires integrated learning activities involving listening, singing, analyzing, describing, dancing, stretching, miming, acting out, blocking, drawing sketching, painting, conducting, composing and improvising”. The implication here is that an appropriate teaching method for Creative Arts instructional model should be developed. It is important to state here that the conventional classroom is inappropriate for teaching Cultural and Creative Arts because the nature of its teaching and learning calls for a laboratory or workshop environment. The environment must be one that promotes practical activities, group work, experimental, creative improvisation, group music making – vocal and instrumental ensembles, dance experiences, manipulation of arts and sound objects, play-making and acting experiences.

For a teacher to produce students with long lasting skills, he must have in- depth knowledge of the subject in other to create a classroom environment that can expedite learning. The inabilities of the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to realize that teachers have their areas of specialization before designing a curriculum in the Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA) is one serious problem that must be made known to the Federal Ministry of Education. The present situation is that, every teacher is groomed to have his specialty subject areas and so, these areas of specialization pose some difficulty because no one can give what he does not have. It is inconceivable that teachers are subjected to teach Cultural and Creative Arts as a subject which they have no 19 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… knowledge of. It must be noted that the amount of creative and practical work the students are exposed to depends on the teachers‟ experiences.

Several years after the integration of Cultural and Creative Arts into a single subject, it was gathered that almost all the teachers still lack the awareness and knowledge of its concept; they do not show enough eagerness about the subjects and it gives series of complains and make mocking remarks about the seriousness of the subject and it implementation thereby making the impossibility of achieving effective teaching and learning unbelievable.

Generally, Nigeria lacks Cultural and Creative Arts teachers to teach the subject as integrated subject in the Junior Secondary School. The case is not different even when the different concepts comprising subject are treated separately. There are no facilities and equipment and so teachers still use the traditional method of teaching to teach what requires modern approach. In fact, the researcher is not aware of any public secondary school in Nigeria where the new technology development that has brought audios-visual aids may be available. There are no relevant text books; no studios, no workshops and no space for practical lessons. The worst of it all is that there is neither sponsorship nor motivation and no secondary school Cultural and Creative Arts teacher is ICT compliant. The resultant effect is that the whole process is fruitless.

The National Teachers Institutions (N.T.I.) Kaduna is charged with the responsibility of training and retraining Nigeria teachers; while we gathered that point out that the National Teachers Institute has been organizing workshop and seminars for many disciplines both in primary and secondary schools but none has been arranged for teachers of Cultural and Creative Arts. Almost all the teachers complain that they are not given adequate orientation on the requirements of the subjects in terms of workshop before the take-off of the programme. This confirms what Ekwueme (2010:42) said, that “the teachers never had any orientation on the implementation process for Cultural and Creative Arts.” The situation needs urgent intervention in other to address the decadence that is currently retarding the growth and achievements of the objective of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is important to lay a solid foundation at this basic level instead of messing up the future of the children and the nation through a curriculum that has not been supported. 20 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… The Way Forward In my conclusion, which will as well serve as recondition. First the issue of who should develop or review curriculum is an unsettled one, which needs to be settled. Everybody should contribute towards curriculum development/review since viewing education as democratic requires input from several sources.

In the words of Ekpo (2014), the improvement of music programme, like any other instructional programme, requires i. A planned approach – directed by the teacher who brings the child in close touch with problems and needs of his immediate environment; ii. Project strategy – a planned programme of work that requires time, effort and planning to complete. These include musical activities which bring the child face to face with the realities of his environment and the practical world. iii. Resources for teaching music – curriculum materials, educational materials, instructional aids, visual aids and audio-visual aids that aids effective teaching. iv. Adequate space – rooms for the teaching of music – studios with furniture‟s and equipment, practice room, etc. v. Equipment, instruments and textbooks. vi. Qualified Cultural and Creative Arts teachers. Music Education which metamorphosed from its inception as hymn singing in Mission schools has passed through the digital changing world of ours. This changes at various levels have also affected in no small measure the teaching and learning of music. Let me end this discourse by borrowing Nzewi‟s saying that the philosophy and content of our literacy in Music Education must derive from our African resources and realistic experience.

References Ademefun, Y. (2001). Keynote address in Journal of Music Educators of Nigeria Vol. 1, Abeokuta: Segun Osunleti Pub. Company. Agu, D.C.C (2001). The situation with regard to Music Education access in Nigeria. Retrieved from http:/www.menc.org/conf/imeps/symposium- accesspanel.html.

21 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Caroline Etim: Emerging Issues in Nigerian Music Education… Ekpo, I.S. (2014). Implementation of the music aspect of the Cultural and Creative Arts curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. Journal of Arts Vol. 1. 101-111 Obio Akpa: Akwa Ibom State University. Ekwueme, L.M. (2010). School music methods: A handbook for teachers. Lagos: Apex books Ltd. Emielu, A. (2011). Some issues in formal music education in Nigeria: A case study of Kwara State. British Journal of Music Education, 28, (3), 353-370 Federal Government of Nigeria (2007). The 9-year basic education curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools: Cultural and Creative Arts. Federal Government Press. Okafor, R.C. (1998). Music in Nigeria education. Journal of International Library of African Music Vol. 7, (2). 5-17. Omibiyi- Obidike M. A. (2007). Nigeria in the Context of the International Musical World: Problems and Prospects. An Inaugural Lecture. University of Ibadan. Udoh, S.A. (2015). Influences of motivation on music teachers and students performance in secondary schools in South-South Nigeria. An Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Delta State University, Abraka.

22 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

TOWARDS DISPELLING THE PHOBIA IN NIGERIAN WOMEN FOR KEYBOARD PLAYING: THE LEARNING THEORISTS’ APPROACH

Dan. C. C. Agu, Ph.D. and Mabel U. Okpara, Ph.D.

Introduction Keyboard playing is a very significant and interesting aspect of music pedagogy. In Nigeria, only men feature as organists or pianists in churches, schools and companies, etc. Regrettably, there is no known case to the researchers, of any Nigerian female organist or pianist featuring in these capacities except the female researcher who is an Anglican Church organist and a school pianist. (See appendix) This is a challenge to all Nigerian female musicologists and those of them under training. The adage, “what a man can do, a woman can do much better” should be actualized in Nigerian female musicologists in the area of keyboard playing.

In the words of Ajewole (2013) “in African culture generally and in Nigeria in particular, the place of women is in the kitchen.” (p.62) Emanevbe (2003) adds that: A woman should be seen and not heard. It is seen as something abnormal and against the culture for a woman to see herself in a position of authority which is the exclusive reserve for male. Women cannot participate in politics as this will be seen as an attempt to rub shoulder with men. A woman is seen as the property of the husband (P.4).

23 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… Could this cultural heritage be responsible for this? Or is keyboard playing an uphill task to venture into by a female? Or is it the issue of referring to the female gender as „weaker vessels‟? Or is it because of the fact that they are homemakers and are overwhelmed by house chores? Could it be stage fright, discrimination among their male counterparts or even time factor?

This study is aimed at disabusing the minds of Nigerian women from this phobia for keyboard playing by creating an enabling mindset that will encourage the womenfolk to play the keyboard impressively as church organists or school pianists. In this study, the researchers proffered solutions to this problem through delving into some psychological theories of learning that will aid every willing Nigerian woman to play the keyboard effectively, the gender notwithstanding. It is envisaged that the learning theories applied in this work will put women on a high pedestal by promoting the urge in them to develop their skills in piano and organ playing, to benefit the Churches, students in particular and the Nigerian populace in general. The methods employed in this study include library method, survey and observation.

Nigerian Women in the Present Dispensation Today, the story has changed. In Nigeria, women are generally excelling in various areas of life‟s endeavours. These include their careers, businesses, and trades. Many Nigerian women drive their private cars. In 2014, a woman mechanic was interviewed in the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel. She even displayed some of her tools during the interview session.

In big cities in Nigeria, such as Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, etc., there are women taxi drivers who rub shoulders with their male counterparts in the business. In the academic scene, many women have excelled as professional engineers, medical doctors, accountants, lawyers and teachers. There are uncountable female professors in Nigeria. The current Vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo Nigeria, Professor Comfort Ekpo at the time of documentation of this paper is a woman. A woman, Professor Grace-Alele Williams was a onetime Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Nigeria. She served in that capacity from 1985 to 1991. There was once a female governor in Anambra state, Dame Virgy Etiaba and numerous present and past female deputy governors, commissioners, ministers, in Ministries and other parastatals. 24 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… Six Current Nigerian Female Ministers (At the Time of Documentation of this Paper) 1. Amina Mohammed, the Minister for Environment 2. Hajia Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, the Minister of State Budget and National Planning 3. Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, the Minister of Women Affairs 4. Aisha Abubakar, the Minister of State, Trade, Industry & Investment 5. Kemi Adeosun, the Minister of Finance 6. Khadija Abba Ibrahim, Minister of State Foreign Affairs

Four Current Nigerian Female Deputy Governors (At the Time of this Paper’s Documentation) 1. Dr. Oluranti Adebule (Lagos State) 2. Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga (Ogun State) 3. Dr. (Mrs.) Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers State) 4. Hon. Cecilia Ezeilo (Enugu State)

There are of course many Nigerian female Pastors, and even Bishops. Examples include; Engineer Pastor Mrs. Nkechi Ene of the Carpenter‟s Church, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Bishop Mrs Nkechi Iloputaife of Victory Church, Lagos, Nigeria and Bishop Mrs. Benson Idahosa of the Church of God Mission Worldwide.

Ayewole (2013), remarks that “women have contributed scientifically to the sociopolitical and economic development of the country in their various fields” (P.63). Fadeiyi and Olaregan (2001) reveal that: Educated eminent Nigerian women have made their marks in the history of the nation. Prominent among them were Madam Tinubu of Egba land, Efunsetan Amina of Ibadan, Amina of Zaria, Mrs. Fumulayo Ransomekuti, Professor Mrs. Bolanle Kufanyi Olubo to mention a few . (P. 65).

Adepoju (2003) asserts that, “politically there are women who have made impact and are still making impacts. Many women have been appointed ministers, deputy governors, Senators, Commissioners and so on.” (P.3). Also Ajewole (2013) explains that, “also in the professional field, for example medicine, engineering, banking, law, etc., we have had women who have competed 25 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… favourably with men.”(P. 63). The onus lies with the Nigerian women to also strive to excel as church organists and pianists, in churches, schools and in other public performances since they measure up very well and excel in other trades, fields and disciplines and even in politics.

Keyboard Instruments Kennedy and Kennedy (2004) define the keyboard as, “a frame, or set keys presented in a continuous arrangement.” (P.401). According to them, “the purpose of keyboards is to enable the two hands (e.g. on piano forte) or the two hands and two feet (e.g. organ) readily to control the sounds from a much larger number of strings, reeds or pipes that could otherwise be controlled”.(P.401). For this study, the emphasis is on the two commonly used keyboard instruments; the piano and the organ.

Methodology The researchers interviewed 10 female musicologists (Lecturers) and 30 female students selected randomly from the University of Port Harcourt, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri to ascertain from them the causes of this phobia in women for piano or organ playing. The result of the interview is computed below:

Women fear to play the Keyboard for these reasons: S/N Agree % Disagree % 1 Lack of Interest 0 0% 40 100% 2 It is a very difficult task 40 100% 0 0% 3 Women are created as 35 86% 5 14% “weaker vessels” 4 House Chores 40 100% 0 0% 5 Time factor 40 100% 0 0% 6 Discrimination by men 30 75% 10 25% 7 Stage fright 35 86% 5 14% 8 Lack of commitment 30 75% 10 25%

26 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… Findings: According to the result of the interview, women are interested in keyboard playing but there are factors that militate against their effort to play the instrument, and these include: a. It is tasking and very difficult. b. Women are incapacitated by their gender as “weaker vessels. c. They are home makers and are overwhelmed by house chores. d. Time factor is another challenge. e. Discrimination by their male counterparts in keyboard playing is a problem. f. Stage fight to perform publicly is another challenge. g. Most women are not committed at all in piano or organ playing.

The Psychological Theories of learning Learning according to Burns (1995) “is a relatively permanent change in behaviour which includes both observable activity and internal processes”. (P.12). Keyboard playing is an observable behaviour which takes its root from internal activities such as the rudiments of music before the actual playing of the musical instrument.

Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory of Learning Ivan Pavlov (1846 – 1936), a renowned Russian psychologist formulated the classical conditioning theory of learning. This theory teaches that change in behaviour occurs in an organism when paired with a stimulus in the environment. In this theory, learning is dependent upon what precedes the expected behaviour. Pavlov conducted an experiment using a dog. The dog was made to learn to associate the bell with food because both were paired in the experiment. This led to salivation of the dog. The dog was conditioned to salivate even when only the bell rang. Food (unconditioned stimulus – US) produces salivation (unconditioned response – UR). The dog learnt to salivate subsequently when the bell (CS) rang alone and this produces salivation (UR). In our context, when the keyboard is paired with good organ or piano music, every normal person (women in this case) will definitely „salivate‟ because of the association of the two things. Before venturing into teaching the keyboard especially to the female folk, associate the keyboard with interesting effects ranging from playing beautiful keyboard music, playing CDs, of good organ/piano music. Motivating them can be in form of displaying films or CDs where women feature distinctly on the keyboard. It could 27 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… be in form of counseling and letting them know that when the right skills are applied, that they will triumph in keyboard playing. Pictures of European women playing the keyboard could be displayed in the music resource centre to boost their morale. Motivation is a cardinal point if learning must take place.

Classroom Implication of Pavlov’s Theory (in keyboard playing) 1. Pavlov‟s theory believes that one must practice severally and master one task effectively before delving into another one. In keyboard (piano) playing, the learner must be made to practice some fingering exercise that will make the fingers flexible. Such exercises include scales, arpeggios, etudes (studies), e.g. Scherny‟s etudes before delving into piano pieces. The study must be a step by step affair from simple to complex, from known to unknown before playing piano music which is a higher task.

2. Keyboard teachers must learn how to motivate learners to learn. They should ensure that the learners participate effectively by trying their hands at all stages of learning the keyboard. The chalk – talk method is not advisable. Students‟ activities and participation are vital in keyboard learning.

Edward Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory (Trial and Error Theory) Thorndike, an American psychologist propounded the learning theory of connectionism or trial and error. According to him, learning is the association between stimulus and response. The association can be strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of pairing of stimulus and response. This shows that an organism will naturally repeat an action from which it obtains a pleasant stimulus.

In his theory, Thorndike put a cat in a puzzle box with visible but inaccessible food outside. The food will only be assessable to the cat if he escaped from the box. After series of effort to get out of the box, it accidentally operated an inbuilt mechanism created by Thorndike for opening the box; it escaped and obtained the food. The random movement was reduced in subsequent attempts to reach the food showing that it has learnt that operating the mechanism leads to its escape from the box to get the food.

28 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… Thorndike’s laws According to Alao & Ademiyi (2009), Thorndike‟s laws are: 1. Law of Readiness: Once a person is motivated to embark on a task, doing it brings satisfaction to the actor or learner. 2. Law of Exercise: Thorndike promotes repetition because it leads to learned association. Constant practice is needful if an action must be mastered and not forgotten. Lack of practice leads to forgetfulness. 3. Law of Effect: Thorndike is of the view that any action that produces satisfying effect will certainly be repeated.

Classroom Implications of Thorndike’s Theory in Keyboard Teaching/ Learning 1. Readiness is significant in learning. The keyboard teacher should consider the level of the learners so as not to give them more than they can chew e.g. age/class. 2. The teacher must motivate the keyboard learners to sustain their interest. This can be achieved by commending any positive effort or improvement of the learner with positive remarks such as „well done‟, „very good‟, „great‟, „keep it up‟ etc‟. 3. The teacher must present the piano lessons in logical and coherent manner to arrest the learners‟ interest. Move from simple to complex, from known to unknown, from concrete to abstract etc. 4. The teacher should ensure that the learners practice during and after each lesson period on their own. There is no magic in piano playing. Learners must practice because according to Hull (1943) “Learning may not occur unless practice is enforced”. Agu in Agu (2015) adds that, “the delivery approach is activity oriented, makes the lesson simple, interesting, inviting, fascinating, activity laden, and instructive.” (p.5). 5. Punishment should be administered with caution to avoid discouraging the learners from learning to play the keyboard. It should be used sparingly and as a last resort.

Summary on Guidelines for the Teaching/Learning of the Keyboard Keyboard playing for students of music should go beyond giving students their examination pieces which they memorize and vomit during their practical examinations. 29 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… To the Teachers: 1. Break the keyboard (piano) syllabus into achievable lesson periods to be achieved within a stipulated time. 2. Start with the rudiments/theory of music which is the backbone to real piano playing. Get the students acquainted with the rudiments of music relevant for keyboard playing. 3. The content of the lesson must be developed according to the duration of the lesson. A keyboard lesson of 40 minutes should have the content broken into 4 sub-headings. 4. The learners must be set induced by revising their previous lesson and getting them to play their take home assignment before the commencement of a new lesson. 5. The learners should be exposed to etudes (studies) e.g. Scales, arpeggios, and other fingering exercises, at this stage. 6. After the rudiments, begin until the location of notes on the keyboard and associate them with the notes on the scores. The student‟s eyes should be fixed on the scores. They should not look at the notes of the keyboard except when the distance between the two notes they are to locate is wide. This aspect may seem unattainable at the beginning, but with the right skills, the learners will get over it. Graduate from location of 2 to 3 to 4 notes etc. as the case may be. 7. Sight reading exercises must be very simple at this stage ranging from 3 to 4 notes. Reading the scores and playing them without looking at the keyboard must be the priority of the learner. The teacher must insist on that even if it takes ages to be accomplished. 8. The sight reading piece may be approached from key C with a simple piece such as the one below.

30 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… 9. The fingering at this stage must be adhered strictly to in other to conquer the challenge of moving the fingers from note to note. This type of piece must be mastered and given at least two weeks practice before giving the learners a new piece that is a little more challenging.

Keyboard Harmony The students should be made to be conversant with the Western harmonic structures before being exposed to keyboard harmony. The learner will be made to begin with a music as simple as the one below in two parts (root positions).

A simple piece or score as this should be mastered at this level before attempting pieces in three to four parts.

To the Learner: 1. The learner must own a keyboard or hire one and must be ready to work with the piano teacher. 2. The learner must master the location of musical notes on the keyboard without burying his eyes on the keyboard and then through imaginative thinking associate the notes of the keyboard with their musical notes on the staves. 3. Must be conversant with note values, and rhythmic patterns to be able to make progress. 4. He must be ready to sacrifice his time and energy to learn. 5. Each piano assignment must be done diligently. 6. The learner must follow the step by step approach tutorial to be able to achieve his aim. He should avoid impatience or being in a hurry to start playing challenging pieces. 31 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… 7. He must learn the piano etudes (studies) for her fingers to be flexible. 8. Difficult sections of any set piece must be given enough time to be able to tackle them. 9. The learner must not give up at any point in time but must continue making effort to play. 10. Personal practice is inevitable. The learner must make out time at least two hours daily to practice. It could be once or split into two or four sessions of two hours at a stretch, one hour in two sessions, thirty minutes in four sessions. 11. The learner must own a good piano tutorial and follow the lessons and assignments persistently without skipping anyone. 12. Decide to make it, and you will make it as a woman keyboardist. 13. The learner must not be in a hurry trying to play at sight by reading the notes of the staff and trying to play the notes with the eyes on the keyboard. The learner cannot go far this way. It can take quite some time to master this. You can look at the keyboard in keyboard harmony and still succeed because it is meant for contemporary popular music but the learned cannot do that in sight- playing.

Conclusion Keyboard playing is a very interesting task but highly demanding in terms of time and self-discipline. Every learner must have a tutorial or guide book for keyboard playing. Only good keyboardists should be assigned to student pianists. It is a very lucrative job because good keyboardists are sought after by different organizations and institutions. The female learners should not by any means be intimidated by their gender as weaker vessels but must rise and shine in keyboard playing.

The female piano learner should be treated cautiously because women are highly emotional and easily put off when reprimanded. Women are more persevering and this attribute will be an advantage in learning the keyboard because keyboard learning requires perseverance. The guidelines/Theories of learning provided in this study must be given consideration to by the women folk if they must feature like their male counterparts as Nigeria female organists and pianists.

32 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Agu & Okpara: Towards Dispelling the Phobia in Nigerian Women for Keyboard… References Adepoju, H.F (2003). Women education: A panacea for moving Nigeria forward in the present dispensation. A Paper presented at the 4th Annual National Conference of the school of Arts and Social Sciences (NAPSASS) Federal College of Education (Special) Uyo. Agu, D. C. C. (2015). The application of indigenous knowledge system in music education and practice in Nigeria: A most valuable option. Journal of Nigerian Music Education,7 (1-8). Ajewole, J. (2013). Women and music in Nigeria. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) 9, 6-69. Alao, K. O. & Ademiyi, W. O. (2009). Advanced psychology of learning. Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Burns, R. (1995). The adult learner at work. Sydney: Business and Professional Publishing Ltd. Emarievbe, S. O. (2003). Women empowerment and new Nigeria. A Paper presented at the National Association for Promotion of Studies in Arts and Social Sciences held at the Federal College of Education, Zaria. Fadeye, J. O. & Olanegan, C. E. (2001). Education: A panacea for women empowerment. Journal Education Development (JONED), 3, 64-69 Hull, C.L (1943). Principles of behaviour. New York: Appleton Century, Crofts.

33 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

NIGERIAN MUSIC EDUCATION: EMERGING ISSUES IN CARRIER PLACEMENT

Onyee N. Nwankpa, Ph.D. and Ubochioma S. Igbokwe

Introduction Reflecting on the significance of music in human lives, Nwankpa (2003) states that: If we have wings to fly into the orbits of musical realms, if we have wisdom to understand the essence of its being, If we allow ourselves the will to accept its numerous illuminating colors and evocative sonifications and powers, then we will not only be transformed by and awakened to the mystery and uniqueness of this craft, but we will also be able to allow our imagination to soar, igniting our feelings and reflecting the purpose of this art form— God‘s most spectacular gift to the universe (p. iii).

Here lies the efficacy of music education. Music education is the process of learning or acquiring musical knowledge, routines, skills, worth, principles, and so on. Music education can be formal or informal, and takes place under the instructions of educators. Music education has a formative effect on a person‟s thoughts, emotions, and actions.

This paper is segmented into three: the first part focuses on the historical, effective and functional music education programme, with its emerging potentials in contemporary Nigerian society. The second part focuses on career and emerging new career placements, job openings, offices, positions and qualifications. The third part of the paper concludes with discussions on the

34 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… multiplicity of skills possessed by music graduates and how they appeal to employers.

The advent of Christianity and Western education metamorphosed into the introduction of musical studies in Nigeria, towards the end of the first half of the 19th century. Some Nigerians began to take lessons in organ playing and singing for the service of the church and other religious programmes. They also took lessons in theory, history and general African music. It must be noted that Music was included in the curriculum as a subject of study in schools by the early missionaries.

Generally, it is understood that many musicians are called teachers. This line of thought is premised on the fact that they earn their living to a certain degree by introducing other persons into the realm of music. Even the ones who reject the thought of being teachers are not free from serving educational purposes (The New Oxford Companion to Music, 1984: 605). The educated singer, pianist, flautist, composer or violinist who umpires a musical competition will of a surety influence the quality of musicality of the participants. A member of an ensemble may not purposely try to determine the timbre, exactness of notes, tempo, articulation, phrasing and performance style of certain musical works in the repertory to his close associates without acquired relevant competency. Skills and profundity are required to achieve any sound musical goal. Consequently, a conductor, cantor, music instrument/product demonstrator, composer, performer, and therapist, to mention just a few, are musicians directing people in the musical realm with a view to achieving a goal using their skill competencies.

The peripheral knowledge of singing and playing of the organ in tonic sol-fa notation, as was taught by the early missionaries, was not enough musical study to meet with the advancement of the 21st century scholarship. Although the main focus of the early missionaries was training organists and singers to function in the religious worships, there arose needs to meet up with the national/societal pressing challenges and international standards and best practices in terms of music education. In meeting up with these societal challenges and international standards the music curriculum had to be reviewed. This necessitated the development of musical studies in composition, performance, therapy, electronic and acoustic musical instrument construction and repairs, entrepreneurship, music 35 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… business, music media and journalism, sound engineering, instrument/product demonstration, forensic musicology, critical issues in research, music psychology and many more. These various areas of musical studies equip the students to interface effectively and efficiently with the contemporary society, getting them ready for the industry and employment on graduation.

Effective and Functional Music Education Programme in Nigeria To match the contemporary time and needs of the society, development of diverse musical programmes should be put into place. This is necessary, not only for advancement of music education, but for effective and functional delivery in the industry. At the dawn of the 21st century Nigeria embraced the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in almost every facet of education, including music education. Though, the use of technology in music education is not aimed at taking over live performance or playing of musical instruments, singing, scoring and analysis of music with machines, it aids and assists to nurture investigations and improvements in music education. The inclusion of ICT in the curriculum of music education nurtures creativity and advances accomplishment of instructional intentions.

Therefore, the use of ICT in music education should be instructive, exploring its prospects in a functional way to the benefit of both the society and the music profession. It will worth every effort if music educators grasp these ideas and brainstorm on ways to better their fusion as teaching aids. No doubt, attendance to conferences, seminars and workshops will advance and enhance knowledge dissemination and internalization of the emerging music education experts. Conversely, music has the aptitude and knack to link, awaken and inspire man. To buttress this, Plato as cited in Olusoji (2013), states that: “Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other because rhythm and harmony find their way into the secret places of the soul, on which they fasten imparting grace, making the soul graceful of him who is rightly educated” (p.3).

Music graduates have competence to work independently, examine the importance of ideas and discern differences, present reasons distinctly and persuasively. In the course of this study, a music graduate from the University of Port Harcourt who is a Music Business major and works with music recording studio, told the researchers about her scope of duties at her place of work which 36 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… included serving as personal assistant to the managing director, secretary and interfacing between the company and clients, safeguarding the company‟s information with utmost discretion, taking care of occasional trouble shoots in the absence of the managing director. With a good salary, she is quite pleasant and her employer is so far very satisfied with her level of productivity.

Is it surprising that music students learn and master history and theory of music, performances on major and minor instruments, as well as choral, orchestral and operatic performances each semester? This question is answered in the capabilities of music graduates as good team players, multi-taskers, prioritizing numerous responsibilities to time and possessing personable disposition. This level of efficiency and functionality is the result of thoroughness in music education.

Emerging Music Potentials in Contemporary Nigerian Society Self-concept and self-actualization have become ideas on human development and change, and how we view ourselves in the contemporary society is a central motivating problem of development (Bernard, 1978: 28). Generally, societal needs and challenges come with human potentials to meet those needs and challenges. In music, for instance, emerging potentials in contemporary Nigerian society can be seen in the multiplicity of skills possessed by trained musicians and diverse societal and industry demands. In dealing with these issues, three key industry components come to mind. These are career, entrepreneurship and entrepreneur. Career may be defined as the general course/progression of a person‟s chosen vocation, occupation, or profession. Entrepreneurship simply means business. It is the process of organizing business enterprise with a view to providing service(s) and making some profit. An entrepreneur is the business man or woman who serves as the organizer/director or owner of a business enterprise. „The increasing growth of new ventures has not only added more products and services to the market, and stimulated market competition, but also provided more employment opportunities and improved the quality of life of people‟ (Onuoha and Egbe, 2011: 81). Creating products and services is a new and dynamic way of getting employed and being an employer of labour in the contemporary Nigeria, instead of resorting to roaming the streets in search of jobs that are not available.

37 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… The modern society has challenges associated with dynamic culture and economics. In this age of changes and innovations, skills, the industry requiring the skills and the personnel to be engaged are vital areas of consideration for effective and functional operation and productivity. Contextually, contemporary music education is structured in a way that music graduates develop technical abilities beyond the traditional concepts and studies in Music Theory and Practice. Music, the central part of humanity, has embraced and incorporated technology based courses in its curriculum. As a faculty and branch of scholarship, Humanities is interested in the concept, conduct, activities and influence of humanity. Okafor (2005) posits that “in the academic world, Humanities is treated as synonymous with Arts” (pp.189 & 190). The University of Port Harcourt Music Department has developed some courses like entrepreneurship, music therapy, music and film industry, electronic audio processing techniques, music instrument workshop practices, digital studio composition as well as sound recording engineering and multimedia courses to meet up with the contemporary times. Her students compulsorily go for industrial training/internship in their sophomore and penultimate years. The Polytechnic, Ibadan, has a Department of Music Technology where lessons in instrument construction and repairs are taught. Other specialized areas like multimedia, instrumental technology, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), sound engineering and so on are now part of the music curriculum in some Nigerian universities.

An example of emerging area is music therapy, a professional field where specialists can give healthcare services in places like oncology treatment centers, pain/stress management clinics, general health centers, churches, homes, prisons, hospice facilities, substance abuse programme centers, correctional and rehabilitation facilities, special education centers, neurological facilities in post- natal care centers and other rehabilitation agencies, assisting children and adults with their medical conditions and health challenges.

Music graduates can still find jobs in broader creative industries like event management and the media. They can also work in the academia (universities, colleges of education, polytechnics and conservatories), schools (primary/secondary), music academies, bands, recording studios, arts organizations and administration, opera companies, concert choruses, worship

38 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… centers, education ministries, business promotions and retailing, community arts and social development centers, museums and so on.

Career and Emerging New Career Placements Right from time, Music has been known to transcend all boundaries, both physical and emotional. Nwankpa (2014) postulates that “music creativity improves the knowledge and understanding of a culture, environment and the world view” (p.1) of those who create the music as well as those who appreciate it. Fundamentally, Music education aids in broadening of one‟s horizon; it also enhances living standards. Nwankpa (2014) further opines that “society, as well as education and musical literacy are dynamic”. Therefore, it will be wrong to assume that graduates of music are restricted to their areas of study in terms of employment. With great sense of enthusiasm and purpose the vocation of music has endured. Music graduates are now found working not only in their traditional basis like the broadcasting, media production, editing, publishing in opera houses and so on, but also are found to be engaged in extra-musical activities and roles such as concert manager, events manager and as marketing manager. Not all of them have musical functions; some function in the areas of studio management, accounting, royalty management, media and journalism, script and programme writing, packaging, skills development, resources, artistes and personnel management, as well as other sectors. Citing Ronstadt (1984), Onuoha and Egbe (2011: 32) opine that; Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of creating incremental wealth. This wealth is by individuals who assume the major risks in terms of equity, time, and/or career commitment of providing value for some product or service. The product or service itself may or may not be new or unique but value must somehow be infused by the entrepreneur by securing and allocating the necessary skills and resources.

It is important to advise that for a music graduate to occupy a good position, that person must package his or her musical and extra-musical skills very impressively. With specialized training in numerous stress areas in musical studies, the following are some employment opportunities for music graduates, throwing some light on some career components, career possibilities and opportunities: 39 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier…

COMPONENTS OF MUSIC CAREER

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND THEIR COMPONENTS COMPOSITION CONDUCTING • Components: Vocal, • Components: Choral, Instrumental Orchestral, Wind Ensemble, • Personnel: Composer, Percussion Ensemble, Arranger/ Orchestrator, Jazz/Stage Band Songwriter • Personnel: Conductor, Assistant Conductor, Accompanist, Instrumentalists, Concert Master, Stage Manager

40 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier…

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND THEIR COMPONENTS CHURCH MUSIC MUSIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT • Components: Vocal, • Components: Music Marketing, Instrumental Events Management, Artiste/ • Personnel: Music Director/ Personnel Management, Music Choirmaster, Music Minister, Production, Music Publishing, Band Leader, Organist Publicity and Advertising, Editing, Scripting • Personnel: Music Producer, Music Marketer, Events Manager, Artiste/ Band Manager/Agent, Editor, Script Writer

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND THEIR COMPONENTS MUSIC EDUCATION MEDIA AND MUSIC JOURNALISM • Components: Primary, • Components: Publishing, Secondary, Tertiary, Special Criticism, Reporting, Music Education Radio/Television Programme • Personnel: Voice/Instrument Production, Jingles, Instructor, Music Documentary, Editing Teacher/Lecturer, • Personnel: Music Publisher, Administrator. Music Critic, Music Reporter, Radio/ Television Programme Presenter/ Anchor, Music Programme Producer, Editor.

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND THEIR COMPONENTS MUSIC THERAPY MUSICOLOGY • Components: Geriatric Care, • Components: African Psycho-Therapy, Neuro- Musicology, Western Rehabilitation, Palliative Health Musicology Care, Special Education, • Personnel: Music Critic, Psychiatry, Enhanced Cognition Editor, Researcher and Productivity, Research 41 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… • Personnel: Performers, Instrumentalists, Singers, Programme Director, Music Therapist, Audio Engineer, Speech/Communication Therapist, Frontliners, Music Therapy Assistants, Clinical Therapists, Musicians/Music Teachers. • “A team of researchers at Montreal Neurological Institute and McGill University have found that music literally electrifies a web of nerve paths in both hemispheres of the cerebral cortex that connects to neural clusters processing musical pitch, rhythm, harmony, melody, short term memory, long term memory, and emotions. Even the simplest song herd or sung by a child sends showers of neural sparks across both sides of the brain” (Paul McKay)

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND THEIR COMPONENTS MUSIC TECHNOLOGY MUSIC THEORY • Components: Musical • Components: Analysis, Instrument Design, Production Criticism, Scholarship, Editing and Maintenance, Audio • Personnel: Music Theorist, Processing and Music Music Critic, Researcher, Editor Production, Sound Design, Multimedia Design and Production, Sound Reinforcement and 42 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… Enhancement • Personnel: Musical Instrument Technologist, Audio Engineer/ Technician, Sound Designer, Music Producer, Multimedia Developer, Live Sound Engineer

PERFORMANCE POPULAR MUSIC • Components: Vocal, • Components: Song Writing, Instrumental, Ensemble, Stage/Studio Performance, Dance/Choreography, Operatic, Ensembles, Research, Events Studio, Film Management, Band • Personnel: Singer, Accompanist, Management Actor/Actress, Director, Cast • Personnel: Song Writer, Manager, Personnel Manager, Singer, Instrumentalist, Band Stage Manager, Accompanist, Manager, Events Manager, Choreographer, Lighting Tour Manager, Royalties Designer Manager, Personnel manager

MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

43 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

44 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

45 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… MUSICAL SKILLS AND AREAS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VALUE/POTENTIAL

The various job openings and positions in music profession call for appropriate qualifications, skills and cognate experiences. Depending on the position/opening, a career in music requires educational qualifications in music. Diploma parchments include Ordinary National, Higher National, and National Certificate in Education diplomas (OND, HND, and NCE, respectively). The degrees include B.A., B.A.Ed., B.Ed., B.Mus., B.Sc., BMA, B.FA., B.CM (undergraduate degrees), PGDM, M.A., M.Mus., M.MTh., M.CM, M.Ed., M.Sc, MFA, MMA, M.Phil. (graduate/master‟s degrees), and D.Mus., DFA, DMA, D.Phil., D.Sc, and Ph.D (doctoral degrees). These degree qualifications are anchored on chosen areas of specialization already reflected in this discourse. Additionally, there are other proficiency trainings (seminars and workshops), certificates and diplomas as well as memberships of societies and associations which are requirements to engage in certain areas of musical practice. Some of these areas are teaching, Church music, sound engineering/recording and multimedia, applied music, music therapy, music instrument technology, music library science, and software engineering and notation.

No doubt, there is multiplicity of skills a music graduate possesses. These skills appeal to diverse ministries, agencies, individuals, private and public organizations, enterprises and employers of labour and services. The following are some of the areas of career placements:

Music Education The specialist areas of employment opportunities in Music Education include Composition, Vocal/Instrumental Solo, Arranging, Conducting and Ensemble Administration, Music Consultancy, Community Music Programme, Research and 46 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… Documentation. Other areas are Elementary and Secondary School Music Education, Special Needs, Policy and Curriculum Development, Supervision and Administration, Music Software Development, Sound Engineering and Multimedia, College/Conservatory/University Music Education, Music Librarianship, Film Scoring/Composing, Private Instruction, and Music Publishing.

Medical and Rehabilitation Agencies Job openings for music specialists in this area include Music Therapists, Music Psychologists, Private Instructors, Special Needs and Emotive Performers, Session Musicians and Frontline Staff.

Sound/Recording Engineering/Multimedia Employment opportunities for music graduates in these kinds of establishments are Advertising/Commercial Managers, Executive Producers, Jingle Writers, General Music Business Contractors/Consultants, Accompanist/Rehearsal Pianists, Background Vocalists, Artistes Personnel Managers, Booking Agents, Interface between electronic instrument and computer (MIDI) Engineers, Studio Directors/Managers, Programmers, Music Sequencer and Sound Designers.

Music Journalism Music graduates who majored in music journalism are able to find employment as Music Critics, Music Journalists, Music Documentation/Documentary Officers, Jingle Writers, General Music Business Contractors, Session Musicians, Background Vocalists, Advertising Executives as well as Music-Programme Directors.

Community Music Programme Centers Employments in the community music programme centers abound for music graduates who are majors in the areas of African Music, History of Music/Art History, Dance and Choreography, Music Therapy, Composition, Music Theory, Operatic Productions, Libretti, Adjudication, Music Instrumental Instruction, Music Instruments Construction, Stage Management, Stage property construction, Costuming, Music Copying, Music Business Enterprises, Marketing and Advertisement, Music/Events Management, Programming and Publicity, etc.

47 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… Restaurants/Hotels and Resort Establishments Music graduates who are able to find employment in these categories of establishments include those who have demonstrable competencies in Applied Music/Performance, Dance, Programmes and Events Generation and Planners, Sound Engineering and Costuming, Events Management and Publicity, Tour Artistes, etc.

Arts Editing/Reporting These kinds of openings/organizations/agencies requiring arts editing or arts reporting create placements for music graduates as Advertising Executive, Critic, Editor, Music Documentation/Documentary, Music Business and Circulation Managers, Copyist, Accompanist/Rehearsal Pianist, Session Musician, Background Vocalist, Music Publisher, Booking Agent, and Programmer.

Church and Religious Setting Music graduates will find career openings in this kind of setting as Music Ministers, Music Directors, Choir Directors, Organists, Composers and Music Editors, Adjudicators, Cantors, Praise and Worship Band Leaders, Copyists, Music Librarians, Choirs and Orchestral Ensemble Members.

Commercial Art Agencies, Music Academy and Music Business Enterprises Agencies like these will employ music graduates as Advertising Executives, Choreographers, Private Instructors, General Music Business Contractors, Theatre Art Musicians/Performers, Operatic Actors/Singers/Performers and Directors, Stage Managers, Programmers, Researchers, Promoters, Marketers and Publicists, Accompanists/Rehearsal Pianists, Instrument/Product Demonstrators, Background Vocalists, Artistes Personal Managers, Booking Agents, Music/Programme Directors, Jingle Writers, Orchestral Ensemble Members, Music Instruments/Equipment Sales officers, and Events Planners and Managers.

Arts and Cultural Organizations Community music programme is about art and cultural organizations within the society whose fundamental nature is shared human commonality and art-cultural experiences (Nwankpa, 2013). These kinds of organizations are able to employ 48 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… music graduates as Music Instructors, Choreographers, Innovators, Composers, Stage/Art Musicians/Performers, Music/Art Business Administrators and Entrepreneurs, Accompanying/Rehearsal Pianists, Choral and Orchestral Ensemble Members, Background Vocalists, Art Officers, and Music/Programme Directors. Music Librarianship Graduates of music will find employment here as Scholars, Copyists, Composers, Librettists, Critics, Music Publishers and Binders, Copyright and royalty officers, Arts Editors, Music Business Contractors, and Music Consultants.

Tripodal Correlation Music education in Nigeria can be said to function and thrive on a tripodal structural correlation: the society with its emerging trends and demands, career placements, and entrepreneurship. This tripodal relationship encapsulates the often said “town-and-gown” correlation needed in industry and professional advancement. Music students must engage in students industrial work experiences scheme (SIWES), as practiced in the University of Port Harcourt.

Conclusion The Western-influenced Nigerian music education was aimed primarily at producing text/language interpreters, organists and choirmasters to service the churches and religious programmes, to teach in primary/secondary schools and to provide cultural officers to serve at the councils for arts and culture. These basic skills and knowledge acquired were soon noticed to be inadequate to service societal needs and the investigative research and technological development

49 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… associated with any dynamic society. Cultural trends, conventions and artistic candors are in dire need of alignment with global best practices and innovation. These have created developmental challenges. However, the diverse needs and technological advancements in the music industry and the new musical landscape have expanded even in the developing countries of the world. These developments call for job opportunities, providing more job leverages and opportunities oblivious to the teeming unemployed graduates of music. Data for this study were collected from historical, descriptive, empirical and field trips experiences where the researchers interviewed some music graduates who have been employed and those who are unemployed. Career placements, job openings and emerging potentials for graduates of music, as well as the challenges of the modern society, music industry and advancement in competencies have been noted.

Music field and its diverse career placements require emerging and dynamic skill potentials for functional and effective engagements and benefits. Nigerians should avail themselves of these areas beyond the traditional and primitive music education provided by the colonial masters and missionaries. The technical and performance skills developed in applied music education, ensemble studies, recital/concert performances, theory, composition, information technology and sound engineering, research methodology and documentation, studies in spirit manifests and theatre in African music festival, music and dance in African traditional worship, communication abilities, apprenticeship, music and medicine, music business and entrepreneurial studies, music therapy and speech-language pathology, audio/video practicum, ethics, publishing, copyright, royalty and many more make a music graduate suitable for employment in divers areas in music industry. Informed employers tend to be affectionate to music graduates, because the music graduates demonstrate controlled behaviour, alertness, mental focus to details in addition to their musical skills. Consequent upon the nature of training and unique skills acquired, music graduates see business opportunities many others do not see. Entrepreneurship is a very potent emerging career platform in Nigeria music education employment space.

The rate at which technology is advancing requires a change in the setting and delivery of music lessons. This calls for advancement on the Teacher Knowledge Training (TKT) programme to ensure relevance, creativity and 50 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Nwankpa & Igbokwe: Nigerian Music Education: Emerging Issues in Carrier… effectiveness. Establishments of music-art education and scholarship bodies in Nigeria such as Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM), Conference of Music Educators of Nigeria (COMEN), and Pan African Society of Musical Art Education (PASMAE) make room for music professional advancement through information on trends, improvements on the already established models, innovations, new thoughts in technology and usage of music in the contemporary time. The innovations arising from the new age ideas and technology demand creative and practical methods to incorporate them into the curriculum. Without doubt, a conference such as COMEN provides opportunities to be abreast of new findings as well as industry and societal demands, trends and innovations in music education and career placements.

References Arnold, Dennis (Ed.) (1984). The new Oxford companion to Music. New York: Oxford University Press. Bernard, Harold W. (1978). Human development in Western culture, Fifth edition. London: Allyn and Bacon Inc. Nwankpa, Onyee N. (2003). Tracing trends: Contemporary music styles and performance practices. Three Hills, Alberta: Prairie Distant Education. Nwankpa, Onyee N. (2013). Community music programme: Development and Management.Port Harcourt: Celwil Publishers Nigeria Ltd. Nwankpa, Onyee N. (2014). “Pass over pedantry: Contesting the state of musical arts in Nigeria”. Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research, Vol.3, 1-12. Okafor, Richard C. (2005). Music in Nigerian society. Enugu: New Generation Books. Olusoji, Steven (2013). The relevance of music education to the Nigerian educational system. http://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ajote/articule/ view/21892865. [Assessed on 20th May, 2016]. Onuora, Chima and Egbe, Solomon (Eds.) (2011). Fundamentals of entrepreneurship and small business management. Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt Press Limited.

51 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

GLOBALIZING NIGERIAN MUSIC: EMERGING ISSUES

Folorunso D. Jayeola and Goodness R. Nwonye

Introduction Historically, many Nigerians were captured and enslaved abroad alongside their music and some musical instruments; of which many of them were eventually restructured or refined and are now believed to be western musical instruments. Globalization in the Twenty-First century has been described as an emerging world (dis)order (Mohan Giles, 1996). “a process by which the world is becoming a single place” (Scholte,1996 cited in Monge, 1998). It is a process characterized by increase in communicative speed, technological sophistication, economic integration, and ideological universalism. According to Rapport (2001), globalization is a “fact of life” because all are affected by it in terms of its benefits or loss positively or negatively. It influences and is influenced by many aspects of contemporary life of which communication is an integral part.

This study is focused on issues depriving the globalization of Nigerian music. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic nation with different kinds of music, most of which have been restructured and/or reproduced as Western music. Nigerian music like its western counterpart would have been better globalized, if agents of globalization are better harnessed and utilized for the purpose. Agents of globalization can be have both positive and negative impacts on Nigerian communities and the nation at large, therefore, can be utilized for propagation and better projection of Nigerian image via culture and other related arts to the world.

52 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… During the slavery period, several Nigerian music types were taken abroad and eventually underwent some transformational processes to become Western music, as everything Nigerian/African about them was robbed off them. However, some of them are known today as Black American music. They sometimes possess Nigerian music identity, which are peculiar patterns that are sensed in form of sound matrixes, tonality, compositional techniques, instrumentation, costumes, and performance practices.

The paper is in four sections with each section handling some salient aspect of the discourse in form of conceptual framework, Nigerian music, agents of globalization and factors militating against globalizing of Nigerian Music.

Concept of Globalization Globalization is the interconnectivity of the activities of people irrespective of distance, race and regional boundaries. This brought about by dramatic shift in the movement of people, culture, technology, trade in goods and services facilitated by improved information and communication technology (ICT), transportation, political and socio-cultural co-operation and applied technological development, all of which turned the world into a “Global Village.” Although the term was first used by Marshall Macluthan in the 1960s when he predicted that electronic revolution would reduce the world in time and space, the rapid evidence of globalization was not witnessed in the 1960s.

According to Iwara (2005); globalization is a process by which different regions of the World are pulled together through an expanding network of exchanges of peoples and ideas and cultures as well as goods and services across (p.20) Globalization is applied and used extensively in all aspects of human activity. Areas of use include worldwide information system, patterns of consumption, cosmopolitan lifestyle, sports, military systems, and music. As a process, it started with European discoveries which enhanced European powers to reach out to various continents. It was gathered that the trans-Atlantic slave trade gave birth to early globalization process from Africa to the Americas and agricultural products from the Americas to Europe.

53 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… Agents of Globalization In this generation, many think globalization actually began in this century, but that is very far from the truth. Globalization has been on for centuries. The agents of globalization today are essentially almost the same as agents of globalization in past centuries. The only real differences are in speed and scale. However, agents of globalization work faster on a large scale today. Instead of communicating by telegraph between stations, we communicate by internet or telephone directly with one another. Instead of having trade or migration that goes by sailing ship, we now use airplanes or much larger and faster ships than in time past. Our mass culture is disseminated across many countries very quickly through movies, television and the internet.

From the above, we see that the agents of globalization have not changed over the centuries. They have simply been advanced to become faster and allowed for globalization on a much larger scale. This has changed the structure of civilizations by making them more similar. In the past, different civilizations could be structured very differently and rulers could keep their societies from interacting with the outside to a much greater degree. Today, this is much less possible, which means that rulers in any given civilization lack the ability to maintain their civilizations‟ separation from the rest of the world.

Music and Current Globalization Trends The turn of 20th century witnessed the explosion of globalization arising from effective Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The most attractive, convenient, effective, fast, cheap and imposing agents of globalization are the radio and television broadcasts. The browse and search engine activities on the internet which are empowered by satellite are also effective media. The satellite could beam any television broadcast to millions of homes around the world at the same time; the same with the articles, on-line publications, sound tracks and motion pictures, which hitherto were the responsibilities of print publication. In a few minutes, information can get around the world via the internet or cable network. The enormous benefits of the satellite in global identity and national image projection encouraged Nigeria to launch her first satellite known as Nigeria- Sat 1 in September 2003.

54 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… The Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) stores music data such as audio, video, audio-visual and literary documentation on every aspect of music. Information contained in the CD-ROM, which could be on any culture, is widely distributed for global consumption and can be decoded on the screen of the computer by even people from other world cultures. The music and movie industries with recording in stripes, tapes or compact discs have registered notable advancement in contemporary times; bringing varieties of regional musical practices in quality and portable packages to the door-steps of millions of homes, distance notwithstanding. Digital recording instead of analog process is now in vogue in the new music industry. Highly refined output, low manpower need and less stress characterize this new process of recording. Through the radio, television, and the internet, these products are advertised, promoted and marketed for mass orientation and global patronage. Thus, producing, reproducing, and distributing music is rapidly becoming cheaper, making it possible for many small and independent record companies to enter the market.

Globalization of music has also thrived through publications in journals, books and magazines, newsletters and daily newspapers. Apart from movement of people and information through the electronic media, the literary world has learnt much about music through research reports, reviews, commentaries, documentaries and observations published in print media. This is in line with Akin Euba‟s (1969) that; In view of the geographical dimensions of the multi-ethnic communities of modern Africa, the traditional means of acquiring musical knowledge, since they demand physical contact with the informant, are obviously no longer adequate. Musicology provides a source of knowledge which embraces musical practice over wide areas and which can be widely diffused in a manner more effective than the means that have hitherto been used in tribal culture (p.6).

Many volumes of print publications have been made on music by scholars to disseminate new found ideas to the world at large. Formal education has been accepted as reliable strategy for societal advancement: “which, when and where” well-directed, substantially contributes to the aforementioned agents of learning globalization. It may well be added that the school curriculum and all agents of

55 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… learning process expose the student to experiences beyond his immediate culture. Thus, whenever music is taught particularly outside its continent of origin, globalization is being encouraged.

Research Institutes, Centres for Cultural Studies and Centres for Music and Dance Practices are noted for their valuable contributions towards world recognition and consumption of music. These establishments embark on research projects, workshop, seminar, conferences, training programmes, and practical performance sessions to preserve and project musical practices. Cultural exchange programmes, international concerts, and world music competitions feature contingents from various nations and provide opportunities to promote music globally. Artistes‟ tours to foreign countries do not only earn the artistes financial gains and popularity, but also promote their music and nationality.

Nigerian Music Nigerian music can be said to be those music genres that have their roots in Nigeria. Their lyrical contents are majorly Nigerian but sometimes foreign. In most cases, Nigerian music is generally referred to as African music in global context. This is as a result of the fact that “African Music” is used as a concept for any music that has its root in any of the African countries.

Nigerian Music or Music of Nigerian people include many kinds of folk and popular music, some of which are known worldwide. Styles of folk music are related to the multitudes of ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments, and songs The largest ethnic groups are the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. Traditional music from Nigeria and throughout Africa is usually functional; in other words, it is performed to mark a ritual such as a wedding or funeral and not for mere achievement of certain artistic goals; although some Nigerians, especially children play instruments for their own amusement. Solo performance is rare in traditional music making in Nigeria.

Work songs are a common type of traditional Nigerian music. They help to keep the rhythm of workers in fields, river canoes and other fields. Women use complex rhythms in housekeeping tasks, such as pounding yams to highly ornamented music. In the northern regions, farmers work together on each other's farms and the host is expected to supply musicians for his neighbors. Music is

56 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… closely linked to agriculture, and there are restrictions on, for example, which instruments can be played during different parts of the growing season. The issue of musical composition is also highly variable.

The most common format for music in Nigeria is the call-and-response format, in which a lead singer and a chorus interchange verses, sometimes accompanied by instruments that either shadow the lead text or repeat and ostinato vocal phrase. The southern area features complex rhythms and solo players using melody instruments, while the north more typically features polyphonic wind ensembles. The extreme north region is associated with monodic (i.e., single-line) music with emphasis on drums, and tends to be more influenced by Islamic music. Epic poetry is found in parts of Nigeria, and its performance is always viewed as musical in nature. Blind itinerant performers, sometimes accompanying themselves with a string instrument, are known for reciting long poems of unorthodox Islamic text among the Kanuri and Hausa.

Hausa Music The people of the North are known for complex percussion instrument music, the one-stringed goje, and a strong praise song vocal tradition. Under Muslim influence since the Fourteenth century, Hausa music uses free-rhythmic improvisation and the Pentatonic scale, similar to other Muslim tribes throughout West Africa, such as the Bambara, Kanuri, Fulani and Songhai. Traditional Hausa music is used to celebrate births, marriages, circumcisions, and other important life events. Hausa ceremonial music is well known in the area and is dominated by families of praise singers. The Hausa play percussion instruments such as the tambura drum and the talking drum. The most impressive of the Hausa state instruments, however, is the elongated state trumpet called Kakaki; which can be more than two metres long, and can be easily broken down into three portable parts for easy transportation

Igbo Music The Igbo people live in the south-east of Nigeria, and play a wide variety of folk instruments. They are known for their ready adoption of foreign styles, and were an important part of Nigerian highlife. Okafor (2005) wrote that:

57 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… the centrality of music in Igbo life requires that, at one time or another, an Igbo person must participate in dance or music- making either as performer, spectator, listener, subject or object. In a loose sense, then, every Igbo man is a musician. As in Igbo society all art is integrated with life and with each other. It is the degree of proficiency rather than dependence on making a living that defines the Igbo musician.

The most widespread instrument is the 13-stringed zither, called an ubo. The Igbo also play slit drums, xylophones, flutes, lyres, pot-drum (udu) and lutes, and more recently, imported European brass instruments.

Court music is played among the traditional Igbo to maintain their royal traditions. The ufie (slit drum) is used to wake the chief and communicate meal times and other important information to him. Bell and drum ensembles are used to announce when the chief departs and returns to his village.

In contemporary times, many Nigerian hip-hop artistes are beginning to explore core Igbo traditional music and using them for their songs. This has attained some reasonable level of success in recent times. Flavour, Zoro and Phino are in forefront of this new development.

Yoruba Music The Yoruba have a drumming tradition, with a characteristic use of the dundun hourglass tension drums. Ensembles using the dundun play a type of music that is also called dundun. These ensembles consist of various sizes of tension drums, along with kettledrums (gudugudu). The leader of a dundun ensemble is the iyalu, who uses the drum to "talk" by imitating the tonality of Yoruba Much of Yoruba music is spiritual in nature, and is devoted to their God.

Yoruba music has become an important component of some modern Nigerian popular music, as a result of its early influence from European, Islamic and Brazilian forms. These influences stemmed from the importation of brass instruments, sheet music, Islamic percussion and styles brought by Brazilian merchants. In both the Nigeria's most populous city, Lagos, and the largest city of Ibadan, these multicultural traditions were brought together and became the root

58 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… of Nigerian popular music. Modern styles such as Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's fuji, Salawa Abeni's waka and Yusuf Olatunji's sakara are derived primarily from Yoruba traditional music. Yoruba music has come of age and the new generation Nigerian musicians now sing in their native language. 9ice is one of many that broke into the industry with Gongo Aso and many more artistes followed suit. Listening to Timi Korus Babe mi Jowo shows that artistes both home and abroad based, now rap and sing in Yoruba as a mark of upholding their musical heritage.

Globalizing Nigerian Music Globalization is a fast growing phenomenon engulfing the universe. It is highly imposing and irresistible as many countries are into international communication and other technological networks. Certainly the profitable approach to this development is to harness its positive potentials for the advancement of Nigerian music identity through deliberate action to orientate the society on the threats of globalization.

For any music that has its root in Nigeria to attain global recognition, the following are inevitable: 1. Application of information and communication technology (ICT): Effort should be made to publish more and more Nigerian music on the internet. CDs of such songs should as well be made readily available for offices, schools, homes, and public places at any given time. 2. Provision of free and compulsory basic music education: Education is an instrument of social change and progress in every society, particularly in a well-managed condition. Primary and secondary schools should be provided with good theoretical and practical musical experience. At the tertiary level, music curriculum should be better balanced to incorporate a reasonable level of African musical content, with inclusion of music contents of other cultures of the world. In Nzewi‟s (2004) view on African life and world view, he noted that the musical arts were intended to transact relationships monitor and manage the ethos of all societal systems and institutions, inculcate humane sensibilities, and conduct spiritual disposition. 3. Establishment of music research institutes in Nigeria. Music and research institutes should be established in various parts of Nigeria. 4. Regular organization of sponsored music festivals and competitions: Regular organization of these festivals and competitions help to integrate

59 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017) Jayeola & Nwonye: Globalizing Nigerian Music… people from diverse races and walks of life. These should be encouraged and sponsored as they promote Nigeria‟s unity and identity. Conclusion Globalizing Nigerian music should not be left for the government or any particular individual. It is a unanimous task which desires all hands on deck for its achievement. Every governmental and non-governmental arm, organization, school, office and even individual must contribute in one way or the other to actualize this feat. It may seem that foreign countries desire to rule the world economically, culturally and politically from their position as stakeholders in the development and financing of information and communication Technology (ICT). Be that as it may, it is therefore pertinent for Nigerians, especially the youth to get acquainted with the values in Nigerian music, as well as channel same towards moral and National development. ICT and media infrastructure education and training is therefore inevitable in the effort to resist the repression of Nigerian music at the global level. Otherwise, globalization which should be explored for the development of our musical heritage could efface it.

References Clapman, C. (1993). Democratization in Africa: Obstacles and prospects. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Elmann, V. (2010). Modernity and global imagination: South African and the West. Oxford University Press, New York. Euba, A. (1969). Musicology in context of African culture. Odu (New series) Idolor, E. (2002). Music to the contemporary Africa. Music in Africa: Fact and illusions. Starling-Horden, Ibadan. Iwara, A.U. (2005). Identity political, globalization and socio-political engineering in Nigeria. Abraka humanities review. Grace Communication Intl. Mohan, G. (1996). Globalization and sociopolitical engineering. Oxford: Basil Black well. Monge, P.N. (1998). Modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Nzewi, M. (2004). Globalization made Africa a mental colony. www.quatarde Okafor, R.C. (2005). Music in Nigeria society. Enugu: New Generation Ventures Limited. Rapport, R.N. (2011). Families as educators for global citizenship. United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing. 60 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

COMPOSITIONAL PRACTICE IN NIGERIAN MUSIC EDUCATION: EMERGING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Grace E. Ekong, Ph.D. and Ukeme A. Udoh

Introduction The predominant emphasis on the study of European music, which obtains in the Nigerian music curricula at the moment, is untenable. While the study of European music in Nigerian schools and universities should not be completely discouraged - given the enormous impact of European culture on different aspects of Nigerian society - the development of an academic and educational system which addresses itself to the artistic and economic needs of contemporary Nigeria should be the dominant objective of any music curriculum in the country. One of the ways through which this objective can be· met is by examining the Nigerian society, the music industry, and contents of the music curriculum in the university.

In the examination of the contents of curriculum from primary, secondary to tertiary levels of education, a lot of issues regarding contents and relevance to modern society have been raised (cf. Ekwueme 2000, Omibiyi-Obidike, 2001, Olusoji, 2013, etc.). Other scholars have raised challenges bordering on a balance between the Western and African content in the bi-musical curriculum of the Nigerian universities (cf. Okafor 2005; Adeogun 2006; Faseun 2008; and many more.). Apart from the universities, Ogunrinade‟s (2013) study on Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) reveals that the curriculum impacts little or no learning of Nigerian music to the learners. While most of these studies have been advanced on the general content of the curriculum, the present assessment effort is geared towards the specifics – focusing on theory and composition as an area

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … of specialization within the university undergraduate music curriculum. Also, this paper argues that issues bordering on curricula and their contents have been unresolved for years; hence, other emerging issues have continued to evolve.

Theory and composition as an area of specialization is the bedrock area of specialty and advances the music-making process. A school of thought sees other areas of study in music deriving their basis from composition. This set of scholars equates music with composition, their definition of music simply implying composition and vice versa. Ultimately, education in music presupposes the conglomeration of music(s) for study. The notion of music in this context is musical creativity; composition in this sense covers both the content of theory and practice of composition in the undergraduate programme. The focal point in this paper is on content analysis before the discussion on emerging issues and gap between the Nigerian music education and the Nigerian music industry vis-a-vis the Nigerian contemporary society. The central question is on “how does the content of the music curriculum reflect the dynamism of the society?

Theoretical Framework An integrated theoretical framework for cross-cultural human development proposed by Dasen (2003) cited in Dasen (2011) is adopted for this study. This framework states that an integrated system which recognizes a combination of various frameworks encountered over the years and found useful in a variety of contexts should be adopted in the development strategy for the training of a child. The main focus of the framework is the development of an individual child, with a particular set of inherited and acquired dispositions. Surrounding the child is the micro-context in which development occurs, also called the “developmental niche.” By implication, the integrated system is not a set of theoretical rules but a continuous exploration of the dynamism within the society in the teaching and learning mechanism towards the development of the child. Musical art education within the Nigerian society is apposite to this model. Explaining the developmental niche, Dasen identifies three components: 1. The settings, or physical and social contexts in which the child lives, 2. The customs, or culturally-determined rearing and educational practices, and 3. The social representations or parental “ethno-theories” of child development.

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … These are the guardians or other caretakers, or indeed all adults, who have some sort of what they consider to be important in the development of their children. In this paper, the interpretation of an integrated system of musical development is considered from the content analysis of the undergraduate programme. The purview of the developmental niche consists of three dimensions that contribute immensely to the development of the learner. Dasen (2003) sees the developmental niche as a system in which the component parts interact and function in coordinated fashion. Judging from the general notion, how has the music that make up the Nigerian setting (religious or social), including culturally- determined upbringing, form part of the classroom curriculum? Typically, as Dasen explicates, there is consonance among the elements of the niche, especially under conditions of stability in the society (pre-colonial), but sometimes there are also inconsistencies, especially under the impact of social change and acculturation.

Moreover, the integrated system is an open system where each component is linked with other aspects of the more general environment and enhances functional learning. In the case of music, a functional education takes place when the diversities and complex phenomena of the musical environment are linked. Interestingly, it is music education that is saddled with the responsibility of creating the required links between the conditions of stability and the impact of acculturation in the society. It is the role of the music educator to synergize with other cognate areas and provide adequate interpretation for the content of the curriculum. Perhaps their utmost interest should be in the processes of cultural transmission, notably enculturation and socialization and how these are factored into the interpretation. In this paper, attempt is made on how we could redefine music education, not only as schooling in music but as the totality of cultural transmission in music. The integrated framework is applied to emphasize the need to allow learners experience music in its holistic form, especially from the background that every learner comes to the university with some level of knowledge of music (all things being equal).

Theory and Composition in the Undergraduate Programme The programme from the Students‟ Handbook of some Departments of Music mirrors four (4) areas of study; (a) Theory of Music 63 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … (b) History, Form and Literature of Western Music, (c) African Music, and (d) Practical Musicianship.

These represent five (5) areas of specialization: (i) Theory and Composition, (ii) Performance, (iii) African Music/Musicology, (iv) Music Education, and (v) Music Technology.

The inclusion of music technology in the area of specialization but not in the area of study betrays the motive as five areas of specialization are listed in BMAS. Considering world practices on music technology, how much of that have been introduced into the curriculum to impact learning.

Generally, the curriculum as designed for the undergraduate programme is replete with two levels of challenges, namely

 the sum total of courses that propagate Western music compared to the sum total of courses representing African music;  The inability of the courses to represent the totality of musical practice within the society.

Popular music that epitomizes popular cultures are of interest to the youths and had been grossly neglected on the list of courses of study in some Departments of Music. Before we return to these salient issues on the content of curriculum, we should consider other issues within the educational system beginning with policies and benchmarks.

Music Education in the University and National University Benchmark It is essential at this point to undertake this study from the background of minimum standard of university education in Nigeria. According to NUC Benchmark (BMAS) (FGN 2007 p. 144) for the university, the aims and objectives of the programme leading to B.A. degree in Music include:

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … a). To prepare and produce graduates of music who will be competent to musicianship both in the international sense and also in their own African and National tradition. Graduates must have an understanding of the Arts and Science of Music as tools for the appreciation, analysis and practice of world music. b). To develop creative skills and talents in students with a view to preparing them for self-employment and entrepreneurship in music industry, broadcasting, communications, entertainment, film cinematography and allied professions. c). To lay a foundation for further studies at post-graduate levels leading to advanced engagements in music research laboratory studio and functional exploration of music in relevant organizations and institutions such as Museums, Arts Councils, Religious, Teaching/Pedagogy and Mass Communication Media etc. d). To prepare and produce graduates of Music with an understanding of the art and science of Music and tools for the appreciation, analysis and practice of world (Western European) Music and African Music, and an ability to communicate these principles to others. e). To prepare students for professions in the practice and/or teaching of Music at various levels of education, broadcasting, media houses and other avenues of private and public music use, and in entertainment (FGN, 2007, p. 144).

In summary, the benchmark identifies the following: the appreciation, analysis and practice of world music; to develop creative skills and talents; lay a foundation for further studies at post-graduate levels leading to advanced engagements in music research; an ability to communicate these principles to others; and to prepare students for professions in the practice and/or teaching of Music at various levels of education.

In the context of this paper, items (c) and (e) cover educational goals, while the other three (a), (b), and (d) epitomize compositional practice goals. Compositional practice here includes performance. Performance is conceived principally as the interpretation of a composition. Obviously, musical creativity provides grounds for other aspects or areas of specialization.

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … The point of convergence regarding the issues on compositional practice and educational goals in this paper is the notion of developing “creative skills and talents in students with a view to preparing them for self-employment and entrepreneurship in music industry, broadcasting, communications, entertainment, film cinematography and allied professions” and “... functional exploration of music in relevant organizations and institutions such as Museums, Arts Councils, Religious, Teaching/Pedagogy and Mass Communication Media, etc.” (Ibid). The question is simple: To what extent has the undergraduate programme address these aims and objectives? Obviously, there seems to be imbalance in the curriculum. Also, where necessary, a few course descriptions are, usually, presented to guide elicitation and discussions on issues and challenges. Evidently, several issues and challenges have emerged that need urgent attention and intervention.

Analysis of Course Descriptions and Discussions Firstly we should assess the reality on precipitating issues that should arouse our curiosity in this paper which precincts on the relevance of the study of music today, if it does not mirror the practices within the society. Presumably, practices in music, the arts, and education must meet the demands and needs of the world we live in, in ways that are practical, meaningful, and relevant. Banfield (2015) suggests that “Artists [composers] must continually bring their professional experience to meet the new challenges in music, the arts, performance, and education”. He went on the raise an important question: “What would a holistic approach to teaching, creating, exploring, exchanging, and performing that unified music and the arts look like, especially if it were sustainable beyond mere market penetration?”(p. 4). These questions present the major issues of our music education that needs urgent attention.

Secondly, there is a vital part of musical education that has not been the focus of scholarship for decades: Music Business. The omission of vital part has created issues including some arising from the import of the self-employment and entrepreneurship in music already mentioned in the (b) section of the BMAS‟ aims and objectives. Perceptibly, the Nigerian education system is programmed towards passing examinations and awarding certificates. The challenge with this kind of system especially in third world countries is the promotion of 66 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … underdevelopment. For instance, most graduates of music seek paid employment with their certificates when they could have been self-employed or start small business. Obviously, educational training they received tended towards paid employment. The absence of music entrepreneurship in the curriculum is anomalous in the recent realities and economy.

Many scholars in recent times have questioned the unchanging content of the University curriculum despite the diversities and acculturation in the society. Among them, Nwankwo (2014) for example, argues that Musical arts in Nigeria and its study should reflect Nigerian contents. He observes that “The primary aims of Nigerian graduates of music (especially from Nigerian universities) should be to employ their knowledge in seeking solutions to musical problems in Nigeria. Therefore, the music curriculum should embody relevant courses for that purpose”. Questioning the UNN‟s curriculum, Nwankwo rhetorically notes „after studying fugue in the university, what next?‟ Music curriculum planners need to answer this question before including fugue as a compulsory course for all music students in the next curriculum review. In this context, fugue should not be totally expunged from the curriculum, rather, it should be made compulsory only for students majoring in composition, piano, and organ and then left as an elective course for other students. This, no doubt, would improve its teaching and understanding because the class will be a class for specialists. Although Nwankwo‟s submission is strong and supported, alternatively, because of the need to accommodate other areas in the curriculum, Fugue should be left as part of the content of Analysis of Tonal Music. Many courses like this should be discarded or made elective for relevant courses to be included in the curriculum.

From another perspective, Idamoyibo (2015) criticizes the Nigerian system especially in the university, where educational developments are devoid of the realities in cultural and religious systems, as well as socio-political systems and commercial structures. His criticism is based on assessment of the minimum standards of music programmes for Nigerian Universities as specified by the National University Commission (NUC) and the analysis of standards of the actual music programmes currently running in selected Nigerian Universities including University of Uyo.

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … The Nigerian music scene is characterized by three basic practices: traditional, popular and art music. However, popular music dominates the other two. Paradoxically, the curricula of some of the departments are prominent with traditional and art music with distinct position given to popular music as an area of study. More complex musical practice is seen in the Nigerian Music industry. Even the borrowing of ethnomusicological studies into African musicology has been bedeviled with Euro-centric stance. What problem has the study of music in culture been able to solve remarkably since the 1950s? Some courses in African Music Theory emphasize notation and transcription. The major issue here is t6hat African scholarship has not developed a standardized and generally acceptable notation to solve the problem of notation and transcription.

Some course descriptions are apt and do, adequately, cover specific areas and genres.to highlight. However, some for composition are ambiguous and lacks focus. This might be the reason why some students do not know what to compose in Project Composition. Some course contents such as serialism and 12-tone, etc. have nothing to offer African musicology. It is, somehow, weird and absurd to see African composers struggle with these techniques to capture African identity and essence. Uzoigwe‟s Ukom and Abigbo, Onyeji‟s Ufie were composed using pentatonic tone-row but no music literature has promoted the concept. These are issues of concern that attention should be focused.

Popular music in Nigeria and the trends in Nigerian music industry cannot be neglected in the curriculum. Although this may be considered significant for those interpreting the curriculum, however, popular music in Nigerian should occupy a significant place in the curriculum. The interpreter, on the other hand, needs basic knowledge of an integrated system to offer relevant interpretation to any course description. Notably, the interpretation would be based on the background of the interpreter, be it Western, African or integrated. Popular music in this programme is negligible. Basing this argument on theory courses (TC), music creativity is limited to Western Art music and a sprinkling of tokenistic practices in African creative models as evident in African Pianism and drummistic practices for the piano. The way forward is a comprehensive review that takes into account the integrated system.

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … Agu (2008) cited in Agu (2012) opines that “music is the expression of man‟s deepest self and that its effect can be tremendously profound only when its scholarship has attained certain elements of originality and nationality”. He went a step further to “emphasize the primacy of musical arts education and practice as a vital tool for perpetuating Nigerian cultures within the threshold of current global environment” (Ibid:2). This paper proposes a review of the content of the university curriculum if it must contribute to perpetuating the Nigerian culture within the global environment. Nigeria has so much musically to offer world music.

Emerging Issues and Challenges in the Nigerian Music Education The issues and challenges that have emerged in the educational practice of Nigeria are highlighted here. The list is inexhaustible as each area of specialization has its own set of peculiar challenges to be addressed by keying into the opposite practices in such areas. (i) Educated unemployment: in this discussion refers to unemployment among the educated population. Bacchus (1981) noted that „relative to the working population as a whole, the unemployed as a group in some developing countries tend to be educated, especially where young and inexperienced unemployed are numerous‟. Educated unemployment is a direct result of an increased graduate from educational institutions who largely lack the requisite skills to be self-reliant or get absorbed into the organized private sector. Higher education institutions produce, on annual basis, graduates in large numbers that do not have access to employment; principally because of the nature of education they receive (Bogoro, 2015, p. 4). Music education should not be affected by the anomalous situation; however, statistics show high level of educated unemployment in music. Accordingly, one of the aims and objectives of the university training enshrined in the BMAS is defeated. (ii) Interpretive or interpretational musicology: Musicology should be interpretive, in that, technical analysis, by itself, is insufficient as interpretation. African musicology cannot be critiqued on the bases of technical analysis, without recourse to context and many other extra-musical or meta-musical conjectures. Explicitly or implicitly, African musicology is lagging this posture in the curriculum. The mantra of ethnomusicological studies notwithstanding, African musicology must emphasize subjective experience, that is, the

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … experience of cultivated, contemplative listeners. In whatever milieu, critics and the likes favour explicit evaluative commitments, based on experience. From the perspective of compositional practices, the central object of critics‟ interpretive and evaluative work should be the individual composition. The musical repertory addressed by technical theory and analysis, because of the field‟s affiliation with academic composition, extended through modernism up to the present, engaging recent music that did not seem to interest the partisans of academic music criticism. But, for both analysis and criticism, as understood in the debates of the 1980s, the relevant music was firmly within art-music traditions. This implies that the Nigerian music industry and the Nigerian scene of musical practices covering traditional, popular, and allied practices should be integrated into art-music traditions. (iii) Neglect of popular music: For many years, popular music studies had existed with very little interaction with the musicology of classical music. Academic music programmes, powerful scholarly organizations and journals concentrated almost exclusively on cultivated European music and its international continuations. Beyond this, music programmes might have a marginalized place for ethnomusicology, itself also not typically concerned with popular music. This has changed, though gradually and incompletely; many music programmes now include scholars of popular music and grant Ph.D.s for popular music research. Musicological research on popular music has taken the forms of technical analysis, ethnography and historical research (cf. Maus, 2011, Radical Musicology). Yet, in Nigeria, only a few universities accept students to specialize in popular music. This situation has to change. Nigeria should learn from Indian music industry and their curriculum. (iv) Expansion on creativity in the curricula of universities: It is hoped that the direct access to these composers' thoughts about the subjective experience of composing Western art music in the second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century may also promote the image of a fragmented culture whose ghettoization in music education is a serious impediment to the development of a comprehensive aesthetic education (cf. Lapidika. 2007).

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … (v) Afro-beat and highlife: As a classic popular music in Nigeria, these genres of music should be studied and their standards or philosophies discovered for younger generation of composers whose interest in such music may be aroused to venture into such paths. It would be very helpful to acknowledge and draw philosophical implications for such music composition in schools from recognized composers' voices about their individual composing realities. Works of Fela Kuti, Lagbaja, and many Highlife exponents in Yoruba, Igbo, Efik/Ibibio, etc. should be documented and used in classroom practices to promote these cultures. In America, for instance, Jazz is currently competing favourably with European classical music; this is possible through research and rigorous academic activities of both professionals and academic (town and gown synergy). (vi) Music technology: The content and context of modern music technology has become very sophisticated. Studio Management, Audio Engineering, Music Production, Computer Music and Performance, etc. are the many issues on music technology that should be given adequate attention in the curriculum. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper examined emerging issues in compositional practice and challenges in Nigerian music education. It showed that Nigerian situation seems far from this reality of educational diversity, especially in the case of compositional expedition and compositional models within the university vis-a-vis the Nigerian music industry. The discourse has revealed five emerging issues in compositional practice between the Nigerian music education and the Nigerian music industry, the impact of archaic curriculum, and the challenges of meeting national development benchmarks. Findings from this study show a relative situation in Nigeria where composition major graduates do not fit appropriately into the Nigerian music industry space, thus finding the Nigerian music industry different from what is taught in school. The paper proposes an absolute integration of music (traditional music, popular music, church music, gospel music, studio creativity/music technology, and art music) in its entirety for studies in the university towards the realization of the growing need for national development, self-reliance, and adequately trained human resources relevant to national needs.

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Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … References Adeogun, A. O. (2006). Music education in Nigeria, 1842 – 2001: Policy and content evaluation, towards a new dispensation. A Doctor of Music Degree (Dmus) Thesis, Department of Music, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Agu, D. C. C. (2012). Perpetuating Nigerian cultures in musical arts education within the threshold of current global Environment. In Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, Vol. 13 No 2: 1 – 15. Banfield, W. C. (2015). Ethnomusicologizing: Essays on music in the new paradigms. Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. Bogoro, S. E. (2015). Sustainability of higher education institutions in Nigeria: challenges and prospects. Being invited paper presented By Executive Secretary, TET-Fund, Abuja, Nigeria at the 44th Air Force Institute of Technology Convocation Lecture on August 18, 2015. Dasen, P. R. (2011). Culture, cognition and learning, In Nsamenang, A. B. and Tchombe, T.M.S. (Eds). Handbook of African educational theories and practices: A generative teacher education curriculum. Cameroon: Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC), pp. 159 – 174. Faseun, F. (2005). Music curriculum in Nigeria secondary schools and colleges: What relevance? Nigerian Music Review, 6: 73 - 78. Faseun, F. (2008). “The Dynamics of Music Curriculum in a Multicultural Society: The Nigerian Example”, In African Musicology, Vol. 2 (2): 12 – 27. Lapidaki, Eleni. “Learning from masters of music creativity: Shaping compositional experiences in music education”. In Philosophy of Music Education Review, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall, 2007), pp. 93-117. (p. 96). Maus, Fred E. (2011). Radical Musicology - What Was Critical Musicology? University of Virginia. Special Issue: Critical musicology - ISSN 1751-7788 National University Commission (2007). Benchmark minimum academic standards for undergraduate programmes in Nigerian universities (ARTS). Lagos: Government Printers. Ogunrinade, D.O.A. (2013). Content analysis of music curriculum for Nigeria certificate in education (NCE), in Academic Journals - Educational Research and Reviews, Vol. 8(19), pp. 1753-1762. Okafor, R. (2005). Music in Nigerian society. Enugu: New Generation Books. 72 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ekong & Udoh: Compositional Practice in Nigerian Music Education: … Olusoji, S. (2013). “The Relevance of Music Education to the Nigerian Educational System”, In African Journal of Teacher Education (AJOTE), Vol. 3 No. 1: 1 – 5. Omibiyi-Omidike, M. A. (2001). “African musical resources and African identity in the new African art music” in African art music in Nigeria. Ibadan: Stirling- Horden Publishers (Nig.) Ltd. Omibiyi-Omidike, M. A. (2007). Nigeria in the context of the international musical world: problems and prospects. An Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan. Ibadan University Press.

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FOLK MUSIC IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS’ MUSIC PEDAGOGY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Hope N. Okpala

Introduction Music is an integral part of every Nigerian culture; and a valuable tool in character moulding. Okafor (2013) sees it as humanly organized sound. Music is an important agent that cannot be neglected because of its effect on the social, emotional, moral, physical and economic life of an individual. Okpala (2006) asserts that: Music is part of living; it has power to awaken in us sensations and emotions of a spiritual kind; music can do many things and have desirable results. It can stimulate or sooth the mind, help towards a wider education, of at least a wider mental perspective. It can gently plough the mind so that it will be more receptive to the seed of learning (p. 1) Okonkwo (2006) submits that music is part of life and an art that is deeply rooted in human nature. She goes further to state that: The national commission for collages of education, in its minimum standards, affirms that music has the potential of being one of the most valuable subjects for enhancing human personality, and it becomes very obvious that the study of music is indispensable for the development of Nigeria child, society and the entire nation (p.169).

In other words, music plays prominent roles in the development of human being who is instrumental to the societal reconstruction and nation building. Affirming this Nwankpa in Okpala (2015) posits that music is used for societal

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Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… reconstruction and character formation. Okafor (2005: 274) discussing “music and nation building” states that: Ahmed Sekoutouri, the president of Guinea (one of West Africa‘s poor countries) said during his reign that he laid more stress on the development of human being because, according to him, the bauxite, the manganese and those other minerals will still be there under the ground in his country. But, if he didn‘t develop human beings, those would be badly used (p.274).

From the above assertion, the development of human being is paramount. Agu (1990) discussing the primacy of music in Igbo traditional religion observed that: In African societies, all aspect of life, ranging from birth to death, are believed to be integrated with music making. Among the Igbo it is said that music serves not only as a medium for entertainment and social relationship, but as an intricate part of the development of the mind, body and soul it is assumed that the laws of the land are learnt through songs. The history of the tribe is learnt through songs. And the accepted behavioral patterns in the society are all assimilated through music and dance (p.60).

This valuable human activity is being treated with contempt by most Nigerians. A good number of Nigerian parents would not consent to their children or wards choice to study music in tertiary institution, yet, music is a part of human existence on earth.

At secondary school level, before the integration of music, drama, and fine art under the umbrella of CCA, student in upper basic education classes were provided with the option to choose between music and fine art. Studies and the researcher‟s personal experience showed that 90 percent of students in most schools preferred fine art to music. The response got from some students when they were asked the reason to choose to study fine art rather than music was amazing. Some said that the music teacher was harsh while others complained that the subject is difficult to understand.

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Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Musical Foundation of a Nigerian Child In Nigerian societies, the musical tradition surrounding the birth of a child begins before the baby is born. There is also special music for the ceremony celebrating the birth of the baby and even the first time the baby starts to stand on his own; are both honoured in songs and dance. Agu (2011) states that: Music plays an important role in the life of an Igbo child. It is rather an essential part of every facet of his daily life. Music occupies his entire day‘s activity from morning till night through all the developmental stage of his life from birth to death (p. 2).

A Nigerian child receives his first music training from his mother. Ubani (2013), assenting to this referred to mothers as the first teachers of music and usually encouraged young children to participate in folklore and stories in songs. As the child advances in age, he joins his peers and siblings in musical games. He learns to sing clap and play complex rhythms by imitating the adults. Emeka in Okpala (2014: 3) noted that “children grow up and play together improving their language and number skills by running errands playing musical and rhythmic games, listening to and participating in the recitation of rhyme.”

Music is an inevitable factor in the developmental stage of every Nigerian child. Ime, in Okpala (2014:4) opines that “a child who is deprived of good music training may be missing the much needed education and assistance for balanced development.” Children‟s musical activities instill discipline in them as some of their musical games required strict adherence to the rule of the game. Nketia in Vidal (2012: 289) states that “there are specific songs for the young such as those incorporated into stories and rites of the children and children‟s games, particularly counting or number games.”

Agu in Agu (2011:3) asserts that |right from childhood, the talented are easily identified. They tend to assume leadership roles in their groups and perform outstandingly well too.” Vidal (2012: 294) agreeing to this states that “each child is allotted a leadership role in leading one or more songs during the games performance. By this act a child is being prepared for leadership role in adult life.”

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Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Nigerian Folk Music and the Philosophy of Education The philosophy of Nigerian folk music is all encompassing. It deals with every area of man‟s existence on earth. “The integrity of Nigerian music in Nigerian society is held to a very high esteem because it plays a vital role in all important stages of the life of Nigerians” (Keke and Obiekwe 2012: 304). “It provides an avenue through which societal values are learnt.” (Ibekwe 2013:130). Music in Nigerian context is not only meant for entertainment, it aims at educating the people on the activities of the environment in which they dwell. Onyeji (2011) states that: African music is rationalized as a platform for social and cultural education as well as moral negotiation, construction and training for all members of the society. Its subtle and penetrating quality makes it well adapted to all forms of humanizing education. To the African therefore, music must provide some form of moral, social and cultural education as its essential value (p.24).

The above assertion is typical of the Nigerian music because, there are varieties of music types with lyrics that address every situation of life. The lyrics of songs are so strong that they penetrate the heart of the performers and the spectators resulting in a change of attitude towards positive issues. “It inculcates the right behavioral attitude to members of the community. They learn morals and social responsibilities through music.” (Okpala 2015:7).

Variety in Nigerian Music Music like language is ethical bound. There are different musical variants practiced by various societies in Nigeria. The diversities in musical practices of Nigerian societies are as a result of cultural differences. This is evident in the people‟s social life, value system, religion and also the musical practices. Despite these cultural differences, no society in Nigeria lives in isolation. People move from their community to other communities; mostly urban areas in search of greener pastures and this encourages cordial relationship between the Nigerian communities. Nketia (1975:6) discussing the musical tradition of Africa affirms that “there was cultural interaction that resulted in the borrowing and adaptation of cultural items, including music.” The situation is not different in Nigeria.

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Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Folk Music an Aid to Effective Teaching and Learning of Music The teacher is the principal actor in all teaching and learning situations, as a result, much centers on him/her. So the teacher must be competent enough to teach the subject to achieve a desirable result .Affirming this, Nwokenna in Ugo- Okonkwo (2014) stated that “music teaching in schools cannot be effective if the teachers do not show remarkable competence on the various aspects of general music programme” (p.218). The music teacher should adopt a teaching method which will enhance what Ojukwu and Onyiuke (2014:79) termed learner-centered. In order words the teacher‟s primary aim is to impart knowledge on the learner. So, it is left to the teacher to device a technique that will ensure maximum mastery of what he/she has taught. The teacher of music should be very creative because music is a performance oriented subject that requires creativity.

Every Nigerian child possesses inherent musical traits which he/she acquire as he grows up in community. This should be considered while planning a lesson to be taught .There are topics in music which should be introduced to the students with what they are familiar with. Such topics as rhythm, form, classification of musical instruments to mention but a few are best taught with reference to the folk music of the culture area. The students will understand and assimilate what the teacher has taught if concrete examples are used. The ability of the teacher to plan his lessons in a way that the students will be actively involved will make teaching and learning easy. It will also arouse the interests of the students thereby encouraging a good number of them to further their studies on the subject.

Its Challenges Basic education gives young people the opportunities necessary to acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes; which they need to live happy and productive lives as individuals who have social duties to discharge for the betterment of life in the society. Hence, it is pertinent that the curriculum at this level of education be designed in such a way that it can effectively reflect the needs of individuals in the society as well as the aspirations of a given society when implemented (Ugoo-Okonkwo 2014).

These needs of a society are integrated in their education system. This is done so that the growing generation will assimilate it and become relevant in their 78 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… societies. The federal Government of Nigeria in a bid to incorporate our cultural arts into Nigerian education introduced Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA); the amalgamation of music, drama and fine art. Aninwene in Okeke (2014) submits that: Attempts were however made in 1969 by National Curricula conference to change the British colonial heritage on education in Nigeria, in order to make it more responsive to the needs and aspirations of Nigeria and the Nigerian child alike. The conference sought to emphasize Nigerian culture, including Nigerian music, folklore and literature in the education system with emphasis on acquisition of practical skills from primary to tertiary levels (p.24).

The introduction of CCA into Nigerian education curriculum is a welcomed idea to achieve the desires and aspirations of Nigerians. But there are some challenges in the implementation stage. Some of these challenges have been highlighted by some scholars like Ugoo-Okonkwo (2014), Okeke (2014), Ojukwu and Onyiuke (2014), Onuorah-Oguno and Okpala (2015). They were unanimously concerned about the incompetence of CCA teachers at this level to teach the subject effectively. Most schools do not have teachers who are specialists in the three subject areas of the CCA. The implication is that a teacher who specializes in drama will also have to teach music and fine art. Definitely, the outcome of such will not be desirable at all. Even where there are music teachers, the question is how competent are these teachers? Music is a creative subject and studies have shown that most of the music teachers at the post primary level are not creative or performance oriented. “Teachers are merely content with teaching lines and spaces and go home leaving a yawning gap in the creativity aspect of music” Onuora-Oguno and Okpala (2015:4). A music teacher who is not creative will never make effective use of folk music in the teaching of music in the teaching of music as folk music is all about performance.

Cultural differences: The variety of languages in Nigerian societies makes it impossible for a teacher from one culture areas serving in another place within the country to teach the people‟s folk music effectively.

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Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Inadequate time allotment: Interview carried out by the researcher in the course of this study and her personal experience as once a teacher in the post-primary school showed that a maximum of 30-45 minutes per period were allocated for classes . The teacher has 1 to1½ hours to cover what he/she has in the scheme of work for the week. The scheme of work for the JS classes drawn from the new curriculum was always over loaded with several topics which are expected to be covered in one week. „‟Lesson topics are so jam-packed in the new scheme of work (Ugoo-Okonkwo 2014). She goes further to observe that for the topics to be covered by the teacher, he/she must have to superficially teach them that even the students will not comprehend what is being taught. Time factor coupled with over loading of weekly lesson periods with topics makes it difficult for the teacher to do justice to his/her teaching.

Inadequate provision of instructional materials: Most post primary schools do not have basic instructional materials that will aid the use of folk music to inculcate knowledge to the students. Such materials as keyboard instruments and other local music instrument, the use of some electronic gadgets that are necessary for effective teaching and learning are lacking in most schools.

Lack of local terminologies for musical terms: Sometimes, it becomes apt for the teacher to use some local terms for easy understanding of some ideas or actions in the teaching and learning situations. But due to lack of local terms he/she limits his explanation to the conventional terms. This situation is gradually being taken care of as ANIM has compiled first edition of local terminologies from different cultures in Nigeria.

Teaching methods: “A good teacher must cultivate and possess some personal qualities or characteristics that will ender him/her to the learner” (Ojukwu and Onyiuke 2014:76). One very important character a music teacher must possess is humility. He must humble himself to sing, dance and play musical instruments with the students irrespective of his/her social status in the society or rank in the school. The researcher‟s interaction with some students on students-teacher relationship disclosed that most students are afraid of their music teachers. Some teachers use abusive words on the students, calling them names because they failed to answer questions correctly in the class. For effective teaching, the teacher 80 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… must maintain friendly relationship with the students. It is also surprising to note that some music teachers just give notes to students to copy with little or no explanations. The music teacher should employ all the necessary instructional materials available to make sure that he/she achieves his objectives. He/she must not look up to the school authority to provide him with everything needed for efficient teaching; he must be ready to sacrifice his time and money.

Aims and objectives of education have been discussed under two broad headings: 1. Individual Development 2. Social and national development. It was gathered that education is expected to enable a human being to attain the greatest possible harmony, internal and external, spiritual and material, for the fullest possible development of human potentialities and capabilities. It should be able to produce effective individuals in the sense that they realize their responsibilities towards the society, since the individual lives in society and has his obligations towards his nation.

It was stated earlier in the introduction of this paper that a West African leader indicated his interest in developing human beings in order to achieve maximum social development. Teaching methods play indispensable role in achieving educational goals which centers on human development. Music being a performance oriented subject requires active participation of the students during the teaching and learning period. The music teacher must show a high level of competence in administering his lessons. The students must be actively involved. For instance, In teaching of „‟Rhythm‟‟ the teacher will provide few rhythmic instruments and lead the students to play the rhythmic patterns he/she wants them to master .The students are also expected to represent the rhythm by clapping or dancing as lead by the teacher. Knowledge acquired through this method will not be easily forgotten. Ugoo-Okonkwo (2015), in her discussion on Implementation Strategies Employed by Teachers for CCA Curriculum and its Implications to Music Education, cited a Chinese proverb which states: “Tell me, I will forget, show me, I might remember, involve me and I will learn.” (p.223).The utmost concern of the teacher should be the strategies to adopt in order to impact learning into the students. 81 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Prospects The use of folk music as an aid in the teaching of music in Nigerian secondary schools, especially in those topics where it is inevitable, will go a long way to yield desirable results in the teaching and learning of music. Every Nigerian child is born with traits of some musical skills which develop as he grows. In line with this, Emeka (1994:145) noted that “children grow up and play together improving their language and number skills by running errands playing musical and rhythmic games, listening to and participating in the recitation of rhyme.” Music is part and parcel of the developmental process of every Nigerian child. Agu (2011) in affirmation opines that “music occupies the child‟s entire day‟s activity from morning to night and through all the developmental stages of his life, from birth to death. The musical tradition surrounding his birth begins as soon as he is born.” (pg.2).

In formal education setting, the child should be taught the planned topics as contained in the scheme of work in line with what he already knows and is able to do. This will enhance systematic learning. His previous knowledge forms the basis on which the new and subsequent ones are built. The use of folk music as an aid to the teaching of music would help in the struggle to prevent our traditional music from total extinction. The students at this level will improve on what they already know; rather than the teacher making references to western music types which sometimes sound abstract to the students. Hopefully, this will increase the students‟ interest in the subject as well as encourage them to opt to study music at the senior school certificate examination and probably continue with it at the tertiary institution.

The researcher adopted this method when she served in post primary school. At that time, CCA had not been introduced; the students were given the opportunity to choose between music and fine arts. Before her arrival, the number of students offering fine arts outnumbered those offering music for junior school certificate examination. In a class of seventy-five (75), fifty-four (54) students chose to study fine art while twenty-one (21) was for music. She introduced the use of folk music as an instructional material, bought some local instruments and also led the students to construct some miniature instruments with available materials. She often took the students to the field to do a practical demonstration 82 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… of what was taught in the class. She made class room teaching as concise as possible and then did elaborate teaching in the field, where the students were actively involved and adequate teaching aids employed. She also motivated the students by giving little token to encourage the students that made remarkable contributions during classes. She sourced for sponsorship and got a donor for a cash price of ten thousand naira to the best JS3 student in music at the end of every academic year. She succeeded in making the teaching and learning of music enjoyable to the students. From then till the introduction of CCA, the number of the students that chose music, far much outnumbered those of fine art. Good number of the students opted to continue with music in their senior class but unfortunately for them she left the school.

Summary and Conclusion Education is all about acquiring knowledge that will bring about positive change in human being. The change will affect him mentally, physically, spiritually and materially. Well equipped with this knowledge, he will effect possessive development even beyond his cultural milieu. In African context, Folk music has been proved beyond every reasonable doubt of being an important aid in ensuring sustainable development in man and his environment. Human development starts from childhood. ‟‟Music trains the mental and motor skill of a child „‟ (Okpala 2015:200). This paper stressed the need for teachers of music in Nigerian schools to introduce the use folk music in the teaching of music. It portrayed folk music as the foundation of musical knowledge of every Nigerian Child. This research work also revealed some challenges that hamper the effective teaching and learning of music in our secondary schools. The lumping of the three major creative arts subjects taught in secondary school under the umbrella of CCA posed a very strong challenge in the effective teaching of music at this level.

This paper therefore recommends that orientation courses be organized at close intervals to educate the teachers on the best way to tackle this challenge. The government, both at the state and federal levels should as a matter of fact ensure that they employ at least three teachers that specialize in at least two of the subjects in every school and a music teacher must be inclusive. It also recommends that the curriculum planners should include some aspects of folk music as instructional materials to enhance teaching and learning of music. 83 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… References Agu .D.C.C. (1990).The primacy of music in Igbo traditional religion in Ekpunobi, E. and Ezeaku, I. (eds). Social-philosophical perspective of African traditional religion (pp. 49-55). Enugu: New Age. Agu .D.C.C. (2011). Use of Igbo folk music an instructional material for moral and musical arts education in Igbo culture Nigerian. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts. 8, pp. 1-8. Emeka, L. N. (1994). Nigerian peoples and culture. Enugu: New Generation Books. Ibekwe .E.N. (2013) The philosophy of African music as oral literature. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts. 9, pp. 125-134. Keke, M. T. O. and Obiekwe, C. N. (2012). The integrity of traditional music in the Nigerian society. Nuskka Journal of Musical Arts Research. 1, pp. 303 - 311. Nketia, J. H. K. (1974). The music of Africa. New York :W.W. Horton. Ojukwu, E. V. and Onyiuke, Y. S. (2014). Effective teaching of cultural and creative Arts (CCA): Integrated Approach. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 10, pp. 74 - 86 Okeke, I. N. (2014). Applying Piaget‟s „‟Critical period‟‟ to music education in Nigeria: A study of selected schools. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 10, PP. 45 - 64. Okafor, R. C. (2005). Music in Nigerian society. Enugu: New Generation Books. Okafor, R. C. (2013). Nigerian peoples and culture .Enugu: New Generation Books. Okonkwo, N. V. (2006). Christian religious music in contemporary Nigeria and its relevance to social reconstruction. Nigerian Musicology Journal. 2, pp.156 - 175. Okpala, H. N. (2006). Musical activities of children in Uga community of Aguata L.G.A. Masters Degree Project, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Okpala, H. N. (2015).The place of Igbo folk songs in peace building and sustainable rural development. An International Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH). 4(3), pp. 200 - 207. Okpala, H. N. (2015). The rhythmic structure of children‟s songs in Nanka. A paper presented at the 12th Annual Conference of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists. UNIPORT. 84 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Hope Okpala: Folk Music in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ Music Pedagogy:… Okpala, H. N. (2015). Song texts- a tool for global reconciliation. ANSU Journal of Arts and Humanities. 2 (2), pp.199 - 204. Onyeji, C. and Onyeji E. (2011). A perspective on the philosophy of African music practice and creativity. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts. 8, pp. 19 - 31. Ugoo-Okonkwo, A. I. (2014). Implementation strategies employed by teachers for CCA curriculum and its implications to music education. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 10, pp. 206 -225. Vidal, A. O. (2012). Essays on Yoruba musicology. Ile Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press.

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ENHANCING NATIONAL SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE THROUGH MUSIC: NIGERIA IN PERSPECTIVE

Adesola E. Olabiwonninu And Blessing A. Amole

Introduction Nigeria as a nation has been experiencing a lot of security challenges for so many years in almost every facet of life, which threatens Nigeria‟s peace and development. These challenges manifest in areas such as economy, education, politics, infrastructure and many others just to mention but a few. Despite all the plans and strategies being put in place by the government through security agencies and other measures, to combat these anomalies, little or no headway is being made to really make the nation attain an appreciable level of development. Instead, the state of the nation is being characterized by all sorts of structural challenges, insecurity, poverty, and short-fall in monthly allocations, unemployment, kidnapping, killings and many other forms of abnormalities. These have also brought about damages, loss of innocent lives and properties, weakness in internal security and national insecurity.

In recent times, greater attention is being paid to the roles and activities of educational institutions in training good citizens in the nation. This is because education is considered a powerful instrument for change and development. In line with this ideology, Iyewarun (1989) submitted that education is an instrument by which young members of the society are brought up and socialized so as to secure useful and active members of society. To achieve this, various forms of educational programmes for the young ones in schools are put in place with the intention of making the youths more useful and active members of their societies.

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Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… Therefore, education curriculum was diversified to embraced areas such as music education, civic education, citizenship education, peace and conflict resolution, and many others. Through these forms of education, an individual can imbibe the spirit of national patriotism, cooperation, fulfill their statutory obligations and civic duties, and also shun all forms of social vices in society that are inimical to national security. However, there is need for government to provide enabling environment, provision of human and material resources that would enhance effective impartation of knowledge to the younger ones at our institutions of learning.

Many people consider music as just a means of entertainment or enjoyment. It is also important to note that music is an important aspect of culture, education, as well as a medium of communication among others. Many musicians engage in music production, performance, music conducting, composition and arrangement, and many other areas of music practices. Beyond all the aforementioned areas, this paper sets out to examine how music can be used to promote national security and good governance as well as other challenges in Nigeria.

Conceptual Clarifications Security: The word security in its simple term means the degree of protection from harm. However, it also has diverse meanings and interpretations. For instance, Oxford Advance Learner‟s Dictionary (2013) defines security as activities involved in protecting a country, building or person against attack, danger and so on. Arnord (1960) defines security as objectively the absence of threats to acquire values and subjectively the absence of fear that those values will be attacked. Nwankwo (2013) views security as freedom from financial cares, from want or poverty in any form. Security, therefore, can be defined as steps taken to security safety or lives, properties and wealth of the people living in an environment.

National security: The concept of national security does not have a generally acceptable definition; rather, it depends on the individual‟s perspective, ideology and experience. Muhammed (2007) defines national security as a condition whereby a country is free from any form of fear of threat to its peace, stability and progress. To Ekolo (2014), national security transcends territorial defense and should be on the physical, social and psychological quality of life of society and its 87 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… members, both in the domestic setting and within the larger regional and global setting.

In a nutshell, national security can be viewed as defence and protection of a nation against internal and external attacks as well as maintaining peace, stability and progress. It is therefore suffice to say that for a nation not to be intimidated by security threats, there must be good governance where “right people” are governing the affairs of the nation, they must be people who are ready to defend, secure and maintain the integrity as well as the security of the nation at all costs. It is worthy of note that when people are less confident about the security of the nation, they tend to resort to malevolent behaviours (Nwankwo, 2013).

Governance: Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary defines governance as the activities of governing a country or controlling a company or an organization. It is the way in which a country is governed or a company or a company or institution is controlled. Emelonye (2000) refers to governance as the ability to provide the basic necessities of life to the populace. Governance can therefore be defined as a way or method of managing the affairs or resources of a state, nation or society for the benefit of the entire populace. It can also be described as a way in which the political power is being exercised to control or manage the affairs of an organization or a nation.

Good governance: Olukoshin (2001) described good governance as the war against corrupt practices, a predictable political system, participatory decision making process, auditing of governance transactions curbing or bureaucratic bottle necks, decentralization of governance, judicial autonomy, fundamental human rights and rule of law. In the same vein, Larry Diamond (2004) describes good governance as the willingness on the part of government to effectively and frugally manage wealth and resources of a state to generate public goods for the benefit of all. Good governance can therefore be seen as sincere or proper way by which a government meets the essential needs of its citizenry.

The foregoing submissions point to the fact that good governance pave way for the betterment of the people in accordance with the stipulated constitution

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Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… guiding a nation. To this end, when the essential needs of the people are met by the government, the security of the nation will also be guaranteed.

The concept of good governance cannot be separated from national security. In fact, it can be regarded as the bedrock of peace and security of the people and their properties. Expressing the importance of good governance in the anal of a nation, Kofi Annan (2003) stressed that: Good governance is a means of creating well-functioning and accountable institutions-political, judicial and administrative which citizens regard as legitimacy, in which they participate in decisions that affect their daily lives and which they are empowered.

Considering the above assertion, it therefore implies that good governance allows people to participate in decision making, most especially in matters that concern their daily life. Government is also accountable to the people that elected or voted them into offices.

Music: The definition of music varies according to culture and social context. For instance, Idolo (2002) quoting Apel (1973) states that music is derived from the Greek word „Music‟ which originally meant the art of technique of all cultural endeavours. Hoffer (1985) defines music as combination of sounds that are organized and meaningful, occurring in a prescribed span of time and usually having pitch. Olopade (1988) sees music as one of the verbal arts that enrich the individual in understanding nature around him. Considering all these submissions, we can therefore say that music is the combination of sounds of different pitches, made by man which, is to be sung or played on instruments in order to please the emotions and stimulate the intellect in accordance with the society‟s theoretical framework. Music is also a medium by which ideas are fixed in the minds of the audience.

These essential attributes of music according to Ibekwe (2009) are to communicate ideas, portray culture, symbolize event, socialize people, stimulate emotion and other related functions. Hence, each of these put together is capable or promoting national security and good governance. 89 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… Education: Education is a tool by which societies prosper and flourish. It covers a wide range of experience from formal learning to the building of intellect. It entails understanding and gathering of knowledge through the day-to-day experiences and activity.

Fafunwa (1995) opines that education is a tool of all due process by which a child or a young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of good and positive values to the society in which they live. Oladejo (2003) perceives education as a process through which an individual, a group or a society can be developed by transmitting the societal cultural heritage from one generation to another. Hence, education can be seen as a process of transmitting what is worthwhile from one generation to another in order to bring positive permanent change in behaviour in the life of an individual.

Music education: It is an aspect of education that deals with teaching and learning or musical knowledge or training based on the organization of sounds in acquiring of musical skills by the students apart from academic aspects of their study that enables its products to be self-reliant. Orford (2001) quoting Suzuki (1983) stressed the importance of music education and development of a young person‟s mind and learning abilities that research has shown that music enhances a young person‟s development and creates good citizens. He explained further that even in United States of America music has, for the most part, been identified as a core subject in the education system.

Storr (1992) believes in music education for all children at an early age. He maintains that music gives life meaning and remains a fixed point of reference in an unpredictable world. He is of the opinion that those who have been lucky enough to receive adequate musical education in early life are better integrated in every way when they reach maturity. The philosophy of music education as stated in Nigeria Certificate in Education minimum standard (2012 edition) stresses the role of music in the general growth and development of a child. Section 3 and 4 further state that:  It (music) has the potential of being one of the most valuable subjects for enhancing human personality. It is a kingpin among the various facets of

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Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… culture which fashions and mobilizes a people to attain all that is best in their lives, whether as individuals or as corporate entities.  Music is used in achieving ends which are both musical and non-musical e.g. doing various types of work, wrestling, in the expression of nationalism, group solidarity, as propangada machinery etc Music education programme therefore enables an individual to be connected to his or her society, inner self and all other arts. More so, it promotes cultural continuity and makes its product to acquire skills in music for self-reliance (Section 6.2, v and vi).

Furthermore, Reiner (1970) in Omibiyi (1983) while writing on the importance of music education states that music education has dual obligation in society. First, to develop the talents of those who are gifted musically for their own personal benefits, and for the benefit of the society which they will serve. Second, to develop the aesthetic sensitivity to music of all people, regardless of their individual levels of musical talents, for their own benefits and that of the society which needs an active cultural life for the benefits of the art of music, which depends on a continuing supply of sympathetic sensitive consumers. This implies that music education is capable of enhancing and promoting individual musical talents which will then make the individual to be useful and not becoming liability to the society. As the saying goes that “an idle hand is the devil‟s workshop” and a threat to national security.

Enhancing National Security and good governance through Music Education Placing the philosophy of Nigerian education to fall in accordance with the country‟s national objectives, most especially as it relates to music education programme, it has to be tailored towards self-realization, national consciousness, national unity, scientific and technological advancement, good human relationships, cultural and political development. Having examined the concepts of good governance and music education as well as the justifications for both in our learning institutions, the following are means by which music education could be used in enhancing national security and good governance.

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Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… First and foremost, music education helps in the training of mind of an individual in the understanding of the world around him. In line with this statement Afolabi (2003) posited that: Music is an art which specifically seeks to involve the learner‘s in perceiving the world they life in reacting to songs they hear and they feel, and interpreting their emotions, feelings and insights through a variety of musical activities. It becomes imperative that opportunity for music education should be available to all students without discrimination of any kind.

The foregone assertion indicates that through music education, children‟s minds and attitudes are trained in the right manner and ways of behaving in society. This would also help them to shun evil practices that could lead to crises and insecurity in the nation. In addition, when the minds of the youths are rightly trained, they would be able to govern the nation properly by the time they grow up and assume leadership positions. Through the songs they hear, sing and react to, learners are better informed, educated and transformed. In addition, they are able to know what is going on around them.

Moreover, music education could be employed to sensitize people on their legitimate rights and duties to participate in the process of good governance. The processes include the rights to vote and be voted for during elections, freedom of expression on national issues and many others. When people are allowed to exercise these rights and their views are respected, they would be able to participate in governance and there would be mutual cooperation and understanding between the governed and the government. In other words, music thereby serves as machinery to canvass for massive support and continuity of good governance. When this is done, there would be no room for crises hence, national security would be promoted. This could be done through recorded music jingles on radio, television programmes, Compac Disks (CD) in audio and video, and music concerts.

Furthermore, through music education, the resources and affairs of the nation could be controlled and checked. Musicians by the nature of their work serve as mouth-piece for the masses. When the resources of a nation are not well 92 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… managed, it would definitely reflect in the economic lives of the people. In such situations, musicians therefore serve as agents of check. Through music, government is able to know and feel the impulse of their subjects and how their governance affects the life of the people. This there by gives signals to the government to adjust for better administration in order to avoid crises.

Recommendations For music education to adequately enhance national security and good governance, the following recommendations are proffered:  Government should identify and promote our cultural value systems that are going into extinction for national exploration and propagation.  Music education curriculum should be geared towards inculcating the right and expected national virtues in our younger ones. This would improve the area of cultural development for the enhancement of peaceful society.  Adequate musical instruments, instructional materials and facilities should be provided by the government to enhance effective teaching and learning of music in schools.  Government should have access to the required financial and human resources to carry out its mandate and shun corrupt practices in all its ramifications.

Conclusion Looking at the present state of our nation, there is no doubt that the level of unemployment, killing, robbery, kidnapping and insurgence have constituted great threat to national security. Music education therefore has potential of eradicating or minimizing these and enhancing national security and good governance. It is also believed that when government at all levels create enabling environment for the development of creative works such as music, plays, drama and poems, national integrity will be promoted.

References Afolabi, S. O. (2003). The relevance of music education in empowering the people with special needs. A paper presented at the 1st annual national conference of school of vocational and technical education. F.C.E (Special), Oyo. 93 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Olabiwonninu & Amole: Enhancing National Security and Governance through music:… Ekolo, A. E. (2004). Boundaries and national security. A paper presented at the 6th inaugural lecture of Delta State University, Abraka. Emelonye, I. U. (2000). The governance score card: A review of democratic governance in Nigeria. Lagos: Hurilaws Fafunwa, A. B. (1995). History of education in Nigeria. Ibadan: NPS Educational Publishers Ltd. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National policy on education. Lagos: NERDC press. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2012). National commission for colleges of education minimum standard for NCE teachers. Abuja. Hoffer, C. R. (1985). The understanding of music. Belmont: California, Ibekwe, E. U. (2009). Musicians and the philosophical dimenstions of African man. In Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AIRMA). Idolor, E. (2002). The music scholar and the artiste; their functional tasks in contemporary Nigerian music practice. In Adekogbe, B. (eds). Nigerian Music Review. Ile-Ife; Department of music, O.A.U. Iyewarun, S. (1989). The teaching of social studies. Ibadan; Woye press Ltd Larry, D. (2005). World religious and democracy. A Journal of Democracy Book. Larry, D., Marc. F.p. and Philip J.C.(Eds.) Ohio: John Hay University Press. Muhammed, A. (2007). The place and challenges of national security in Nigeria: Problems and prospects. Nigeria Journal of Social Studies. Vol x (1x2). Nwakwo, J. I. (2013). Managing education for national security. A paper presented at 32nd annual conference of Nigeria Association for Educational Administration and Planning (NAEP): Ilorin. Oladejo, M. A. (2002). Understanding philosophy in education; Nigerian perspective. Oyo; Tobistic Printing and Publishing Ventures. Olopade, J. O. (1998). Rehabilitating the exceptional children through art education; 21st century challenges to teacher education programme. A public lecture delivered at school of Vocational and Technical Education, F.C.E. (Special), Oyo. Orford, E. C. (2001). A place for music: The importance of music education in the public school system. Retrieved from http://kellymusic.ca/articles/template.asp?articleid=482&zoneid=2. Storr, A. (1992). Music and the mind. New York: Macmillan. 94 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

AFRICAN/NIGERIAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN MUSIC BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Tobi Kemewerigha and Stephen Onwubiko and Juliet C. Ebiwenimoh

Introduction In contemporary Nigerian society, almost everyone seems to be more inclined to Western world‟s fashion, language and many more; while the Western world seeks to explore Africa/Nigeria and its corresponding culture and all it has to offer. Music of the African people is one of such areas of interest to the Western world. Business as one of the characteristic elements in African music, given the vastness of the continent and the ancient rich, and diverse traditional musical culture of Africa: with different regions having distinct musical traditions. The aspect of African/Nigerian musical instrument business or entrepreneurship is a viable area that requires more interest by scholars and music practitioners. It has much to offer as well as equip individuals with skills and tools needed to create sustainable career in the arts.

Music business in Africa requires the attention of scholars and interested individual to be able to meet up to the global standard and requirements. This would be targeted towards how the contents are produced, distributed, and consumed. There is an ongoing trend in various Nigerian music institutions of embracing music business/entrepreneurship and including same in their curricula as well as extracurricular activities to foster entrepreneurial development in our

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Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… institutions and society at large. This is particularly necessary in light of the present continuing shifts in the music world. It is also essential as graduating musicians find themselves confronting dramatic changes in employment opportunities in the symphonic and operatic worlds; as a result of dwindling attendances in many venues; and a recording industry that continues to reinvent itself on a regular basis. Music educators are recognizing the need to think more creatively than ever before in order to put their education to use. An increasing number of schools are realizing the need to prepare graduates with a background in arts entrepreneurship and business as well as professional skills.

Professionals in the world of music as well as educators (professors) from business schools are working side-by-side with students in arts entrepreneurship classes and programs in many Western schools. Students are interviewing successful entrepreneurs, musical instrument technologists, studio teachers, music industry leaders, performers, founders of music schools and so on, to learn what it takes to think and work as an entrepreneur. Coupled with career development classes that include all it takes from basic marketing, fund raising, and proposal writing, to utilizing social and other media, handling the financial end of a business (including filing taxes), and producing their own recordings.

Entrepreneurship education has the capacity to prepare students to build viable, sustainable careers in music. In most areas of higher music education, entrepreneurship has long lost its stigma as a career path for those without one. This is why school/educators bring up centers for entrepreneurship programs, but this has dwindling effect on musicians, because their business frame work is different from the centers approaches in business.

Music business/entrepreneurship has its trends and strategies which are different from the conventional business entrepreneurship programmes. Some of the confronting issues in the entrepreneurial programmes and practices include the following:

Technology In his definition of technology Layton (2006) informs that technology can mean the special kind of knowledge which technologists use when solving 96 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… practical problems; for example, designing and building an irrigation system for tropical agriculture. Such works often begins with human want; for example, better safety for an infant passenger car.

Technological activities are not new but are as old as human history like-wise their entrepreneurship and impact on almost all aspects of human lives. A common feature of technological activities, no matter what outcome is in mind, is the ability to design. The aim of design is to give some form, pattern, structure or arrangement to an intended technological product so that it is an integrated and balanced whole which will do what is intended. Designing often begins with an idea in a person's mind and the designer has to be able to envisage situations, transformations and outcome, then models these in the mind‟s eye.

Music technology is connected to both artistic and technological creativity. Musicians are constantly striving to devise new forms of expression through music, and physically creating new devices to enable them to do so; not minding that the term is now most commonly used in reference to modernized electronic device.

Music Technologist as an Entrepreneur Taking a look at the entrepreneur as a person, he or she possesses an innate ability and desire for change. He possesses a sight for possibilities rather than seeing impossibilities. In Okpukpara‟s (2011) words; Entrepreneur came to be used to identify venture-some individuals, who stimulated economic progress by finding new and better ways of doing things. Baudeau was the first to suggest the function of the entrepreneur as an innovator and thus brought invention and innovation into the discussion. Furthermore, he emphasized the ability to process knowledge and information, which makes the entrepreneur a very lively and obviously economic agent.

Every thriving economy in the world today can be said to have given fair policy to encourage entrepreneurship in different facets of business. Notwithstanding the economically important characters found in entrepreneurs, 97 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… Okpukpara (2011) mentioned some dark side of the entrepreneurship worth being careful about. Among those listed was the need for control, as the innovator could incautiously make too many assumptions. Other points listed are sense of distrust, desire for success thereby throwing caution to the air, stressful way of life and external optimism. (Nancy Rossiter, Peter Goodrich & John Shaw, 2011). Entrepreneurial motivations are defined by Hessels as the motivation for founding a business. Primary studies on the subject presented only two means for motivation: opportunity or necessity (Reynolds et al. 2001).

The next type of studies on the subject seeks to provide an explanation for one's decision to start a business (Douglas and Shepherd 2002). The psychological entrepreneurial motivation; such as the need for achievement, (MacClelland 1961) or the need for power (Mac Clelland 1975) suggest motivation beyond control of socioeconomic factor." Nancy Rossiter et al. (2011) Entrepreneurial drive is a fundamental component to understanding what motivates an entrepreneur to start their own business. Hossels' studies identifies to what extent entrepreneurial motivations are forceful entrepreneur aspirations. The three types of entrepreneurial motivation includes: the independent motive, the increase-wealth motive, the necessity motive. Investigating and measuring the entrepreneurial aspirations as well as motivation often use country-level data. This data is taken from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years 2005 and 2006 (Hossels 2008). The GEM expounded upon the model of only two equations for explaining aspirations, while Hossels expound further through the use of motivations and socioeconomic variable to account for what drives to take on the challenge of beginning something new on their own. Some account it is the increase-wealth motive which dictates the relationship between socioeconomic variables as well as entrepreneurial aspirations for more modern business-focus

Instrument technologist as an entrepreneur is about breaking the barriers and taking the risk in the construction and manufacturing of African musical instrument for use, also the management and assume the risk of a business. Entrepreneur in music technology should possess ability and desire for change. He should poses a sight for possibilities rather than seeing impossibilities in enhancing and developing of locally made instruments/equipment like speakers, drums, pianos,

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Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… guitars and other musical instruments/equipment for use in schools and institutions. Potentialities of Music Technology and Entrepreneurship 1. Musical knowledge can be represented through different media as in the case of music notation being represented on paper or on computer. 2. Musical knowledge can be represented through different metaphors, as in the case of a timbre‟s similarity to an instrument design or to its acoustical attributes. A sound may be described as woodwind like, or brass like. Alternatively, timbres could be considered as sound objects (Schaeffer, 1952) described by their time envelopes, degree of internal complexity and processes applied to him, in the manner used in Musique Concrete.

The interaction of the music student with a variety of metaphoric description of music inherent in different technologies will, if reflected upon, develop the student‟s musical understanding. In the story of Ewan we note that the change in metaphoric understanding of the sequencer shifted from tape recorder to band-at- the-read and then to music copyist. Although significant in themselves, the substitution of media may not lead to significant changes in thinking if they employ the same metaphors can be value of changing technologies without metaphors can be in improving efficiency, financial savings, and increased integration of the new media; as is the case with substituting manuscript paper for most computer notational packages. But these may simply be expensive efficiency gains.

Changes in metaphor result in significant changes in thinking; in new potentialities for understanding the world of music. These changes occur with technological change to varying degrees, but are often transparent and little considered (Brown and Purcell, 1988). For example, the shift from class music performance on recorder to electronic piano has obvious changes from monophonic thinking to polyphonic, and vertical pitch physicality to horizontal, and abstract octave variation to visual. However, the change from electronic piano to synthesizer has important but more transparent implications (at least possibilities) including a shift from a pitch and time focus to a timbre-time focus, from a one-to- one correspondence between gesture and sound-event to a one too many possibility (using complex sounds, arpeggiators, and auto performance options), the ability to determine sonic parameters beyond percussive note onset, and 99 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… significant changes in repertoire possibilities particularly in contemporary music genres. Curriculum designers should be vigilant in their consideration of the metaphoric shifts they implement as they introduce technological change in the music education programmes, as it is these shifts which result in the most significant changes in the minds of students.

The Entrepreneurship Role and Opportunities of Music Technologist Entrepreneurial activities in African/Nigerian music technology might involve African/Nigerian studio management, concert/studio recordings, African/Nigerian music instrument sales and productions. The business scope in music technology industry in Nigeria is the platform helping to drive a much broader music industry nationally, but categorically it is quite below the standard expected of it, owing to the quantity of African/Nigerian musical instruments produced and sold globally.

There is need to strengthen the music technological factories/industries in Nigeria to meet the global demands and to bridge the gap made by low productivity of locally manufactured African/Nigerian musical instruments/equipment. Locally made African/Nigerian instruments need to be improved on and better technologically advanced. Instruments like dundun, kakaki, ikoro, oja, ogene, ekwe, ichaka, udu, igba etc.

Reasons for Music Technology Entrepreneurship 1. Music technology as a source of employment. 2. Music technology as an area of specialty in music studies. 3. Music technology as a branch of human resource development. 4. To give back to society in terms of empowerment and better music quality. 5. As a means of meeting the demand of technical needs in music. 6. As a source of income and revenue in the country. 7. To enlighten the society about music technology.

Summary and Conclusion In a bid to employ the aforementioned in real life music-making and music business, the content of this paper would serve as a blue print to guide Nigerian music scholars and business men/women who are out to make Nigeria proud in this respect. There is need to establish factories for the 100 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Kemewerigha, Onwubiko & Ebiwenimoh: African/Nigerian Musical Instruments in… production of African instruments that would meet the desires of performers and music enthusiasts. Music technologists as successful entrepreneurs will add more value to music studies and musicological perceptions of members of society; this will eventually go a long way to enhance Nigerian music industry in the aspect of technology nationally and globally.

References Baskerville, David (1990). Music business hand book and career guide. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/670189 Douglas, E. J. and Shepherd, D. A. (2002). Self-employment as a career choice: attitudes, entrepreneurial intentions and utility maximation. Entrepreneurship theory and practice. https://journals.sagepub.com Entrepreneurship and Development Research (CEDR), University of Nigeria. https://www.dictionary/refrences.com/browse/technology Hessels, J. van Gelderen, M., and Thurik , R (2008). Entrepreneurial aspirations, motivations and their drivers. Springerlink McClelland, D. C (1961). The achieving society. Princeton: Van Nostrand. Nancy Rossiter, Peter Goodrich & John Shaw, (2011). Social capital and music entrepreneurs. Okpukpara B.E. (2011). Introduction to entrepreneurship. Enugu: Timex Enterprises Reynolds, P. D. Bygrave, W. D. Autio, E. Cox, L. & Hay, M. (2002). Global entrepreneurship monitor: 2002 Executive report. Kansas City, MO: Kauffman Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

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PRESERVATION OF EBIRA MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR POSTERITY

Christopher O. Omotosho

Introduction Music making in Ebira culture of Kogi state, Nigeria, is a communal event like many other African societies. Music features in their day-to-day social and religious lives. No festival in Ebira culture could be imagined without music accompaniment. Response to traditional music in Ebira culture is so amazing. Religious dichotomy is ignored when traditional music is performed. Both young and old cherish their traditional music immensely. Ebira people are rich in culture and the community is one of the communities that modernity has little impact on their musical culture. One‟s first contact with Ebira music performance may not give a clear understanding of what the people cherish so much in their traditional music. The reasons are not far-fetched; as they can be attributed to the polyrhythmic nature of Ebira music coupled with Ebira language as a medium through which songs are rendered and the modal scale of the melody make the first comer to be at loss.

On the contrary, it will not take long time before the new person begins to appreciate musical content of their performance. Although, it takes intelligent listening to be able to decipher the instrumental accompaniment of Ebira music, yet when one actually accomplishes this task, he will understand and appreciate the complexity of instrumental performance or accompaniment of Ebira music.

Vidal (2002) observes that musical expressions in Nigeria reflect social functions, occasions and activities with the day to day life of the average Nigerian. He opined that such activities are connected with rituals, ceremonies, occupation, recreation and entertainment. Through music, the social way of life of Ebira people are regulated and transmitted orally from one generation to another as a means of

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Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity ensuring the preservation and survival of their society like any other African community. Adeogun (2005) opined that “the quality or the effectiveness of indigenous African musical work, as an oral art, is dependent on the musical- interpretive skills of the music makers.” (pg.3) He explained that the creative music makers use their skills to vary the syntactical and non-synthetic musical patterns to suit the occasion. Every effort geared towards preservation of the knowledge of African music and African musical instruments is preservation of the culture.

Some traditional musical instruments are tilting towards extinction. This could happen as a result of death of the last member of such genre in case of living thing or destruction of the last member of such non-living thing i.e. musical instruments. Guarava (2014) decries the musical instruments of folk music going into extinction. His reasons are non-availability of true talents and a fading audience for authentic folk music

Musical instruments abound in Ebira culture. They range from membranophones (musical instruments that produce sound through the membrane (animal skin)), aerophone (instruments that produce their sound through air columns) to idiophones (the instruments that produce their sound through the vibration of their bodies). Most of these instruments feature together as an ensemble in Ebira music performance during festivals, social engagements or religious activities. The high level of participation of Ebira people in Ekuechi festival exhibits their aesthetic enjoyment of this festival and this could not be unconnected with the role music and musical instruments play in the celebration of the festival. Most sons and daughters of Ebiraland who live beyond the shores of their homeland have devoted the festival period as the time for visit their communities even if it is for that once a year. They enjoy every musical aspect of the festival. The technology of the musical instruments during these festivals rests still in the hand of the makers who are becoming old and most of their children are not showing interest in their father‟s or family trade. The likelihood of some of these instruments going into extinction is glaring. This paper therefore investigates how these musical instruments could be rescued from going into extinction.

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Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity Why the Study? Preservation of these African musical instruments will be a boost to music education which suffers dearth of instructional materials. Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It is all encompassing in all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain (the development of skills), the cognitive domain (the acquisition of knowledge), and in particular and significant ways, the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity (Wikipedia, 2017). Music is a very important aspect of most human cultures; therefore, every society has music instruction in its type of educational system. The incorporation of music training from pre-school to post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement in music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behaviour. Many scholars agree that music education is not new in Nigeria. It came with general education package as delivered by the missionaries (Okafor, 1992, Adesokan, 2002, Omotoso, 2004, Omotosho, 2007, Olorunsogo, 2014). In Nigeria today, music as a course of study exists in primary, secondary and tertiary levels of educational system. Music education also takes place in individualized, lifelong learning, and community contexts.

However, music education in Nigeria has been faced with many challenges. Adesokan (2002) observed that music education as an intellectual subject has been faced with a lot of problems. He noted that music education was regarded as an essential component of evangelism by the missionaries in the early history of formal education in Nigeria so the missionaries fashioned out a sort of education with the regard to both form and content that would suit their evangelical objectives. Since Nigeria has more expectation for her music education programme it is expected that Nigerian philosophy of music education, curriculum contents and music teacher education programme will be fashioned towards achieving just that. Omotoso (2007) observed that the questions of what should be taught (knowledge object); how to teach what should be taught, how to organize the things to be taught (methodology), etc. are all answered in curriculum content which is developed, financed and supervised by society. Therefore, the society‟s cultural value system, beliefs, aspirations, its worldview and other cultural elements form the content of the curriculum. As he argued, the inherited music curriculum from the missionaries or colonial masters had little or nothing to offer 104 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity African music since African music emphasizes performance and would feel at home with a curriculum that satisfies that.

Adeyera and Oyeleke (2011) opined that there are three factors that determine good learning environment for music instruction. These are the teacher, the physical environment and the curriculum. Physical environment here includes the musical instruments. These serve as materials to be studied or as instructional materials. The dearth of instructional materials has endangered our educational system as many teachers teach their lessons in abstract. Ogli (2007) placed lack of instructional materials among those issues he referred to as the real obstacle to music education in Nigeria. Indigenous musical instruments are supposed to be readily available if the music teachers are equipped to produce them. It will be a disservice to Nigeria if her music could not be learned with the aid of her traditional instruments examples unless western musical instrument. As Nzewi (2007) noted, the African indigenous musical arts foster viable models of philosophical, creative and scientific concepts as well as principles of musical arts creativity and profession practice. Ogli, (2004) has earlier bemoaned the current system of music education when he said that; The practice of using local instruments for dance accompaniment while other western musical instruments are used for instruction, and made compulsory for students to learn and be assessed upon is self-defeating.

Why do students/pupils not perform on local instruments for assessment? The development and preservation of these instruments lie in their usage for instruction and assessment. The western instruments being used today did not just come to be, but evolved through time; therefore, African musical instruments should also be encouraged. In the light of this we look at the musical instrument of Nigeria drawing examples from Ebira musical culture.

Traditional Musical Instruments in Ebiraland The Ebira as an ethnic group occupies five local government areas of Kogi State. These are Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi and Okene local government areas. These areas fall within what is politically referred to as Kogi Central Senatorial district. All these local government areas celebrate common festivals and 105 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity ceremonies which are bonds of unity to the Ebira people. They feature lots of their music and musical instruments during such occasions. African musical instruments could be classified into four basic categories. According to Hornbostel and Sach‟s (1961) these have been earlier represented as aerophones, membranophones, idiophones, and chordophones. The Ebira people have instruments representing each of these groups except chordophone. These are in various shapes, sizes, made of different materials, different tones production, and their origins, methods making, and turning them. Examples of the idiophonic type of instruments that can be found in Ebiraland are: use owe yi (small gong) and use obayin, (big gong, like Yoruba‟s agogo) oha, izeyin obayin. The instruments under membranophonic instruments in Ebiraland include: Anuva (a medium size leather covered pot), Ugogoyin (talking drum), Okanga Obayin (big drum), and Okanga Oweyi (small drum). These are double headed cylindrical drums of about one foot radius, covered with animal skin, Ijabana (single headed bowl drum) and Anuva (a skin-covered pot drum with earthenware base, (Ikibe, 2000; Ojo, 2012). These instruments are made of stretched membranes that vibrate to produce the sound. Their wooden bodies are about 60cm long and 30cm diameter and are decorated with the hand woven Ebira cloth which is also used as handle for carrying the drum. The aerophonic instruments have column for air to be blown into for sound production. These include okokoro (horn trumpet), opayin (wooden flute) and ifere (Ododo, 2004). The chordophone instruments do not exist in Ebira land. Ebira people would not introduce any foreign instrument in their traditional musical performance; no modernization has changed that till date.

Here are some of the Ebira musical instruments:

Ugogoyin

Anova

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Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity

Ijabana Agogo (Use)

Aiha

Okangan Obayin

It is disturbing that the makers of these instruments are gradually decreasing as a result of old age and death while their young ones take no interest in the trade of their fathers. The contemporary Ebira youths find it difficult to follow the traditional norms reserved for some of these instruments. For instance, the custodian of some of the instruments is expected to perform certain rites or rituals before the instruments are taken out for use. Hence, children are not allowed to play with those instruments before rehearsals. As the young ones who are supposed to take over from the outgoing age are not showing interest the future of these instruments is not guaranteed.

Approaches to the Preservation of Music Instruments from Extinction Introduction of music technology in schools: Music technology as a course of study gives ample opportunity to students to learn to manufacture or maintain both local and foreign musical instruments. The course should be made a compulsory course running for two years in Colleges of Education in Nigeria. It 107 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity behooves the department of music to ensure that the course is handled by a qualified hand. The handler of the course should make the students research into African musical instruments more than any other instrument.

In colleges of education with music department where music technology is one of the courses offered, construction of African musical instrument should be considered above any other. This is of course very important because the materials used in making them are readily available. Some materials such as wood may be gotten within the school or college environment. Those to be purchased may not be expensive. It would be a surprise that many of the parents may have interest in such endeavour thereby supplying their wards with the necessary support.

Under the immediate past 6-3-3-4 system of education, equipment for technology were supplied which sadly have been lying fallow in the beneficiary schools. The intention of the curriculum then was to introduce technology both in theory and practice to students of Junior of Secondary School. Students who show proficiency in technology could proceed to technical school or college after the completion of three years in junior secondary while those that do well in other academic work proceed to senior secondary school. This philosophy takes into account, the ability of the children to learn anything presented to them at this age. An introduction to music technology at that particular time will be a right step in the right direction. The African instruments that students are familiar with could be used to teach them construction of instruments.

Introduction of master craftsmen in school: Learning from the craft master should be encouraged either as a project work or the department getting the craft- master to come and demonstrate how the instruments are made and the technicality of its playing. It is better to employ these master musicians in the department of music to give direct teaching on the instruments to the students. Some students who could not do better in music theory and applied music may find their footing in the craft of musical instrument making.

Continual usage: Continual usage of this category of musical instruments will prevent them from going into extinction. In Ebira culture, local or traditional 108 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity performance is always introduced in most of their social events. This makes some of these instruments constantly in use and readily available. On the other hand, if these instruments are kept for annual festivals as in the case of some of them, they may not be in good condition any longer. This is because most of them are affected by weather. To avoid this, they must be constantly in use.

Recommendations Music education in Nigeria is blessed with a department of music technology in Ibadan Polytechnics. While this one is saddled with the responsibility of training music technologists, it is expected that they would find it rewarding researching into the vast musical instruments of different ethnic groups in Nigeria. This may look like herculean task because of the vastness of the ethnic groups that there are in the country. It is not an unachievable task as no one would expect Rome to be built in a day.

Also, there is need for more of such departments (music technology department) to be established in various regions of the country. The existence of music technology as a course in the syllabus of general music education is not sufficient to make the student become a music technologist. The establishment of more departments of music technology will go a long way to facilitate this kind of research mentioned above. Although, some of these instruments perform better when made with the original materials, yet there are some of them that could be made with synthetic materials which will make them more durable. This is another area of research which is believed to be rewarding. Some African musical instruments have lost their history of origin in foreign lands because they have been improved upon. Technological advancement in terms of preservation of these instruments should as well be looked into.

Conclusion The paper has looked at ways by which African traditional musical instruments could be prevented from going into extinction. Using Ebira cultural area of Kogi state as a case study, the paper raised fear of extinction of many of the traditional musical instruments as their manufacturers are declining as a result of age, retirement or death without replacement. The paper also raised hope since there are things that could still be done before things get out of hand. The study 109 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity suggests that effort be made towards establishing a system of formal training of our students in music technology; in addition to establishing more departments of music technology in our institutions, both private and government owned. This will go a long way in solving unemployment problem and the challenge of losing our cherished African/Nigerian traditional musical instruments.

References Adeogun, A.O. (2005). Music education in Nigeria, 1842 – 2001: policy and content evaluation, towards a new dispensation. A Doctoral thesis submitted to the Department of Music, University of Pretoria, South Africa Adeyera, S.A. and Oyeleke, R.K. (2011). Introduction to music, dance and drama. Ibadan: Media Report Projects Guarav, D. (2014). Instruments of folk music face extinction. The times of India city. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Instruments-of-folk- music-face-extinction/articleshow/36996190.cms Hornbostel, E.M. and Sachs, C. (1961) “Classification of musical instruments” in The Galpin Society Journal. (An occasional publication), no. xlv pp.3-29 Ikibe, S. (2000). Ekuechi festival in Ebira land. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Ibadan Nzewi, M. (2007). Re-searching music education for civic activism repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/3 Ododo, E. S. (2004). „Facekuerade‟ Theatre: A performance model from the playing and technical aesthetics of Ebira Ekuechi festival in Nigeria. African Journals Online. Ogli, G.E. (2004). Music education through traditional music materials in Journal of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences (JOLASS). Vol. 3, September. Ogli, G.E. (2007). Music Education in Nigeria: The Real Obstacle. In Journal of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences (JOLASS), vol. 5, September. Ojo, S.A. (2012). Music Performance in Ebira echeane festival. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. Okafor, R.C. (1992). Music education in Nigeria in African Music, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Music in Nigeria Edition.) Olorunsogo, I.O.A. (2014). Resolving the dilemma of music education content in cultural and creative arts (cca) curriculum in the universal basic education

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Christopher Omotosho: Preservation of Ebira Musical Instruments for Posterity (ube) programme in Nigeria in Journal of Nigerian Music Education, no. 6, March. Omotoso, C.O. (2004). Manpower development in music education in Journal of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences (JOLASS), vol. 3, September. Omotoso, C.O. (2007). The place of music education in the emerging (ube) programme in Journal of Languages, Arts and Social Sciences (JOLASS), vol. 5, September. Vidal, T. (2002). the institutionalization of western musical culture in Nigeria and the search for national identity, inaugural lecture series no. 161. Ile-Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University press.

111 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

IGBO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: SOCIO- CULTURAL TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Ijeoma I. Forchu, Ph.D.

Introduction Africa as a whole has a large collection of musical instruments; however different cultures use a small assortment of these. Some of the instruments are of local origin while others have been introduced from neighbouring communities. There may be local peculiarities in sizes, shapes, pitches, qualities, playing techniques, construction and tuning methods, but generally the various species show striking similarities. Depending on the geography and environment, historical facts, social and cultural considerations, the importance and usage of these instruments vary and may differ from place to place. Through their shapes, sizes, sounds, the materials from which they are made, and the concepts associated with these musical instruments, several socio-cultural roles and functions which have been ascribed to them by the societies, have been met in varying degrees.

Even though African musical instruments have the capability of stimulating the process of sustainable human development, they are however often neglected in the contemporary society. The result is that their resources are not sufficiently approached, recognized and exploited. Thus, adequate attention is not paid to the preservation of these instruments.

Consequently, a great number has become extinct and many more are on the verge of extinction. This gradual neglect leads to progressive loss of use, repertory, performers and eventually the extinction of the musical instruments. Consequently, all that they contain as a reservoir of resources; vital for the psychological and philosophical mobilization for development is accordingly, also progressively eroded. Oral nature of transmitting such knowledge limits continuity 112 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… of the practices as the rapid change in lifestyles in recent times from rural traditional to urban Western has been inimical to the use of traditional musical instruments in fulfilling socio-cultural needs of the African society.

The limited scope of the actual musical sound of traditional instruments has not been able to compete favorably with modern music due to its inability to quickly incorporate new sounds and technology. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a fruitful interaction between music technologists, musicians, musicologists and protagonists of traditional music in order to give rise to an effective and holistic modernization and standardization of traditional musical instruments. This would aid in restoring these musical instruments from extinction and to their former position and role in the society.

This study aims at understanding how the extra musical functions of Igbo musical instruments contribute to sustainable development in Igbo society. It does this by investigating the resources enshrined in the concept and use of some traditional African musical instruments. The large indigenous knowledge resources in African musical instrument are wide and varied. Consequently, it will be impossible to discuss adequately, within the confines of this paper each and every one of them. This paper therefore adopts a selective approach which is limited to the Igbo indigenous practices of health, communication, historical records and social integration, achieved through the aid of indigenous musical instruments. The choice of these four practices is based on the importance of their contribution to sustainable development.

Indigenous to five states in South Eastern Nigeria, the Igbo is one of the three major ethnic groups in that country. They are made up of a collection of independent groups of people who speak the Igbo language and who have minor cultural, dialectical, and social organizational variations. Most Igbo subgroups are organized along the lineage, clan and village affiliation. The traditional Igbo practised a quasi-democratic and republican system of government which was founded on patrilineal system of descent known as umunna. The umunna which is made up of groups of related and extended families, who trace their relationships to a commonly known ancestor, is headed by the eldest male member and is the most powerful pillar of maintenance of law and order (Ndukaihe, 2006). Villages 113 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… (ogbe) are formed by a collection of umunna. As a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and later migration, the Igbo and their descendants are found in other African countries, Europe and America, and in fact, all over the world. Majority of the Igbo are Christians while a few are confessed adherents of traditional religion. Traditional religious beliefs and practices still thrive, albeit clandestinely, among many Christians. These practices include reverence to one supreme being, Ana/Ala (the earth goddess), ancestral spirits, numerous male and female deities and spirits, and observance of rituals and practices related to them in pursuit of the welfare of individuals and the society as a whole (Elechi, 2006).

The ethnographic research method was used. African musical instruments comprise an aspect as well as an avenue for cultural expression. As a result of the fact that some of them not only serve musical needs but are also used to enhance social, political and economic activities, they are very important tools in the pursuit of sustainable development. This study will help in documentation for posterity, and propagation of some indigenous knowledge connected to African indigenous musical instruments. World Bank (1997) draws attention to the fact that the enlistment of knowledge capital in human development is as important as the availability of physical and financial capital.

Appreciation of the importance of the preservation of indigenous music and its treasures will result in special measures that will contribute in checking its extinction. Documentation of extra musical functions of African musical instruments not only benefits Africans but will also open opportunities for better universal understanding of certain occurrences. Experience shows that development efforts that ignore local technologies, local systems of knowledge and the local environment generally fail to achieve their desired objectives (Grenier, 1998). This study will contribute to better awareness and appreciation of the function and thence importance of African musical instruments in the African society. It is believed that this will lead to improved design, delivery and evaluation of African musical instruments in the local as well as the global system in general, by preserving some of the indigenous knowledge resources associated with African musical instruments.

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Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… An Assortment of Igbo Musical Instruments Igbo musical instruments are an integral part of most communities. Even though they have common features, yet they also vary from community to community in the sizes, shapes and sound production. However, unlike Western classification of musical instruments which enjoys a long tradition of written documentation and practice, organization of African music lacks a uniform indigenous systematized forum. For this reason, in this study Igbo musical instruments are classified into four groups namely, Idiophones, membranophones, aerophones and chordophones, whose formal structures and subgroups are distinguished based on Dewey decimal classification system.

Idiophones depend on the vibration of their bodies to produce sound. More idiophones are used in Igboland than any other type of musical instruments. This group is further subdivided into struck, plucked, friction and blown idiophones. Membranophones are musical instruments that depend on the vibration of taut membranes attached to them to produce sound. This encompasses drums of all sizes and shapes. Some are open ended while others are not. Included in this group are struck and friction drums. Chordophones are musical instruments which produce sound by the vibration of string or strings attached to their bodies. They consist of simple and composite chordophones such as musical bow, lutes and harp lutes. A few of chordophones still exist in Igboland, most are now extinct. Aerophones are wind instruments that depend on the vibration of air for sound production. They include free aerophones (the vibrating air is not enclosed, for example, the bull-roarer, agunmo and the wind instruments proper. Here the vibrating air is enclosed within the instruments. They may be open ended or stopped, end blown or transverse blown. These include flutes of various types such as African flute (oja). Horns (opi) may be made of animal horns or elephant tusks. Reed pipes (pipilo) is used by children in their music.

Construction of Musical Instruments The construction of musical instruments involves a wide assortment of techniques which employ different materials that are found in the environment (Okafor, 2005). The materials for making musical instruments include parts of plants (trunk, bark, roots, sap) and animals (horn, bones, tusks, teeth, skins) and metals. In recent times, synthetic materials are also used. Igbo musical 115 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… instruments sometimes are made to take on simple, sophisticated, sacred or serious sculptural forms, depicting their musical and nonmusical functions in the society. Hence, various forms of embellishment including beading, carvings and paintings may be used to adorn them.

Rault (2000) observed that by interacting with the musical instruments in some way or the other sounds are produced. The tonal nature of the languages is reflected in the tonal capabilities of the musical instruments as well as their tuning practices. In African music, there are definite rules for tuning the instruments. They may be tuned to tonal inflection of certain phrases, or there may be other extra musical considerations. This results in wooden drum, twin clapperless bell usually being tuned to the equivalent of the Western music‟s major 2nd, Perfect 5th or minor 3rd.

Plate 1. Ogene nkpi na-abo (Twin clapperless bell) Source: http://obindigbo.com.ng

Musical Uses of Igbo Musical Instruments Musical instruments are selected for their capabilities and effectiveness in performing certain established musical roles, for fulfilling specific musical purposes. The bell, wood block or rattles may be played as solo instruments in ritual ceremonies. They also provide time lag. The same instruments may perform rhythmic and colouristic functions, as well as provide rhythmic and colouristic density (Akpabot, 1986).

Sometimes an instrument may perform both melodic and rhythmic functions, for example, the ostinato of the xylophone can fulfill such purposes. Sometimes

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Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… definite pitched instruments with a limited number of pitches perform the same functions. Vocal solos may be accompanied by one or more instruments to add to rhythmic and melodic colour. Whistles may sometimes effect rhythmic changes in an ensemble (Nketia, 1984). The lowest pitched drums usually articulate the pulse structure. Some instruments fill in the gap between vocal music as well as accompany the songs simultaneously. There may also be alternation between voices and instruments. Some instruments stress the number of beats in a time signature, usually the smallest instruments such as the woodblock. The clapperless bell when present in an ensemble usually provides the standard rhythmic pattern. Instruments with many pitches often imitate phrases and proverb, thus communicating between performers and audience, for instance the drums. Some musical instruments like flute, drums and xylophone give signals within the ensemble – change of songs, rhythm, intensity and others. Not only are these musical instruments used for music making, they permeate the life of the society and often play socio-cultural roles, enhancing sustainable human development.

Plate 2. Ekwe (wooden drum), okpokolo (small slit drum) and nyo (castanet)

Human Development Human development is a complex process that involves an indefinite enhancement of the social structures, the general attitude of the populace, national institutions, increase in economic growth, and diminution of inequality and poverty. Todaro and Smith (2009) assert that development is a physical reality as well as a state of mind which has three core values namely, sustenance, self- esteem and human freedom. They explain that sustenance involves the provision 117 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… of the basic needs essential for the survival of human beings, such as food, shelter, security and good health. Self-esteem is the capability of individuals and societies to be able to appreciate, value, respect and have good opinions about who they are and their origin. Human freedom has to do with the ability to make social and economic choices and be free from deprivation, ignorance, attitudes and values imposed on people by the society. Life sustenance enables advancement to self-esteem, which in turn enhances the attainment of freedom of choice. The extra musical functions of some Igbo traditional musical instruments impact to varying degrees on these fundamental aspects of development.

Igbo Musical Instruments and Development Besides musical functions, the contribution of Igbo musical instruments in promoting the social, spiritual and material life of the Igbo society is glimpsed and observed during individual and collective participation in interacting with musical instruments either as performers or audience. The role of Igbo traditional musical instruments in promoting health, communication, preservation of historical records and social integration will be examined.

Health: Some musical instruments are believed to possess some analgesic properties, for instance, in some parts of Igboland, the newly circumcised adolescent boys are given une, (musical bow), to play. This instrument is believed to ease their pains (Okafor, 2005). Some musical instruments are believed to have therapeutic properties. Drinking water from ogene is thought to cure speech related ailments such as stuttering and stammering. The sound of some musical instruments seems to rejuvenate the body. Basden (1966) noted that oja (wooden flute), when played to tired manual workers, instilled more energy into them and made them work harder. Musical instruments are sometimes played by individuals for personal entertainment. Examples of such instruments are Une (musical bow), ubo-aka (thumb piano) and others. This tends to set the mind free from problems thus, reducing stress and stress related ailments. It aids relaxation and consequently, reduces anxiety. Since most illnesses are caused by one form of stress or the other, it follows therefore that the removal of or lack of stress contributes enormously to the achievement of the general well-being of the individuals in the society. This in turn effects directly to a more stable society, higher levels of productivity and longevity (Collins: 2001). These functions of Igbo

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Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… musical instruments enhance good health for individuals and encourage the acquisition of the basic needs of life, self-esteem and freedom of choice.

Communication: Igbo musical instruments are used in various forms of communication not only between human beings but also between humans and deities, and even between humans and animals. Some musical instruments are played in the farms in order to scare away birds and other animals that eat or destroy the crops. Rattles and bells are also tied to crops so that when the wind blows, it propels the crops to sway. This movement in turn results in the shaking of the rattle. This makes the rattles to produce sounds that scare the animals away, communicating to them imminent danger and the need to stay away from the crops in the farm. This promotes good farm yields and translates to economic benefits for the farmers in the society.

Such musical instruments as ogene (clapperless bell), ekpili (rattles), okpokolo (wood block) and tortoise shell are used for divination. Magical powers and divine properties are ascribed to them. They are therefore, believed to be very efficient in communication with supernatural beings. During some rituals, a musical instrument like ogene is played, to indicate the movement of special personalities such as priests and persons undergoing sacred initiations, in order to warn people to keep off. Thus, Igbo musical instruments aid the spiritual and invariably emotional and material well-being of the members of the society, enhancing their self-esteem.

Some musical instruments are used in representing ideas, events, qualities and things. For example, ikolo, (the giant wooden drum), is a symbol of the community. Its sound indicates matters that affect the whole community, in most parts of Igboland. On hearing the sound members of the society react according to the message delivered by the drum. This uniform reaction enhances identity, social bond and solidarity among them.

The status of aristocracy is represented both in the musical instruments and the musical sound of the ivory horn. The elephant is an impressive animal. Akpabot explains that the elephant tusk, “signifies the pre-eminent role in the society in the same way an elephant is seen as a formidable beast in the jungle” 119 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… (1986: 99). The possession of its tusk therefore indicates success and achievement. This can be likened to the friction drum of the Akan in Ghana, which is supposed to imitate the snarl of the leopard. Consequently, it is played to extol the might and majesty of the king (Nketia, 1982). In some cultures, certain associations, such as age grades, clubs and others; adopt musical instruments as representative symbols, representing the spirit of the group. One such group which adopts the tortoise shell aspires to be as wise as the proverbial tortoise in Igbo folklore (Okafor, 2005).

The duiker horn symbolizes manliness in some parts of Igboland. It is blown to exhort and excite the wrestler, inspire and challenge the nature of brave men in times of crises, thus, eliciting bravery, hard work and success. Some musical instruments like ekwe (woodblock) and ogene (clapperless bell), may be used as signals for attracting people and creating the appropriate atmosphere for making announcements and giving verbal messages. Some instruments that have up to three tones or more can imitate the tonal inflection of words. Messages can be sent far and wide by these „talking‟ instruments. Some musical instruments are used in articulating certain metaphoric expressions thereby conveying desired emotions and ideas. For instance, in expressing the idea of beauty and excellence, the words „igba‘, ‗ekwe‘ and „udu‘, which are names of musical instruments, are often verbalized. These various communication functions of Igbo musical instruments enhance sustainable development in the society.

Historical records: Igbo musical instruments help in the documentation of some historical events and the preservation of some cultural practices. This they do through the accompaniment of historical stories which re-enact the annals of the communities. Furthermore, traditional ceremonies and activities are carried out through the aids of these musical instruments. They accompany songs and dances making them more effective in the functions they fulfill in the society, and ensuring their continuity and stability. This boosts the self-esteem of individual members of the society as well as the society in general. Thus, African musical instruments enhance the cultural heritage which in turn gives emotional and psychological satisfaction, and contributes to the general well-being of the people. Igbo musical instruments also serve aesthetic purposes. Some Igbo musical instruments are placed at strategic points for the beautification of public and 120 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… private places. This enhances pride in the cultural heritage, boosting self-esteem of the society; as well as marking the movements of dancers and providing rhythmic functions. Ankle and wrist rattles which are worn by traditional dancers contribute to the beauty of their costumes.

Social integration: Rattles are used to stimulate babies to walk and to encourage them to use their right hands. The sound of rattles is delightful to babies. When they are tied to their ankles, in order to hear the mesmerizing sound, they move their legs often, thereby strengthening them and inducing them to walk earlier. Furthermore, when the rattles are tied to their right wrists, it encourages babies to use their right hands in order to hear the delightful sound of that musical instrument. Left handedness is frowned upon in Igbo society. The rattles therefore, aid in conforming to the social norms.

Musical instruments enhance musical performances. These performances stimulate emotions such as longing, passion, grief, joy, religious exultation and other feelings in the performers which they express and pass on and share with their audience. This creates feelings of intense unity and harmony, fostering the well-being of the individual and the society as a whole.

Recommendations It is pertinent that Igbo music technologists strive to channel more innovative and productive ideas into traditional musical instrument-making. Technological innovations and inventions should be harnessed to the improvement and use of African musical instruments. Towards this end the various tiers of government should encourage conservation of the environment because in addition to numerous other benefits to mankind, it preserves the reserves of the material resources needed for the production of traditional musical instruments. Nevertheless, the use of readily available materials as substitutes should also be explored.

Many African musical instruments are becoming extinct, not because they are obsolete, but because they have fallen into oblivion. They should not be allowed to vanish as many are in the process of dying. Rather they should be collected, documented, projected and harnessed for the betterment of African societies in 121 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… particular and humanity in general. The cultural practice of integration of traditional music in the social life should be encouraged and not allowed to die off. There is a possibility of this occurring as people acquire new behavioural patterns that go hand in hand with modernity, thereby abandoning some useful cultural practices which necessitate the use of traditional musical instruments. The performance of folk music in schools, public and private should be given every support and encouragement. Additionally, the collection and proper storage of this music as well as traditional musical instruments should be embarked on in order to ensure the continuity of this cultural heritage. Such encouragement will in turn stimulate increase in the production and development of traditional musical instruments. This will inspire new indigenous technology supporting the new instruments. In this difficult time, no avenue for economic growth can be treated with levity. Rather than rely on the archaic system of oral transmission, it is imperative that the stake holders pay adequate attention and embark on a systematic approach of transmission of African musical instruments, which is effective and suitable for this modern age. This will help stem the tide of the loss of the existing musical instruments.

A fruitful interaction between protagonists of traditional music – trained music technologists, musicians and musicologists on the continent is imperative for an effective, holistic modernization and standardization of African traditional musical instruments. This may aid not only in restoring them to their former eminent position and role in society but will also propel their use globally.

Conclusion Function concerns the analytical purpose for the employment of an element. It goes further than the perceived reason for usage. Some of the musical instruments may appear to serve only musical purposes, but on a broader inspection, it would be revealed that their employment goes much further than that. African musical instruments enhance religious practices, serve symbolic purposes, communicate, help in the identification of cultural types, keep track of domestic animals and serve aesthetic purposes. Additionally, they are used in metaphoric expressions. They rejuvenate the body and help the young in conforming to the societal norms. African musical instruments are analgesic and therapeutic, they entertain, encourage group identity, solidarity and peaceful co- 122 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ijeoma Forchu: Igbo Musical Instruments: Socio-cultural Tools for Sustainable Dev… existence. They thus contribute to the three core developmental values – sustenance, self-esteem and human freedom – and consequently, the general well-being of the individual and society.

References Akpabot, S. E. (1986). Foundation of Nigerian traditional music. Ibadan: Spectrum Books. Basden, G. T. (1966). Niger Ibos. London: Frank Cass and Co. (first published 1938). London: Seely Services and Co. Ltd). Collins, J. (2001). The Ghanaian experience. Paper presented at the Workshop on Development of Music Industry in Africa, sponsored by the World Bank and The Policy Sciences Center, Inc. Washington, D.C: June 20 – 21. Elechi, O. (2006). Doing justice without the state: The Afikpo (Ehugbo) Nigeria model. N.Y: Taylor and Francis Grenier, L. (1998) Working with indigenous knowledge - A guide for researchers, IDRC, Ottawa. Ndukaihe, V. (2006). Achievement as a value in the Igbo/African identity: The Ethics. Hamburg: LIT Verlag. Nketia, J. K. (1982). The music of Africa. (3rd ed.). London: Mgbo. Publishers Limited. Okafor, R. C. (2005). Music in Nigerian society. Enugu: New Generation. Ventures Limited. Rault, L. (2000). Musical instruments: A worldwide survey of traditional music- making. New York: Thames and Hudson Todaro, M. P. and Smith, S. C. (2009). Economic development. (10th ed.). Essex: Addison Wesley. World Bank (1997). Knowledge and Skills for the Information Age. The First Meeting of the Mediterranean Development Forum, Mediterranean Development Forum. URL:http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/technet/mdf/objectiv.htm

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF CHORAL MUSIC PEDAGOGY IN NIGERIA: TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES

Precious A. Omuku

Introduction Issues surrounding formal education in Nigeria are multifaceted. As noted by Fafunwa (1985), from time immemorial of formal schooling, “Nigerian schools were being coached and taught to meet the requirements of a foreign culture and not in the culture of Nigeria” (p.5). Christian missionaries came with the Western-style of musical training to Nigeria during the late nineteenth century. In mission schools and church choirs, singing, ear training, sight-reading and organ playing were taught. According to Mackey (1950), “these trainings were aimed at „refining‟ the Nigerian musical sense and taste” (p.130). The first set of Nigerians trained by the Westerners in their kind of music came from the mission schools planted by the Westerner and majority of them were men and women who were members of the mission churches. By 1960, “a degree could be obtained in music at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka” (Edet, 1965:77). Three decades after the exit of the colonial masters from Nigeria, music education generally has not succeeded in establishing a standard national base in the schools of Nigeria. The study therefore, intends to go a long way to help in resolving knotty issues that have bedeviled the smooth training of choirs in Port Harcourt. Choir trainers will also seek better improvement in their musical arts and performance while choral directors will see the urgent need to be in tune with best practices and improve their craft.

The Problem The ideal situation should be that music literacy should be taught without any challenges. At first, it seems that teaching music in schools is going on well but from a close look, teachers are experiencing various issues and challenges which 124 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… impede the adequate teaching and learning of choral music in the various groups. These issues and challenges could be as a result of the knowledge level of the teachers, student diversity in terms of expectation, motivation and cultural background. This suggests that there could be quite a number of issues and challenges that hinders the teaching and learning of choral music; hence, the rationale for the study to identify the issues and challenges affecting the teaching and learning of choral music across three choral groups in Port Harcourt. The study intends to find out the issues and challenges that militate against effective teaching and learning of choral music in the three selected choirs and possibly proffer possible solutions to the problems.

Concept of Choir A choir is a collection of vocalists/singers that perform together. Choirs may sing without instrumentation or with the reinforcement of a piano or pipe organ, with a little troupe or with a full orchestra of seventy (70) to over a hundred (100) persons. The articulation "Choir" has the assistant significance of a division of a gathering. In typical eighteenth to 21st-century oratorios and masses, tune or choir is ordinarily fathomed to gather more than one craftsman for each part, rather than the gathering of four of soloists moreover incorporated into these works (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choir).

Concept of Music Teaching Since history, man has always searched for facts about music that are yet unknown, questions about music that have remained unanswered and effect or outcomes of music that have not been properly estimated (Mbanugo, 2009:123). Different choral teachers have different approaches to choral teaching but all have one objective in mind – to bring out the best in the voices they work on. In teaching choral, the teacher should create an atmosphere of friendliness during classes with the students, this is essential as it affects the way the students receive instructions and directives. Onyiuke (2003) notes that: Within the music class the teacher should make adequate effort to establish a favourable musical knowledge, understanding, and responsiveness. The teacher should provide both stimulating and challenging environment where the child [the learner] can explore to achieve his/her objectives (p.69). 125 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria…

An atmosphere devoid of friendliness and kindness hampers choral teaching, therefore, establishing an interest in your students will make them come out of their shells and be themselves and also learn well. A choral teacher should be able to keep what is unique about an individual voice and still give the student the tools he/she needs to make it better. He/she should deal with his/her students in the choir as individuals with different background, exposure and disposition. In line with this, Cranmer (1974) comments thus: “The teaching of singing is a most personal and individual job, and because the whole of singing is done by the singer himself each pupil becomes a separate problem” (p.59). A choir needs the guidance of a teacher in its learning. Self-learning may not go well with practice like choral. Graves (1954) cited in Ugoo-Okonkwo (2013) supports the idea of having a teacher to teach singing as she postulates: Music, the arts and languages cannot be acquired without a teacher, and the role of the teacher is not only to import information and correct errors but also to record progress, to create enthusiasm and lead the way to the mountain tops (p.32).

Following the above assertion, it stands to reason that it is essential to have a choral teacher to teach the students. Singing cannot be learnt from books. Books only give ideas which a choral teacher can use in putting his students through. In choral teaching, both the teacher and the taught have their parts to play to make it work. In the words of Henderson (1979:166), “It takes many elements in developing a vocal artist. Commitment almost always ranks first, the vocal instrument second, musicianship very near to the first two, and then come personal appearance (charisma) and inner drive”.

The role of music teacher in music teaching cannot be overemphasized. Teachers are important and make a difference. Their role goes well beyond information giving. They have both the right and the responsibility to develop a climate in the classroom which supports effective learning. Understanding teaching has presented persistent and formidable challenges to those who have sought to improve the quality of teaching and learning over the years. The quality of teaching is a crucial factor in promoting effective learning in schools. In a bid to develop mature teachers who could demonstrate identifiable competences as 126 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… musicians as well as educators, the Music Educators National Conference appointed a commission in 1968 on Teacher education to make recommendations for the improvement of the education of music teachers. In its report, the commission stated that; The development of music teacher competencies should form the total program of the music teacher training institutions. The demonstration of competence, rather than the passing of the course, should be the deciding factor in certification. This means that proficiency test, practical application of historical, theoretical and stylistic techniques and advance standing procedures should be employed, that screening procedures for admission to the program should be enforced and that an adequate means of final assessment should be developed and implemented (Abeles, Hoffer & Klotman, 1984). The commission during the four years between 1968 and 1972, not only developed a set of recommendations designed to strengthened the training of individuals preparing to be music educators but also identified qualities and competencies necessary for such teachers.

Theoretical Framework – Theory of Deskilling Apple (1982) proposes his theory of the deskilling of teachers in the way that curriculum, pedagogy, and evaluation are standardized or pre-packaged. Choral music educators/teachers are part of the “deskilled” discourse. Teachers become isolated executors of someone else‟s plans, procedures, and evaluative methods. Control of the classroom is taken out of the hands of teachers by allowing them only to execute the prescribed curriculum as opposed to developing it. Specifically, in the choral arena, school traditions, competitions, and show choirs are possible mandated components of a choral programme. A teacher may feel constricted in the ability to control and develop a choral programme that best suits the educational goals within the critical paradigm as well as the individual needs of the students. A prescribed choral agenda can override the creative programming that teachers should be empowered to design. Another deterrent of a teacher‟s practice rooted in a critical pedagogy involves constituencies outside of the choral classroom often dictating the number of concerts that must be performed each year. Often, those concerts become caricatures of the dominant culture with 127 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… unspoken demands of repertoire that will please the majority. For example, a choral teacher may feel obligated to continue the tradition of a Christmas concert even though that teacher may feel that a programme with multiple themes may be a more appropriate educational goal for the students. Resistance to unfamiliar styles and genres of music can cause the choral teacher to give in to the demands of the larger community. The nature of choral music education is more product- oriented than process-oriented. A process-oriented choral curriculum would represent a comprehensive musicianship format where students would be studying theory, history, and culture as related to the choral selection. This comprehensive approach to learning choral selection is often time-consuming, and therefore, could limit the amount of literature that could be learned or the number of performances that could occur.

Hodges (2003) is of the opinion that many aspects of knowledge systems can be learned informally through the means of observation and imitation. In many African societies, music literacy is taught informally as opposed to many Western cultures. Matsika (2012) defines informal education as, The education one acquires from the experiences of everyday life activities where the wisdom of elders becomes the encyclopedia of reference while formal education systems are those that emphasize the need for a qualified teacher to teach learners in the classroom (p.34). However, formal learning processes are equally important since they are like keys that unlock all domains to realize the human full potential in learning systems. In this study, whether formal or informal, the bottom line is that the development of music literacy in all given situations regardless of the means or context in which it is taught. In all cases, learners should be equipped with skills in reading, analyzing, creating and accepting other people's musical practices.

In the teaching and learning processes, various approaches can be used in the classroom situation. John Dewey (1934) advocates for the discovery methods in his approach to, and regard for music as “both the lowest and the highest of the arts” (p.238). Jerome Bruner describes discovery methods as progressive methods of teaching whereby children will be allowed to learn freely to discover new traits. He goes further to say that children will remember knowledge and 128 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… concepts discovered on their own. Abraham A. Schwadron (cited in Mark 2013) writes that; “our school philosophy should recognize the school as a logical agency for socio-musical change and critical examination of aesthetic needs”. (p. 123). Barret (2011) then suggests a cultural psychological approach to music learning. She writes: It provides opportunities to look more deeply into practices of music education in order to understand the role that culture plays in shaping: children's musical learning and thinking; teacher's music teaching and learning; formal and informal institutions and structures within and through which learning and teaching occur; and the intersection of those processes in the development of musical thought and practice. (p. 5). Abrahams (2005) says that Piaget laid a foundation for experience-based learning when he encouraged teachers to plan experiences that put children in an environment enabling them to explore, manipulate, experiment and question. Various methods to music literacy can be suggested but accordingly, there is a need for teaching music literacy appropriately in Nigeria because the current educational situation has its own demands and challenges hence the need to foster a sound arts environment. Strumpf (2001) writes that “music classes in Nigerian schools should reflect the Nigerian culture as much as possible in areas of music appreciation and practical work” (p. 9). This is a good observation because the practical music policies in Nigeria must be based on cultural practices.

Issues of Music Pedagogy Issues pertaining to teaching and learning of music cannot be concluded in a day. One needs to continuously reflect on what has been achieved so far by analyzing what is really taking place inside and outside of the classroom. The writer‟s perception of the appropriate music literacy pedagogy is guided by representative views from both sampled African and Western scholars. From their contributions on appropriate music literacy pedagogy, it is evident that many African music educators and philosophers support the view that active participation; apprenticeship and use of the mother tongue are useful methods in developing music literacy. However, to some extent, some scholars emphasize the incorporation of movement and dance, affiliation, traditional practices that run 129 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… within families, recruiting those with the potential to learn and ethnic based teaching approaches as ideal methods to bring about music literacy. The pedagogical approaches used by many Nigerian teachers include rote learning, lecture method, recitation, demonstration and group work. Therefore, the appropriateness of these pedagogies was looked at from the contributions of the renowned theories and philosophies of the sample Western and African music educators. Moreover, the pedagogical challenges experienced by these teachers were investigated from the perspectives of their training and school practice or dimensions.

African and Western music teaching approaches share some common attributes in their application and usability calling for a marriage of the two should be done to enhance the teaching of music literacy in schools. For example, both methods emphasize the role of singing in mother tongue, and early childhood development programmes, the need for the use of demonstration, rhythmic activities, apprenticeship, creativity, self-expression and the involvement of all children in the learning process. So if these methods are put together to effective use, some improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of music literacy teaching in the classroom will reach higher levels. This may be the reason why most philosophers recommend a Teacher-Child-Child (TCC) approach to music literacy learning because they are of the conviction that children can also teach themselves easily. For example, they can teach one another some new songs as they play through methods such as game songs. This allows learners to learn the same concepts and moving at the same pace. Again it demonstrates their resourcefulness in terms of song collection. They always do this with a competitive mindset to out-do one another in collecting and singing songs although there is a danger that they might teach one another the wrong things altogether. Therefore, the role of teachers is to oversee the affairs of music literacy development in schools through working in close partnership with learners and parents in an attempt to bring music literacy programmes to fruition.

Research Design The study adopts a survey approach that involves a triangulated data collection process. It also involved a description of the emerging themes and patterns. As this research study was quantitative, the phenomenological approach 130 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… to qualitative studies through the administration of in-depth interviews, rehearsal observations and document analysis data generating methodologies was done.

Sample and Sampling Techniques A purposive sampling technique was adopted for the study. Here three choral music groups were purposefully selected by the researcher based on their pedagogical approaches used in teaching and learning choral music. The three groups in Port Harcourt City were made up of a school, a church choir and a choral group namely:  University of Port Harcourt Concert Choir,  Christ Church Choir and  Royal Male Choir of Port Harcourt City. These chosen groups are in Port Harcourt City and are in close proximity to one another. They share similar characteristics in terms of age group of students, type of music they sing, administration strategies, and choral music teacher recruitment processes. So, from the three participating groups, three choral music teachers were selected through purposive sampling procedures. The teachers that were sampled were both specialists and generalists. Their selection was based on their experience and qualifications as music teachers in their respective groups.

Instrument of Data Collection A research questionnaire entitled “Questionnaire on Choir Training (QCT)” for music students was used while structured interview questions for oral interview for the music instructors were designed for the purpose of this study. Copies of the questionnaire were issued to the music students of the different choral groups used for this study. The structured interview questions were used for oral interviews for the music directors.

Method of Data Collection The primary source of data collection for the study was oral interview for the music directors and structured questionnaire for the music students tagged “Questionnaire on Choir Training (QCT)”. Secondary sources of data collection included, research papers, books, journals, publications, etc. Data collection 131 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… techniques can be divided into three major categories: Experiencing (rehearsal observations), examining (document analysis) and Enquiry (Oral interview and Questionnaires). Results on Issues and Challenges of Teaching and Learning of Choral Music

Pedagogy: On the pedagogical approaches utilized by these music directors to teach choral music, the first respondent confirmed that he uses both theoretical and practical approaches to teach choral music. He incorporates a comprehensive musicianship approach in his choral program where music theory is taught and assessed, and other musical topics are introduced, including guitar, reggae, musical theatre, composition and world music. He added that he uses both theoretical and practical teaching approaches ensure effective music skill transfer to the students.

According to another participant in the study, he uses the pedagogy of vocal production (for example he uses kinesthetic cues to help students understand musical concepts) and metaphors to teach students to help them understand how to produce the sound. He understands vocal pedagogy and finds ways to make content comprehensible and master teaching techniques to ensure knowledge transfer in a unique way to his students.

The third participant explains how he has the students mark their music for places to breathe, but usually after they have been rehearsing the piece several times. Another method he uses is making students accountable and keeping them the on task through music reading aids. He also uses the teaching strategy of demonstrating the wrong way and then the correct way to help the students understand what they should be doing. He spends a significant amount of time on vocal production and uses appropriate techniques to achieve this high quality sound. This individualizing teaching strategy to maximize chance of success has paid off very well for him as a choral music teacher. In summary, Kodály methodology drives his pedagogy; he is a firm believer in its usefulness in creating young musicians.

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Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… Roles of music director:

S/N Items SA A D SD Total Mean Remark Score 1 Selects a musical 77 32 8 3 120 3.52 Accepted objective or concept within a piece and devises an exercise to teach the objective and evaluates whether the objective is met 2 Ensures that 46 62 15 9 120 3.41 Accepted rehearsal plans are presented in a linear fashion and learning in a choral context is sequential 3 Ensures proper 39 73 7 1 120 3.25 Accepted vocal technique in teaching and learning choral music 4 Contributes to the 29 76 10 5 120 3.07 Accepted growth and improvement of the teaching and learning of choral music

The choral music directors play significant roles in the teaching and learning of choral music in their various groups. All the choral music directors agreed to have served an administrative role first before serving as a music director. According to 133 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… one of the respondents, every music director must understand his choir and attain to the basic administrative needs of the choir. Another respondent posited that, the music director must be good at what he does to inspire the choir. He must be seen as a role model to the choir in the act of singing. He should be humane and easily accessible by the choir. He should be flexible enough to accept the worst chorister as long as the chorister is enthusiastic about learning choral music. His styles should easily be copied by his choir. More so, a music director must carry the affairs of the choir as his first priority to ensure the proper functioning of the choir. He must be willing to accept that weakness of the choir and have the courage to work on improving the weakness of the choir to make it become better.

Another respondent in the study added that, his role as a music director goes far beyond just teaching choral music. He is also serving as a role model and a source of inspiration to his students to pursue their music career, which is very vital. “Setting standards for them to aim for is important to me... he asserts”. He is able to achieve this through his vocal modeling and teacher personality which are energetic; he helps build confidence by singing with the students; his teacher behaviours assist in meeting goals. More so, he places importance on student- centered discovery learning and uses familial mentorship influenced knowledge and action in the classroom. Thus he uses the comprehensive musicianship approach to the choral music programme to help him achieve a role as a music director. He said that if he can help her students discover the talent inherent in them and harness the talent to it full capacity, then his role as a music director has been achieved.

Consequently, imparting the right kind of music attitudes in his students. This will go a long way in making them succeed in their music careers. However, he said that he was using a flexible leadership style which encourages the students in his class to share their knowledge of choral music with one another. He continued that shared knowledge encourages team work and increases their chances of working together as a team. He added that, his role as a music director does not end at teaching them how to sing but helping them to appreciate the importance of team work because for them to succeed in real life, they must learn how to work with other human beings effectively and efficiently through shared knowledge and ideas. 134 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… Challenges of teaching and learning of choral music:

S/N Items SA A D SD Total Mean Remark Score 1 Lack of technical 35 69 5 11 120 3.07 Accepted skills to interpret staff notations 2 Adequate musical 16 12 49 43 120 2.01 Rejected background by choristers 3 Lack of standard 31 79 3 7 120 3.12 Accepted routine for teaching choral music. 4 Frequent absence 11 21 45 43 120 2.00 Rejected from rehearsals was not a problem 5 Nonchalant attitude 41 64 8 7 120 3.16 Accepted of chorister was a problem 6 Poor remuneration 10 15 52 43 120 1.93 Rejected of choir administration to their chorister was not a problem

Other challenges: These include; 1. Use of outdated curricula for the teaching and learning of choral music was observed as one of the challenges faced across the selected choral groups. The researcher observed that songs taught ten years ago were still being taught as at the time of the study. This has made the teaching and learning of choral music boring as the students get tired of singing the same song over and over again.

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Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… 2. Poor attitude of the students towards learning choral music was one of the major problems that all the choral group directors faced as some of their strong singers are occasionally absent from rehearsals. The issue of indiscipline was another problem that the music directors faced during the choral rehearsals. Misbehaviour of students during rehearsals, which composed mostly of talking, lack of participation, and poor posture were also raised.

3. Behavioural issues were observed among the student such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and this has been particularly challenging to the choir at times. More so, problem of poor attitude of students during rehearsals were observed.

4. Lack of creativity and understanding of the musical culture and applying same in the teaching and learning of choral music was an observed issue. This particular issue was pedagogically based including breath control, increasing vocal range, and sight-reading. It brought about the students‟ inability to take correct posture that will assist breathing even when metaphors were being used.

Suggestions on Possible Solutions Among many suggestions that can lead to possible solutions to these issues and challenges facing choral music pedagogy in Nigeria are the following:

a. There should be updates in the choral music curricula used by the music schools. New songs should be composed and taught by these choral music schools to help rekindle the interest of their students.

b. Choral music teachers should include students in behavioral disciplinary measures during rehearsals which will help improve their attitudes towards learning of choral music. Proper incentive measures must be put in place to encourage students for good behavior. More so, making students to be responsible for their actions will help them checkmate their behaviours during rehearsals.

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Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… c. Choral music rehearsals should be carried out in an environment that will stimulate mental creativity among the students. Students‟ opinions should sometimes be asked by the teacher to encourage team work which will in turn boost students‟ morale and encourage creativity.

d. Incentives for efforts and outstanding achievements should be put in place for choral music teachers in teaching choral music in schools. More so, professional development of choral music teachers should be encouraged by various administrations.

Conclusion The pedagogical approaches/teaching methods used by choral music directors in the teaching of choral music in the three selected choirs in Port Harcourt include incorporating both theory and practice for effective music transfer to the students. There is the use of vocalization as a set induction skill for the teaching/learning process. Other approaches used include direct reading of scores by the students through the help of the director or instructor. Rote learning approach is also employed in the teaching/learning process. The music director roles were not just to teach choral music but to also provide the role model image for them to emulate morally and professionally. The choral music directors serve significant roles in their various choirs. These are administrative, advisory and instructional roles.

Many problems militate against effective teaching and learning of choral music in the three selected choirs in Port Harcourt. Poor attitude of students was the most significant problem observed from the study. Other problems include; inability to read scores and so rote learning cannot be avoided, absence from rehearsals, lateness to rehearsals, nonchalant attitudes of some choristers, problem of traffic jam on the road which lead to lateness to rehearsals, poor remuneration, etc.

Choral music teachers of the groups under study mostly used metaphors to help them teach choral music and to transfer knowledge to their students. This method showed to be very valuable to the students because they confirmed to have learnt a lot through this method. The method employed by choral music teachers in Nigeria in the teaching and learning process was predominantly 137 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… problem-solving techniques where the music teacher listens to the students sing and spots out the errors and makes the correction and ensures that they repeat until they get it right.

On the possible solutions to problems militating against the teaching and learning of music, behavioural disciplinary measures must be put in place to check mate students‟ behaviour during rehearsals, rehearsals should be carried out in a stimulating environment and professional development of choral music teachers should be encouraged by the school administration.

References Abeles, H. F., Hoffer, C. R. & Klotman, R. N. (1984). Foundations of music education. New York: Schirmer. Abrahams, F. (2005). Transforming classroom music instruction with ideas from critical pedagogy. Music Educators Journal, 92(1), 62-67 Apple, M. W. (1982). Education and power. Boston, MA: Routledge. Barrett, S. M. (2011). A cultural psychology of music education. London: Oxford University Press. Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. Rahway, NJ: The Barnes Foundation Press. Edet, E. (1965). University of Nigeria, Nsukka Department of Music. African music 3:4 Fafunwa, B. A. (1985). Nigeria's Educational Heritage. Daily Times (Friday, Feb. 1, 1985). Henderson, L. B. (1979). How to train singers. New York: Parker. Hodges D. (2010). Can Neuroscience help us do better job of teaching music? General Music Today, 23(2) 3-12. (Accessed 10 October 2015). From http:gmt.sagepub /com/cgi/content/abstract Mackey, M. (1950). The traditional musical instruments of Nigeria. The Nigerian Field 15:3. Mark, M. L. (2013). Music education. Source readings from ancient Greece to today, (4th Edition). New York and London: Routledge. Matsika, C. (2012). Traditional African education. Gweru: Mambo Press. Mbanugo, C. E. (2009). The State of Research in Music in the Global Village. Journal of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists (JANIM) 3(1), 122- 123. 138 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Precious Omuku: Issues and Challenges of Choral Music Pedagogy in Nigeria… Onyiuke, Y. S. (2003) Motivation as a valuable factor in Nigerian primary school music teaching. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA), 1, 69-78. Strumpf, M. (2001). Music education in Malawi and Zimbabwe. A Paper Prepared for African Arts Education Conference. Grahamstown, South Africa. Ugoo-Okonkwo, I. A. (2013). A Case Study of Teaching Choral Singing in an Urban Secondary School of Anambra State Applying Learning Theories. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development. Vol. 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2226-6348 Wikipedia (2013); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choir

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MUSIC EDUCATION IN IDEMILI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF ANAMBRA STATE: PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS AND IMPORTANCE

Ifeoma P. Okechukwu

Introduction Music education in Nigerian secondary schools took a different and contrary dimension in 2007 and again revised in 2012. In 2007, it was coined under Cultural and Creative Arts (C.C.A.) comprising Fine and Applied Arts, Music and Drama. Later in 2012, another revised version of the curriculum came up in form of Fine and Applied Arts, Music, Dance, Customs and Traditions as Cultural and Creative Arts (C.C.A.). According to Obioma (2012), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) first published Cultural and Creative Arts in J. S. S. 1 – 3 in 2007 and revised in 2012 so that the curriculum can be adapted for such special needs as nomadic education, non-formal education and education of the musically challenged (pp. ii – iv). This concussion, without doubt, led to the problems of music education in Nigeria as a whole and in Idemili North Local Government Area secondary schools in particular. There and then, the teaching and learning of music in the secondary schools started dwindling and encountering serious sickness. This also led to the lack of in-depth knowledge of the course (music) which without doubt started witnessing falling from its standard because students and teachers lost interest in the lucrative and the interesting course - music. If we recall what music used to be before the year 2,000 in our secondary schools up to tertiary institutions, it was regarded as double major courses. This implies that it cannot be combined with any other course(s) because of its branches and contents. This was done to help the learners to be self-reliant and professionals as soon as they finish their programme.

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… However, today, the reverse is the case and it is high time we rectified this issue before more damages are done to the course. As such, the instrument to be used is solely music education. Thus, the prospects will be of good help so as to put the suggested points into action in order to bring sanity and normalcy to the course because a stitch in time saves nine.

Concept of Music Education Education is the art or process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges to improve knowledge and develop skills. Therefore, music education is the art or process of teaching, training and learning music which can be formal or informal because education originally starts from conception. As such, music education starts in the home informally as traditional folk or indigenous music of one‟s society. Ezeugwu (2016) states: Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. The study of music seeks to develop the whole person. It is a basic life skill just like walking or talking. It has so much to do with person‘s moods, emotions, feelings, attitudes and opinions. Hence, it is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behaviour. Every normal child naturally is endowed with the basics of musical activities which include singing, dancing and playing of musical instruments. Again, the aim of music education is to develop the child‘s knowledge and skills on music and the arts in order to be useful in the environment. This means that process of continuity from what is obtainable in the child‘s environment should be made available in the school environment (p.1).

Music education also means the interpretation and implementation of a well- planned curriculum by the teacher in the classroom through the process of teaching and training the students/learners so as to be useful members of society. Elliot in Onyiuke (2011) affirms that music education has at least four basic meanings. He continued to inform that; Education in music involves the learning of music making and music listening; education about music involves teaching and learning formal knowledge (or verbal information) about music. 141 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… For example music making, music listening, music history and music theory; education for music may be taken in two ways – either teaching and learning as preparation for beginning to do music or teaching and learning as preparation for a career as performer, composer, historian, critic, researcher or teacher, and education by means of music overlaps with the first three senses each can be carried out in direct or indirect relation to goals such as improving one‘s health, mind and soul (p. 101).

Music education also means the all-round inculcation of musical practices by an expert into his amateur/learner so as to equip him musically in his environment and to face his life challenges musically. Ojukwu (2011) avers that; Music education is a process by which individuals become aware of, and sensitive to music. The programme enables the learner to come to grip with the socio-musical values established for his/her worthwhile musical values in accordance with the changing time and circumstance (p. 239).

Music education is built up of two words that has two way traffic involvement with a triangular representation of the teacher, the learner and the subject and its materials for teaching it. It uniquely refers to music planned to be taught in schools or colleges. Agu (2009) posits that: The term ―music education‖ refers to school programmes designed to teach students to make music and to listen to music. Music is one of the oldest artistic forms in the tradition of African societies. In Nigeria, it constitutes a rich, varied and vital functioning part of the traditional culture. The prominent position it occupies in the social lives of Nigerians lays credence to the fact it could be useful in generating development in the society (p. 1).

Music education as stated before covers both traditional and western music education as regards unplanned (informal) and planned (formal) curriculum. Ibekwe (2009) states that “traditionally, the music training of the Igbo child does not require pre-planned or elaborate classroom set-up. It goes or with daily life‟s experiences. Naturally, music training of every Igbo child takes its root from the 142 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… mother‟s womb” (p. 53). In addition, the music education is made up of two words just like teaching and learning that also go together and are very relevant in terms of knowledge exhibition and acquisition. Onyeji (2012) avers that; Music education could be defined as a process of training and study in the acquisition of skills and knowledge in music for effective functioning in the society. It encompasses a broad training for the acquisition of skill and knowledge of theory, practice, creativity, education, appreciation and performance of music in diverse cultural and stylistic forms (p. 148).

Concept of Importance Importance means something that has great value. It has much to do with positive concern or having great influence and authority. It also means relevance, good, qualitative and nice attributes. According to Hornby (2015), importance is the quality of being important or having value (p. 753). Importance can as well mean gainful, profitable, valuable, excellent and decent characteristics. Importance also means adequate and/or lucrative; hence, the importance of music education in our secondary schools in Idemili North and Nigeria.

Concept of Music Education Problems Problems of music education are the difficulties that are being encountered in the teaching and learning processes in music. They are also the challenges accruing from music as a subject in its teaching, training and learning in the homes, schools, colleges, universities and the society at large. In Nigerian secondary schools especially in Idemili North Local Government Area, a lot of problems, challenges and difficulties are militating agents against effective teaching and learning of music for a better society; hence, the need to correct and redress the challenges in prospect and retrospect.

Concept of Prospect It means an expectation. What one has in mind to be fulfilled. A wish to be set into action: something or action to be considered useful or requirements from person(s), body or an organization. The possibility that something good might happen in future; i.e. the likelihood of some future events occurring

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… Concept of Retrospect Retrospect in music education means thinking back or recalling what music education was in the past, then connecting it to what it is at the present situation; retrospect in music education can also mean reflecting at what music education used to be and equating it to its present stage. Thus, what was teaching and learning music was before and what it is now; to ascertain whether we are having it right or wrong and to know whether we are to revive the situation through the curriculum. The retrospectives will help us to look into the importance of music education for a better tomorrow.

Problems of Music Education in Idemili North Secondary Schools Idemili North Local Government Area is one out of the twenty one local government areas in Anambra State of the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. In Idemili North Local Government Area, secondary schools are facing numerous difficulties/problems and challenges causing lack of interest and seriousness in the teaching and learning music. This lack of seriousness and interest is reflected on the teachers, the students, parents, state schools education services commission, education curriculum planners, the government and the society at large. Since the problems are not only caused by the teachers or the students, there is the need to look into the different bodies as follows:

Students: Looking at the students‟ side, some of our children and students in the schools regard music as a subject that has no value and does not earn anyone good popularity. They claim the course to be a subject meant for the vagabonds and unintelligent students who cannot be fitted in to study law, engineering, medicine or political sciences. They also regard it as a course meant for those who has lost admirations in other areas of interest and can use music as “waiting-room” subject to gain their desired entrance into the university. Thus, they desert the course and its department at a time they wish leaving it empty so that the teachers will not have a handful of students to teach and be prepared as future teachers, lecturers and professionals of music for continuity purposes. Ojukwu (2011) affirms that: The discouragement and loss of interest by students in the study of music have been so critical, thus needing serious attention. The teaching and learning of music in the secondary schools 144 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… have not yet appeared to produce much desired result. There is yet scanty musical achievement, minimal learning and low musical standard in the Nigerian society (p. 239). Not only on the children and students‟ part, other factors contribute to the cause of the problems which needs to be rectified.

Parents: Some parents because of pursuit of unruly fame without positive base push their wards to study some subjects that are not fit for their talents. Some of them wish to be addressed as parents of an engineer, doctor or lawyer. That is engineer, doctor or lawyer‟s dad or mum. Hence, they inappropriately encourage their wards to study the subjects/courses that they are not naturally talented in. Then discouraging them from studying the ones they are naturally gifted and talented in like music. This is a serious misfit and causes much problem to music education in our secondary schools. Even when their wards see the need of their studying music up to university level, they put stud by refusing to carter for their welfare or refusing to sponsor their education entirely. Instead of allowing their wards to make choice of the ones they can study, the parents will rather choose for them.

Teachers: These are the implementers, trainers, counselors, advisers, educationists, professionals and curriculum actors/actresses in the classroom and the society. They make the curriculum to be a reality. However, some of these nation builders show laxity and lack of interest in this particular subject. Some of them lack adequate knowledge and appropriate teaching methods for effective teaching and learning to take place. In addition, most of them do not apply appropriate materials and correct teaching aids in the classroom approach; thus, killing the subject as well. Anya-Njoku (2012) states that: West African examination annual results show that music is not a popular subject in Nigerian secondary schools. This paper investigated the teacher factor to this anomaly using the teachers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka secondary school. The outcome showed that though the school, unlike most of her counterparts, had enough equipment, music study ended at W.A.E.C was very low; there was no choir, no dance groups, and band existed just for morning assembly. It became evident that 145 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… the teaching procedures applied by the teachers could not motivate enough interest on their students to embrace music as a subject (p. 163). The above statement is clear because the teachers, students and parents pay nonchalant attitude to the subject. The curriculum planners on their own murdered the subject by the concussion of mixture called Cultural and Creative Arts (C.C.A.). This is the last straw that broke the camels‟ back in our secondary schools music education. As regards this, the educationist and the government, especially the state education commission, haphazardly supervise the work on music education. In addition, the government failed to train and produce the appropriate personnel and professionals that will handle the concussion they called cultural and creative arts. The planners just prepare the curriculum without checking the teachers, materials, students or the environment where the normal teaching will take place respectively and effectively. This is a serious blunder, academic offence and a great ignominy to all important and one of the oldest arts that started with creation (music). As a double major course, it should stand on its own as a separate discipline with its tributaries such as applied music, theory and composition, African music theoretical studies, orchestration, etc. Ojukwu (2011) affirms that: The music curriculum is expected to, at the end, produce people who are musically literate and competent both in theory and practice. From the primary to the tertiary levels of education, the cumulative nature of the curriculum should lead to the end. Unfortunately, this goal seems to be a herculean task. These problems emanated from the government‘s attitude toward music to the problem of music educators themselves (p. 241).

Likewise, the government, education policy makers and curriculum planners give preference to some subject areas without looking into the lucrativeness/importance of other courses like music. Ibekwe (2009) posits: The national policy on education is a defective one, in the sense that it does not accord equal prominence to all programmes of study. Some courses are ostensibly christened core subjects while others are regarded as electives. Even where the relative merits of those courses are guaranteed, the already generated 146 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… complex or bias in the minds of people has become a serious impediment towards the study of such courses (p. 60). Moreover, these bodies of curriculum planners and policy makers do not put into consideration or show regard to the learner‟s environment and cultural background to help the teachers, students, and materials so as to move and proceed from known to unknown. Ezeugwu (2016) avers that: There is a gap between the music studied in the classroom and that which is obtainable in the cultural or the learner‘s environment. This has brought about poor response and lack of enthusiasm to schools‘ music. Students wish to be actively involved in their programmes, but the content of music is obtainable in schools, especially at the upper basic level of education, has no provision for such participation. The curriculum content is foreign and mostly theory based. Learning is said to be more effective if it is preceded from known to unknown (p. 2).

Society: The problem of music education in Idemili North, Nigeria and Africa at large is also caused by diverse and many ethnic groups. Hence, the community and society pose their own challenges and difficulties. Adedeji (2011) notes that: Various pertinent problems which had hindered effective school music education in Africa need to be re-examined in order to progressively move ahead. Some of these problems have been highlighted by scholars. The most significant of these problems is the heterogeneity of African ethnicity and cultural practices (p. 47). Therefore, the problems of music education in our secondary schools in Idemili North cannot be attributed to one particular sector, but the main cause is from the combination of all the double major courses which is supposed to be studied separately as a discipline. Hence, looking back at music in the past and now, the difference is very clear as we can see in the music education of Idemili North secondary schools among their ten (10) towns respectively.

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… The Situation The researcher in her work observed that there are ten (10) towns in Idemili North. Out of the ten (10) towns, the schools that study music in their junior and senior secondary schools were outlined. The names of the towns are as follows: 1. Obosi 2. Ogidi 3. Umuoji 4. Nkpor 5. Abatete 6. Oraukwu 7. Uke 8. Ideani 9. Eziowelle 10. Abacha

Names of Secondary Schools in Idemili North From the statistics, the state secondary schools that are in Idemili North are as follows: 1. Awada Secondary School Obosi – A. S. S. Obosi 2. Union Secondary School Obosi – U. S. S. Obosi 3. Community Secondary School Obosi – C. S. S. Obosi 4. Abanna Secondary School, Abatete – A. S. S. Abatete 5. Notre Dame High School, Abatete – N. D. H. S. Abatete 6. Government Technical School, Nkpor – G. T. C. Nkpor 7. Urban Secondary School Nkpor – U. S. S. Nkpor 8. Mathra Amabili Secondary School, Umuoji – M. A. S. S. Umuoji 9. Community Secondary School, Umuoji - C. S. S. Umuoji 10. Community Secondary School, Uke - C. S. S. Uke 11. Community Secondary School, Ideani – C. S. S. 12. Community Secondary School, Eziowelle – C. S. S. Eziowelle 13. Boys‟ Secondary School, Ogidi – C. S. S. Ogidi 14. Anglican Girls‟ Secondary School, Ogidi – A. G. S. S. Ogidi

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… Secondary Schools that Offer Music as a Subject From the statistics, the researcher observed that out of the fourteen (14) secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, only eight (8) schools are offering music under Cultural and Creative Arts as a subject.

Moreover, the eight schools are doing it only in the Junior Secondary School level. Hence, there is nothing like Cultural and Creative Art subject or Music as a course in their senior secondary school level. Thus, we can see that the naturally gifted students in music are dumped in the areas they will not do their best.

Presently, the names of the Junior Secondary Schools that study music with their teachers and some of their phone numbers are as follows:

S/N Names of Schools Teacher’s Name 1. Abanna Secondary School, Abatete Obiageli Uche Okoye – A. S. S. Abatete 2. Urban Secondary School, Nkpor – Chike F. Nkemjika U. S. S. Nkpor 3. Community Secondary School, Patricia Onuigbo Obosi – C. S. S. Obosi 4. Union Secondary School, Obosi - Euchaira Akunede U. S. S. Obosi 5. Anglican Girls Secondary School, Ngozi P. Ikebuaku Ogidi – A. G. S. S. Ogidi 6. Community Secondary School, Uke Martina U. Anike 7. Community Secondary School, Nchekwube H. Eke Ideani – C. S. S. Ideani 8. Community Secondary School Helen Obidike Umuoji – C. S. S. Umuoji

From the above illustration and statistics, it is observed that merging and muddling of five (5) separate/different subjects as one under Cultural and Creative Arts worsens the whole situation, thereby creating problem in the teaching and learning of music. In addition, the illustration also proves that there are no sufficient qualified secondary school music teachers because those schools which 149 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… do not offer music or that baptized Cultural and Creative Arts both in the Junior and Secondary Schools exposes the incompetency. Some of these teachers also read music with combined courses in their tertiary institution. As such they did not do the in-depth study of music. Moreover, they cannot teach the students or inculcate the right musical value as the case demands. In addition, they are easily harassed and convinced to teach other subjects rather than being firm in teaching music. Such subject combinations with music are music combined with Christian religious knowledge; music combined with English and music combined with social studies, etc. This type of combination makes a student “jack of all trades but master of none” among all the trade. Some educationists and supervisors are nonchalant towards the teachers of the subject during their field work at supervision in schools. This is laxity on the part of the teacher, educationists and supervisors because they neglect the importance of music education in the society and in the life of the individual.

Importance of Music Education in the Secondary Schools Having seen the problems of music education in our secondary schools, it is widely known that music education is very important and relevance in the upbringing of children, training of students and redressing of adult character. Therefore, the problems which music education is facing can be solved so as to pave way for better improvement. Therefore, the presence of music education in secondary schools will go a long way in helping to achieve the following: 1. Creating job opportunities for junior and senior secondary school leavers 2. Helping them to be self-reliant. 3. Training of talented and gifted musicians 4. It creates room for popularity and famousness 5. Through music education one can earn a living effectively. 6. Gives a qualitative background at the early age of a child. 7. Music education promotes the students‟ skill acquisition attributes 8. It promotes continuity because the knowledge gained through music education is handed down from one generation to another 9. Encourages an amateur to be interested in studying the course up to higher level since a journey of many miles starts with a step. Early music education handled very well can produce future academic music professors.

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… 10. It is used in teaching and learning other subjects e.g. in the teaching of numbers or counting figures in Mathematics, a child can easily learn counting using music as a pneumonic.

Conclusion and Recommendations Music education is very useful in our homes especially in our secondary schools and our entire society. Therefore, it should be taken serous in our secondary school system. All hands should be on deck to support music education – the students, teachers, parents, curriculum planners, policy makers and the government. This will help to encourage the sustenance of the subject area. Taking it seriously as a course in the secondary school level will help us to produce those that will study it in the tertiary institutions to qualify as future academics. Thus, it will help in creating self-reliance and job opportunities for individuals and school leavers by generating pianists, guitarists, violinists, choristers and general music performers; which curbs the issues of unemployment as well as promote human capital development in the local government, state and federation at large.

References Adedeji, F. O. 2011). School music education in Africa: The Meki Nzewi method. In Y. S. Onyiuke, I. O. Idamoyibo and D. C. C. Agu (eds) Mekism and knowledge sharing of the musical arts of Africa, pp. 47-53. Agu, D. C. C. (2009). Music education in Nigerian schools: Implications for national development. Alvan Journal of Music and Humanities (AJOMAH). 1, 1-9. Anya-Njoku, M. C. (2012). Learning theories and music educators in Nigerian schools: A survey. Nsukka Journal of the Musical Arts Research (NJRMA). 1, 163-171. Ezeugwu, F. O. (2016). Enhancing music education in Nigerian schools using indigenous music performance. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 12, 1-17 Hornby, A. S. (2015). Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Ifeoma Okechukwu: Music Education in Idemili North L. G. A. Secondary Schools… Ibekwe, E. U. (2009). Traditional music education and national development: The Igbo child experience. Alvan Journal of Music and Humanities (AJOMAH). 1, 53-62. Obioma, G. W. (2012). Federal ministry of education, 9 –year basic education curriculum; cultural and creative art. Lagos: NERDC Printing Press. Ojukwu, E. V. (2011). The state of music education in the junior secondary school in Anambra State, Nigeria: Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 8, 239-251. Onyeji, E. O. (2012). The prospects of music education in the rehabilitation of Nigerian prisoners: A case study of Nsukka prison. Nsukka Journal of the Musical Arts Research (NJRMA). 1, 143-153. Onyiuke, Y. S. (2011). Music education, music curriculum and national development. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA). 8, 101-114.

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EXPLORING MUSIC ENTRPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM AS A MEANS OF GENERATING EMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Sunday N. Nnamani, Ph.D.

Introduction Unemployment has become one of the major problems affecting growth and development in Nigeria. Today, it is observed that many Nigerian youth love music, others have been trained musically and still there are some who are musically talented but have no formal education and training in music. Therefore an entrepreneurial programme in music will bridge the gap between music and unemployment in the formal sector. Entrepreneurship music education focuses on the development of music skills or attributes that enables the realization of existing opportunities that leads to self-employment. In these days of economic depression and poor government revenues, entrepreneurship should be the key driver of our economy. Several areas of specialization abound in the music profession with their diverse advantages and benefits inherent in them. Music entrepreneurship is one of such areas of specialization which plays a key role in generating employment. The paper delves into music production business as a major component for generation of employment in music profession.

For Nigeria to attain the employment generation component of the post MDGs, there is a need to put in place a vocational training. This will enhance the right input of highly skilled human resources in music to feed the labour market for the overall growth and development of the nation. According to Plato (1995), Music training is a more potent instrument than any other because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten imparting graces..., However one must combine his passion for music with sound entrepreneurship principles.

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Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … Self-employment is a critical factor in job creation. But unfortunately, unemployment has come to be one of the major problems affecting growth, sustainability and development in Nigeria. In order to eradicate this, Nigerian youths need to be self-employed rather than waiting to be employed especially as the established formal sector is saturated as a result of population explosion.

Hornby (2006:489) defines entrepreneur as a person who makes money by starting or running a business especially when this involves taking financial risks. Music entrepreneurship seeks to provide students with knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. It combines creativity, theory, practical musicianship, technology and context in a distinctive blend of teaching and learning.

Concept of Economy Economy is defined as the relationship between production, trade and the supply of money in a particular country or region. (Hornby: 2006:466). In these days of economic depression in Nigeria, which is a time of decline in business or trade and employment, there is the need for strengthening of entrepreneurial opportunities through diversification. Entrepreneurship is associated with different kinds of activities that have to do with establishment and operations of business enterprise and related activities. This may include the identification of investment opportunities, decision on what opportunities to exploit for profit, promotion and establishment of business enterprise. Entrepreneurship therefore is the process of organizing business or an enterprise with a view to providing services and making some profit (Njoku, 2006).The musician therefore, has an opportunity, and it is just for him to exploit such opportunities and make profit out of it.

Concept of Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skill and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. Variations of entrepreneurship are offered at all levels of education from primary or secondary through to the tertiary levels. Entrepreneurship education focuses on the development of skills or attributes that enable the realization of opportunity, where management education is focused on the best way to operate existing hierarchies. Both approaches share interest in achieving profit in some form. This 154 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … has to do with non-profit organizations or it has to take the form of increased services to the citizens. Importance and Benefits of Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship is a key driver of our economy. Wealth and a good majority of jobs are created by small businesses started by entrepreneurially minded individuals, many of whom go on to create big businesses. People exposed to entrepreneurship frequently express that they have more opportunity to exercise creative freedoms, higher self-esteem, and an overall greater sense of control over their own lives. As a result, many experienced business people, political leaders, economists, and educators believe that fostering a robust entrepreneurial culture will maximize individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national and global scale. It is with this in mind that the government of the day had established the Small and Medium Scale enterprises (SMEs); to prepare youth and adults to succeed in an entrepreneurial economy.

According to the United States Department of Labour in March 2016; Entrepreneurs drive America‘s economy, accounting for the majority of our nation‘s new job creation and innovations. According to the U. S. Census Bureau‘s 2002 survey of Business Owners, self-employed individuals who have no paid employees operate three-fourths of U. S. Businesses. The U. S. Small Business Administration reports that America‘s 25.8 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the private workforce, generate more than half of the nation‘s gross domestic product, and are the principal source of new job in the U. S. Economy. (http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/entreprenuership.htm)

Entrepreneurship is an employment strategy that can lead to economic self- sufficiency for young people within the age bracket of eighteen (18) and thirty-five (35), or even beyond. Self-employment provides young people and their families with the potential to create and manage businesses in which they function as the employer or boss, rather than merely being an employee. Oftentimes, the government through the Central Bank via the Industrial Promotion Schemes provides technical and financial supports which can serve as a safety measure that may decrease the risk involved in pursuing self-employment. The youths who 155 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … are interested in becoming entrepreneurs often realize that it is not an easy task. But entrepreneurship education offers a solution. It prepares particularly the youth to be responsible enterprising individuals who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers by immersing them in real life learning experiences where they can take risks, manage the results and learn from the outcomes.

Through entrepreneurship education young people learn organizational skills, including time management, leadership development and interpersonal skills. All these are highly transferable skills sought by employers. According to Logic Models and Outcomes for Youth Entrepreneurship Program (2001), a report by the D. C. Children and Youth Investment Corporation, other positive outcomes include:  Improved academic performance, school attendance; and educational attainment.  Increased problem – solving and decision – making abilities  Improved interpersonal relationships, teamwork, money management and public speaking skills.  Job readiness  Enhanced social psychological development (self-esteem, ego development, self-efficacy, and  Perceived improved health status.

Music Entrepreneurship The mission of music entrepreneurship is to empower every music student with the skills and mindset to succeed in the professional world. In music we treat entrepreneurship as an attitude that infuses every subject from bios to business and beyond. A music entrepreneur is the business man or woman, organizer or director of a music business or a music enterprise. He packages his resources/music abilities, takes advantages of them by way of creating a business environment that will lead him to career profit.

Several business organizations exist in our society and these organizations are established principally for the purpose of making profit. However not much of Music business organizations are established in music area for the purpose of 156 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … making profit; not to talk of most musicians becoming entrepreneurs. Probably most musicians may not know or understand that they have what it takes to become successful entrepreneurs. For a music minister to gain ground in the business sector he must understand the principles of business. This is prominent for musicians who operate within the church circles.

A business minded church musician strategizes on how he can use his creative works/talent to the market and let the public see them. For the musician to get a clear picture and understanding of business, he must first of all understand the terms associated with business.

What is business? Business from whatever angle it is looked at involves organized activities because nothing happens by chance. Business organizations are essentially the providers of goods and services. However, for us to appreciate the scope and range of a business organization; there is a need for us to examine some definitions of business. According to Ihunda (2001), business as an institution is organized and operated to provide goods and services under the inventive of private gains. Also Chukwuigwe (2002) described it as a human organization that produces and or markets products and services. Business includes those activities which individuals, working singly or in association with others endeavours to produce and distribute the goods and services that are important to the well-being, comfort and happiness of individuals and for the benefit of the society as a whole. Business owners are usually motivated in their activities not only by the need for their material contribution to the welfare of the community at large of which they are part of, but also by the desire to make reasonable profit.

Music Entrepreneurship Business Programmes. Reports from the entrepreneurship programmes of Carnegie Mellon School of Music, U. S. A. stated that Music entrepreneurship students regularly develop and test projects in collaboration with community partners such as Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Pittsburgh, and Edgewood Symphony etc. According to Annie Gordon (MM‟14) she said, At CMU I learned to be a complete musician: one who performs at her highest ability, markets herself, speaks for herself and 157 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … engages with her audience. In the entrepreneurship courses, we developed these skills through hands-on involvement in real-world projects. The experience was empowering. (p. 3.)

Also Gabriel Colby (MM‟14) informed that; The CMU Entrepreneurship program has been invaluable to my development as a working artist. During my time in the school, i attended numerous lectures of true gurus in the fields of music, arts, business and communications. The CMU Entrepreneurship program has equipped me with the tools to be more comfortable in all professional situations; from the honing stage presence in front of a major concert hall to business etiquette at a board meeting (p. 3)

Again, Martina Caruso (A‟14) expressing her view about entrepreneurship said that “the Music Entrepreneurship program helped me to realize that my passion for music has the potential to go far beyond performance alone. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences i took away from this program. (p. 4).

Nigerian music stakeholders have a lot to learn and borrow from these performers in advanced countries in order to improve on our skills in entrepreneurship music business.

Areas of Specialization in Music Entrepreneurship Music entrepreneurship entails a world of great career choices. The areas of specialization include the following. a. Performance (Singing, Instrumentation/Orchestration, Conducting) b. Music Theory (Composition/Song writing General training) c. Music Technology (Sound engineering, Musical Instrument Technology) d. Music Business Management (Events Management, Music Marketing, Ensemble and Artiste Management, Cultural Tourism) e. Media and Communication (Music Publishing, Music Journalism, Film Music).

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Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … Role of Entrepreneurship in Generating Employment Since music is an easily digestible medium of communication, it is the most effective medium of cultural export by individuals and groups which result into economic benefits. Here it involves the processing and distribution of music in material forms or making use of music that had already been placed in material form. All these can be translated into economic benefits that generate employment. Anuforom (1984) rightly observed that music has as one of its objectives “the development of the child‟s talent physical skills as well as the acquisition of special vocational training that could enable one develop healthy attitude towards honest labour”. The acquisition of these skills is essential ingredient for the building of a self-reliant individual capable of employing himself.

There are many ways through which entrepreneurship in music can make one to be self-reliant thereby minimizing the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. The already enumerated areas of specialization could be expanded as shown here below: PERFORMANCE (a).

SINGING INSTRUMENT AND CONDUCTING INSTRUMENTATION/ * Production of ORCHESTRATION * Direct Ensembles records * Perform at events *Sing at events *Produce recordings * Train Train *Play at events Conductors/Directors *Singers/Choral *Train instrumentalists and instrumental groups

Source: Model from Simeon (2015)

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Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of …

(b). MUSIC THEORY

Composition and General music song writing training and skill development

Source: Model from Simeon (2015)

(c). MUSIC TECHNOLOGY

SOUND ENGINEERING MUSIC INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY * Establish recording studio and/or sound * Repairs/service musical reinforcement outfit Instruments * Construct and sell

musical instruments. *Consultancy * Conduct trainings on musical instrument construction and maintenance

Source: Model from Simeon (2015)

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Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of …

MUSIC BUSINESS (d). MANAGEMENT

Events Music Ensemble and Cultural Management Marketing Artiste Tourism Management *Arrangement *Marketing of *Arrangement of Social recorded *Management of Visits to events music of amateur Tourist Birthdays artistes and Centres *Records ensembles * Weddings *Provision of *Discs etc. music

*Burials

Source: Model from Simeon (2015)

MEDIA AND (e). COMMUNICATIONS

Music Publishing Music Journalism Film Music

Source: Model from Simeon (2015) 161 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … The above model adopted from (Simeon, 2015) can as well guide many music entrepreneurs, each sticking to the area where he/she has relative advantage to a great success.

Conclusion Economically, the entertainment industry of which music is a very strong element is one of the most vital, viable and rich aspect of culture all over the world. Musicians will be among the highest earners the world over if they cue adequately into the trend of things economically. Through this they will be able to circulate money in the society thereby providing a lot of opportunities for the young to engage in self-enterprise and self-management.

References Anuforom, H. U. (1984). The role of music in traditional educaiton. Paper presented in the Conference of Music Educators, A. F. C. E. Owerri. Caruso, M. (2016). http://music.cmu.edu/pages/music-entrepreneurship Accessed 24th March Chukwuigwe, N. (2002). Framework of business Mmnagement. Pearl Publishers, Port-Harcourt: Rivers State Colby, G. (2016). http://music.cmu.edu/pages/music-entrepreneurship Assessed 31st March. DC Children Investment Trust Corporation (2001). Logic Models and Outcomes for Youth Entrepreneurship Programs. DC: Trust Corporation. Gordon, A. (2016). http://music.cmu.edu/pages/music-entrepreneurship Accessed 31st March. Hornby, A. S. (2006). Oxford advanced learner‘s dictionary of current English. Oxford University Press, London: page 489. Ihunda, C. C. (2001). Introduction to business. Springfield Publishers, Owerri: Imo State Njoku, C. V. (2006). Small business management and entrepreneurship. Ambix Printers Nigeria, Owerri: Imo State. Plato, P. (1955). The Republic, translated by H. D. P. Lee, Penguim Books: London

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Sunday Nnamani: Exploring Music Entrepreneurship Program as a Means of … Simeon, M. (2015). Church music and entrepreneurship. A paper presented at the Centenary Church Music Conference, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Internet Source: http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/entrepreneurship.htm. Accessed 31st March 2016

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MINSTRELSY IN IGBO CULTURE: A TRANSCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF SELECTED WORKS OF MIKE EJEAGHA

Stella N. Nwobu, Ph.D.

Introduction Several studies have been done on minstrelsy and a lot of literatures in existence have given the subject definition, clarification and analysis. Minstrelsy is a specialized vocal art and a vital musical expression for most societies. It is closely bound to folklore; hence it appears to be most predominant and common in rural areas and traditional societies where people share almost everything in common. Minstrelsy as a functional art, whose essence is verbally conveyed and easily realized, has been part of aristocratic life in some societies. As a specialized style of vocal singing, it is not only an elaborate activity in its own right but essential and effective agent for social engagements and other human activities. The protagonists of this art are the minstrels. Hence, the projection and sustenance of this ennobling art is actualized through their performance. Nzewi (2007:83) identified minstrelsy as a typical indigenous popular (pop) music style. He averts that: That the emphasis is usually on a star performer who spins stories, anecdotes and commentaries about occurrences and experiences in her/his human society. She/he may have one or more accompanists who sing chorus answers, and may as well provide light instrumental accompaniment or textural background for solo compositions/extemporization.

Minstrelsy ensembles are normally envisioned for a concert audience. Minstrelsy was common to both European and African musical styles. In Europe, it was first mentioned in relation to the troubadours and jongleurs, traveling musicians who earned money and other gifts through performances. A minstrel 164 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Minstrel is a professional entertainer of any kind including juggler; acrobat and storytelling, more specifically, a secular musician and usually an instrumentalist. Here in Nigeria (and indeed in Igboland), one most common and glaring phenomenon noted in Nigerian minstrelsy, is the persistent dominance of an individual singer in an ensemble. As Okafor (1980) observed that “what distinguishes minstrels from other types of Igbo vocal music is the soloist, a gifted one, who carries the singing. Not only is he a solo performer, but also his style and some of his compositions are personal to him” (p.52). Ubani (2004) asserted that “minstrelsy as creative art is indigenous to Igbo culture. Minstrel, music (Egwu Ekpili) is the traditional music of the Igbos. As members of their communities, their philosophies and conceptions are culturally, motivated and society based” (p. 115).

Okafor (2005) noted that: Minstrelsy music was one of the earliest genres of vocal music known to the Igbo. The minstrel was a solo performer who entertained his audience with songs, storytelling and even buffoonery of a higher witty and sophisticated kind. (p.27) Minstrels‟ music is widely acceptable because they deal with the themes of the moment with which people are familiar or in contact. Ubani (2004) revealed that they were held to a great esteem and their words receive the attention of the people. The songs of the minstrels have diverse massages which they put across to the people. Okafor (2005) opined that “because the minstrel can notify, stimulate and mobilize the community, he is useful to the chief men as a way of embellishing their own personalities and inflating their egos. “Ceremonies and formal occasions can be so successfully promoted by minstrelsy, that they outlive the actors and become a heritage to succeeding generations”.

The most outstanding characteristic of a minstrel art according to Okafor (2005) is “his/her ability to respond, within a given semi traditional musical frameworks of the exigencies of each social occasion and to create something new and challenging for audience”. (p.28) He went further quantify the minstrel as the conscience of the people: their judge of right and wrong. He sees him not only 165 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … as a musician and singer, but a respected member of the society, a hero, a preacher, a voice of the people, a terror to those who deviate from accepted norms. Mbanugo (1988) noted thus: “Minstrels are the society‟s mouth-pieces and the society‟s watchdogs. They comment on societal trends highlighting deviant behaviours from individuals or group of individuals” (p. 303)

The minstrels of our time have their poetic and music theme centered on the socio- poetical events, tales, joys and hopes, sorrows and problems of our modern society. However, the artistic and creative ingenuity of Michael Nwachukwu Ejeagha (Mike Ejeagha), for instance goes beyond musical or poetic considerations. Apart from being seen as a poet-musician, a public entertainer, an educator, a social informant and a molder of public opinion, he could conveniently and convincingly also act as a dancer and an instrumentalist. Beadle (2014) described Mike Ejeagha as one artiste that can be said to epitomize the soul of Ndi Igbo. Very much in the “deep” Igbo folk culture tradition of his native Enugu area, Ejeagha‟s lyrics are full of the parables and shaded meanings that are the essence of Igbo culture. His arrangements and guitar work, in addition are sublime. Minstrels are revered and highly acknowledge in Nigeria. However, the degree of respect and recognition with their attendant remunerations and material wealth differs from one Nigerian society to another. Be that as it may, minstrelsy is a universal phenomenon, and minstrels have gained recognition, in all the part of the entire world.

Compositional Techniques of Michael Nwachukwu Ejeagha The process in the art of composing new songs by Mike Ejeagha is mostly inspirational and partly spontaneous. Inspirationally, it springs from the innate talents of his artistic ingenuity. Musical idea comes as wave which is the creative imaginative ability to perceive sound in one‟s mind and ear. He claimed that musical ideas come to him while alone, at work in the house, with friends, when surprising events take place within his environment, where they have farm- settlements, from hinter-lands, and also from friends whose stories he do re- arrange for musical compositions. Ejeagha‟s ability to re-arrange, re-interpreter and recapture these stories and events musically derives from his accumulated musical experiences and ideas over the years. As a onetime choir boy he sang in solfa notation and at the same time acquired a sound aural perception. 166 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … Similarly as a good guitarist, he understands partly, the Western principles of chords and chord progressions. However, he cannot represent them on paper, but he knows when a beautiful melody is produced on the guitar, all depending on the kind of impression and mood he wants to create.

According to Elom (1992) he goes on repeating a particular melodic movement or phrase he considers good, on the guitar, or using his voice, until he internalizes it, such that he can recite it with much ease. However, this may be subject to modifications after meeting with the other two of his members during rehearsals. This is because their suggestions are most of the time useful. More so, as he observed that, it would be boring to them, if he goes on telling them what to do without allowing them to contribute musical ideas. Mike Ejeagha‟s compositional techniques can equally be comprehended and appreciated when a close listening attention is given to the syntactic and semantic structure of his language of communication, the Igbo language. For instance, the first stanza of his song “Akuebube” (Wealth induces pride) which appears below shows a syntadigmatic relationship of words formation. This is because there is an element of sequence and complementarities in the words formation, such that the meaning of the first line of the stanza is realized in the second line; without the second line balancing the first line, the meaning of the entire musical sentence is lost. For example, Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Kedu ifem mere madu ji akpuru mu n‘onu Kedu ifem mere madu ji akpuru mu n‘onu Obum bu mbu n‘enweghi ikwu? Ka o bu m bu mbu n‘enweghi ibe? Anyam ko me ko me? Anyam ko re ko me? Ogbenye dibu mbu adii o

Semantically, a sentence in Igbo language or a single word may have different interpretations and meanings for instance, the musical sentence ―kedu ihe m mere madu jiakpuru m n‘onu” superficially means (what have I done that people always discuss me?) 167 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … But in its deep meaning it implies defamation and character assassination. This explains the complex nature of most African language, especially the Igbo language: Linguistically, Igbo language is neither single in structure nor deficiency in vocabulary. It comprises series of derivations, affixes and prefixes, and makes complicated and subtle use of varying tones to express and differentiate deficiency lexical and grammatical forms. It is through these and many other figurative devices such as onomatopoeia, simile and proverbs among others, that Igbo as a language has come to fully establish its traditional and peculiar resources of structure and rich vocabulary on which a native and eloquent composer like Ejeagha carefully draws for musical expression after a thoughtful and logical reasoning with regards to his choice of words.

Some of the figurative devices mentioned earlier appeared mostly in his free recitative lines. For instance in his song “Nnam Eze akpata m enyi” (My Lord the king I have brought the Elephant) Ejeagha used the expression ―Gwogwon Gwongwon‖ to recapture the size and ponderous movement of the elephant. Similarly in his song “Ebuni Nwude” Ejegha used the proverb “onye jide ihe nwata welie aka elu, aka jie ya nwata ewere ihe ya” which means (whoever raises a child‟s property up, hoping that he would not get at it, will definitely bring his hand down when he is tired and then the child will collect his belonging?

Texts of Akuebube and Ebuni Nwude by Michael Ejeagha

Song 1: Akuebube Igbo Text English Translation Akuebube Akuebuibe Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Akuebube Kedu ife melu madu jiakpulu m What have I done that make people n‘onu speak about me in such manner Kedu ife melu madu jiakpulum What have I done that make people n‘onu speak about me in such manner O bu m bu mbu n‘enweghi ikwu Am I the first person without relatives? O bu m bu mbu n‘enweghi ibe Am I the first people without friends Anyam kone kone I have said it times without number. 168 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … Anyam kone kone I have said it times without numbers. Ogbenye dibu mbu adi The poor have been around since the beginning of the time. Ayo – Ayo – Ayo Ayo – Ayo - Ayo Ayo – Ayo - Ayo (10x) Ayo Ayo (10x)

Song 2: Ebuni Nwude Igbo Texts English Translation Udeze nwanne m, Udeze Nwannem Udeze my brother, Udeze my brother Ife melu be anyi Mysterious events have happened in our land Nwoke atulu ime A man is pregnant Akwu chara n‘omu Palm fruits have grown on palm leaves Ji esili n‘iteepue ome A yam in a boiling pot has germinated. Udeze n‘anyi araba anaba Udeze we are going home. Ekwu na ato sibe ite ya atu adaa A pot on a tripod stand hardly falls Agbu ekelu nwa ngwele elugo otuto It is time for the lizard to be disentangled. Udeze n‘azi anyi anaba anaba. Udeze we are going. Ebuni nwude, Ebuni nwude Ochuwe oyeli ekwu Ochuwe oyeli ekwu Ebuni nwude. Ebuni nwude.

Basic Form of Ejeagha’s Compositions The overall organization of musical ideas in time is regarded as form and understanding the form of music helps to make sense of what the composer, arranger or performer tries to express. Michael Ejeagha uses a form that has interplay between voice and instruments, especially the guitar in dialogue. A solo

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … and chorus with punctuations of instrumental interlude which seems often times to play a role of a second partner to the soloist in a display of a dialogue as shown in example 1

Further examples can be seen in “Onye Ori Utaba.

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … Another aspect of form is his extensive employment of “Declamation” A musical identity as found in almost all his work as a characteristics. Ejeagha does a solo work usually interpreted with call and Response with occasionally instrumental interlude. Each time he returns to A, as he exposes the theme which is A, moves off to the story line which is B, comes back to the theme which is A, move off to another continuation of the story which is C, comes back to A. This is established in Onye Ori Utaba, and Udeze Nwanne m.

His Melodic Structures Michael Ejeagha‟s melody is repetitive and fragmentary, very typical of African melody. As a result of his use of conventional musical instruments, his music is tempered on definite pitch. His melody uses the scale which can sometimes be tonal. His melody is characteristically more of logogenic with some element of pathogenic consideration in the melodic invention.

Textual Analysis of Ejeagha’s Music The texts of Ejeagha‟s music is deep rooted in the Christian teaching of humility, generosity, decency, patience, endurance, hard work and above all love among other virtues. For instance, the song “Akuebube” (Wealth induces pride) cautions against excessive pride and egoism, for no condition is ever permanent be it pleasurable or dehumanizing. It equally emphasizes on perseverance and honesty even when life turns sore and unbearable. Ejeagha‟s music is highly flexible both in context and content.

Contextually his music could be performed at such occasion like child-naming, marriage, installation of political office holder and funeral ceremony. In such contexts, the music could have as its subject matter such issues as morality, praise, consolation, social problems of life as poverty, wickedness and love among others.

Correlation between the Speech Tone and Melodic Contour Melody determines the harmony just as the text determines the melody. Michael Ejeagha‟s melodies grow out of speech since they trace the natural inflection of the text. Changes in text sometimes affect the melody of the songs. This is because the language used in their songs is mainly tonal. A language is 171 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … tonal when the meaning of a word is dependent upon the pattern of tones used in the pronunciation of the words. As Igbo language is tonal and in order not to destroy the meaning of words, the melodic contour is largely influenced by the way the words are pronounced.

Harmonic Structure of Ejeagha’s Compositions Looking at Michael Ejeagha‟s harmony we usually see that it often described involuntary harmony. It is not figured under the harmony of western conception and as a result, we often find the harmony running in third, fifth and sixth, harmonized under Strict Organum – moving in similar motion and mentioned although. Example

Thirds can be seen from Onye Ori Utaba.

Rhythmic Structure and Phrasing in Ejeagha’s works Michael Ejeagha‟s rhythm is complex, typical of African rhythm. He figures his rhythm which is more in an additive manner. There is also a trace of cross rhythm as shown in the instrumental part of Onye Mkpesa and like Africans, the use of the woodblock maintains the variations of popular rhythm in Africa which is called the bell rhythm, running in ostinato most often.

Examples are as follows: 172 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected …

1. Udeze Nwannem

2. Onye Ori Utaba: ___

_

Findings and Conclusion “Minstrelsy music was found to be a highly participative art-form. It can easily be used for effective communication on members of the society.” (Mbanugo, 1988:303). The minstrelsy groups are educational agents to members of the society especially the Igbo. Ekwueme (1977:23) observed that “Music is sine quinoa in Igbo activated religion, dance, the purgative ritual‟s aptly exposes the African even in the traditional context”. Nwuba (1976:3) stated in his address at the synod of the Anglican Diocese of Owerri on June 1976 that “in our Igbo context, music is the principal instrument for conveying all sorts of emotions, so whether it is for joy, sorrows, reflections or relaxation, music ideas to the heart of our people”.

Many others are in support of the same view that minstrelsy is in our blood. The over-riding influences of music to the Igbo are well pronounced during social functions. One thing is clear; music has played, and will continue to play a vital role in the life of the Igbo. Mike Ejeagha strongly prays that his children will follow his footsteps in music, unlike his fathers who made nothing out of it.

It is the hope of the researcher that other researchers will also embark on this type of research so that a large body of songs will be documented for educational purposes and for the enjoyment of posterity.

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … References Agu, D. C. C. (1990). The primacy of music in Igbo traditional religion. In E. Ekpunobi & I. Ezeaku (eds.). Social – Philosophical perspective of African traditional Religion. Enugu: New Age Publishers. Pp 49-55. Azuonye, C. (1981): Stability and change in the performance of Ohofia Igbo singers of Tales. A seminar paper presented to the department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Ibadan. Beadle, J. (2014). Discography of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha. Retrieved from https://biochem.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp/‟‟endo/EAEjeagha.htm Britannica (2013). Minstrel. Retrieved from www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384570/minstrel Ekwueme, L.E.N. (1977). Igbo performing art. A paper presented to the Music Department of Alvan Ikoku College of Educational Owerri. Mbanugo, E. C. (1988). Minstrelsy music as a mobilizer for socio cultural development. Social mobilization and national development: The Nigerian scene. 297 – 305. Kmp Kawiriz and Manilas Publishers Ltd. Mbanugo, E. C. (2003). Minstrelsy music as a mobilizer for socio cultural development: A study of selected minstrels from Anambra State Nigeria. Ogirisi: A New Journal of African Studies, 1(1), 151-159 Mbanugo, E. C. (2006). Nigerian minstrelsy music and social commitment. A study of Morocco Maduka‟s Art. Nigerian Musicological Journal 2, 188-200. Association of Nigerian Musicologist. Nzewi M. & Nzewi O. (2007). A contemporary study of the musical arts. 5,( 2). CIIMDA: African indigenous knowledge system. Okafor, R. C. (1980). Igbo minstrels. Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis, The Queen‟s University of Belfast. Okafor, R. C. (2005). Minstrelsy in Ezeagu Local Government Area: Onu –Okwa, “the Voice of the Partride”. Music in Nigerian Society. 116-125. Enugu: New Generation Ventures Limited Okafor, R. C. (2005). Chief Akunwafor Ezigbo Obiligbo: The Igbo musical legend. Music in Nigerian society. 26-44. Enugu: New Generation Ventures Limited Ubani A. (2004). The compositional techniques of Igbo Minstrel singers in Anambra State. An analytical study. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts. 2, 114-126. 174 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected … Appendix

Excerpts of Transcriptions of Udeze Nwannem and Onye Ori Utaba

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected …

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected …

…. and so on…..

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Stella Nwobu: Minstrelsy in Igbo Culture: A Transcription and Analysis of Selected …

…. and so on…..

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SONIC EFFECTS OF INDIGENOUS PERCUSSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN CHORAL MUSIC PERFORMANCES: THE CASE OF KINGS CHORAL VOICES OF PORT-HARCOURT

James E. Amaegbe, Ph.D. and Precious A. Omuku

Introduction Nigerian rhythmic idioms are cumulative products of deep rooted expressions emanating from indigenous accompaniment where the accompanists vigorously embellish the harmonic melody with percussive musical instrument. Like a full western orchestra with all the families, most choral pieces are rich in their indigenous percussive rhythms that showcase the thought process of the composer. These pieces carry the weight of feeling of different cultures in Nigeria and their idiomatic expression, with which the instrumental accompaniments and the voices convey the message inherent, creating the beauty of style and purpose. Choral music performance in Nigeria has attained an enviable height and its instrumental accompaniment has contributed in no small way to this growth. Indigenous percussive musical instruments bring out the creative beauty of Nigerian choral performance.

The late pop star Michael Jackson once said in an interview published on the internet that he originates most of the rhythmic patterns in his music from African rhythm. This submission, to some extent explains the breakthrough in musical export Nigerian artistes are presently enjoying today. Chernoff and Merriam in Temperley (2000) discoursed that “rhythm is of paramount importance in African music and a major source of its richness and complexity”. These rhythms are 180 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… melodic components produced from improvised idioms acquired from participation in indigenous musical events passed on aurally or by apprenticeship from generation to generation in African society. The scale patterns, singing and instrumentation is done for fun and entertainment not following any musical rules like western music. According to Akpabot (1998) contrary to the fact that African music is played for fun and entertainment, “four part instrumental music exist in Africa, choral singing occurs in consecutive triads, the two tones of a twin gong and wooden drum can be tuned to definite intervals of a second, third and fifth and there is number symbolism”.

African musical instruments are unique and can be identified in several ways including the manner they produce sound, the physical properties of the instrument and the pitch range. Ajewole (2010) in his book listed some musical instruments found in Africa especially the once used in Nigeria as follows: Rattle ground shakers and container type shakers, Rock gongs, Wooding and tone clappers, Iron and wooden bells, Ground percussion calabash, Iron cymbals, Friction tubes, Scraped bottles, Cracker instrument played like you are damaging it, Stamping sticks-calculating stepping instrument, Stamping tubes- A pot cover with water, Upright drum, Hour glass drum, Fiction drum, Tuned drum, Flute, panpipes, Reed pipe, Horn, Trumpet, Zither, Lute, Harp and Lyre. (p.7)

These instruments when played express the rich sonic rhythmic tone that is, “the ordered flow of music through time” (Kamien, 1994), corroborated by Ekwueme (2008) as “an ordered flow of movement in music through time. It is also the division of musical phrases and sentences into regular metrical portion, and which also represents the pulsation of music”, in the idioms played in sympathy to direct a dance step or melodic phrase from singers as they show case their cultural values because “music over the ages has proved to be one of the indispensable arts cultivated by man for the growth, nurture and transfer of his institution and value to future generation” (Vidal, 2000) to support this assertion, Omojola (2000) opined that music serves as cultural identity of the people. The field of percussion has seen remarkable growth in the areas of performance and composition over the past several decades. Some Nigerian composers like Fela 181 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… Sowande, Akin Euba, Laz Ekwueme and Dan Agu have shown an increased interest in utilizing percussion as significant components in their compositions. This is demonstrated in the expanded use of percussion instruments in both solo and ensemble literature. Nigerian Art music composers have used extensively these styles in their different compositions to show and represent sonic effects in indigenous musical orchestration. Each composer brings to bear, their most influential achievements in percussion writing, with respect to timbre and rhythmic employment. They utilize percussion as an integral component of the structure and style of each work. The musical pieces of Nigerian choral composers are “to exhibit a reliance on, and experimentation with, scoring of percussion and orchestration of timbres, rhythmic events and densities as a foundation for their overall style” (Euba 1989). For each composer, these pieces also demonstrate the most prevalent rhythmic and timbre characteristics in their compositional output within each genre. You can find these styles even in the compositions for school groups. These include compositions written specifically for younger ensembles utilizing fewer percussionists and instruments, and pieces relying heavily on pre- existing musical styles such as African, jazz, blues, ragtime, military march, fanfare and chorale styles. A careful observation and scrutiny of the compositions of Nigerian chorale composers will show deliberate efforts to construct as one continuous cycle, with contrasting movements. Euba (1989) posits that The sonic effects of indigenous percussive musical instruments on choral music are viewed as having and producing an unlimited array of colours and timbres, capable of an unlimited range of emotional impact. Many researchers agree that percussion ensemble is as equal in potential to an orchestra or wind ensemble. The large number of percussion instruments provides an extensive palette of colours and timbre effects. The combination of the piano and perhaps the harp, typically melodic instruments, are employed for rhythmic treatments to blend with the traditional percussion instruments.

This blend creates an aesthetic musical marriage and balance. By varying the instrumentation, rhythm, and contour, Choral composers of Nigerian descent achieve a sense of diversity and direction while also providing continuity. Consequently, most African composers utilize these instruments as indispensable 182 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… elements in rhythmic and motif development; contributing to variety and cohesiveness of sections, movements in an entire choral work. Juxtaposed rhythms add to the complexity of most composers' percussion ensembles with simultaneous simple and compound rhythmic divisions. These contrasting rhythms create added musical fusion between instruments and choir. According to Ballantine, (1999) “One of the trademarks of any composer is how his or her music is scored and orchestrated. The ability of composers to incorporate unique aspects of their works, make their writing distinctive”. The intent of this study is to explore the scoring practices (functions of instruments and combinations) and orchestration techniques (rhythmic and density relationships) of Nigeria choral music composers, focusing on how and to what extent percussion is employed in their Choral ensembles.

Most composers in Nigeria expand the percussion instrumentation in choral compositions, employing also the use of the piano, treating this instrument as a member of the percussion family. Most pianists have developed the art of making the piano SPEAK. Within their compositions, composers exploit and expand the percussion section, creating compositions that have come to be regarded as significant contributions to the choral repertoire. While displaying common characteristics and similar procedures, each Nigerian composer's music possesses unique aspects of scoring and orchestration. The particular employment of these shared traits, together with certain aspects, clearly creates and defines each composer's distinctive style and the originality of our indigenous works.

Choral Music in Port Harcourt The concept of identity is an important one when considering the social atmosphere in choral music in the city of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. After August 2005, the desire for a new choral group sprang out from some members of the existing Royal Male Choir. This breakaway faction desired to make their music more indigenous in style and presentation. They have been influenced by the performance of the Soweto Singers from South Africa who came for a musical expedition in Port Harcourt with a scintillating performance rendered with the aid of African percussive instruments that brought colour and better interpretation to their performance. There was a general expectation that music must appeal to the 183 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… aesthetic and cultural values of a multi-cultural city like Port Harcourt Hence, the Kings Choral Voices recognized the importance of integrating Western European and traditional African musical styles. The Kings choral Voices is able to strike the right chord within any stylistically-integrated composition, delicate balance between tradition and originality, conformity and diversity. The balance between the society and the individual within integrated musical styles is what Nketia, (1984) describes as the challenge of tradition versus originality. The challenge lies in how to “respond to and express creative inclinations and remain at the same time true to the norms of a musical culture.” In other words, it is a blend of perspective and intent for the African compositional style. He further opined that “If an integrated composition is approached with the perspective of authenticity, there is an intention to sustain a cultural and/or musical tradition, whereas originality may be compromised”. The African percussive instruments create a style within the musical adventure of the Kings Choral Voices in such a way that they have been recognized in the city of Port Harcourt as the cultural ambassadors of indigenous music. Their performances display the rich cultural and traditional values of the various ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta and beyond. They make concerted efforts in seeing that when they perform music from a particular ethnic group in Rivers State, they employ the use of people from that area to correct the dialectical challenges, clean out the interpretational flaws and also benefit from the expertise of master musicians on the slit and wooden drums, gongs, rattles and pot drums to express and define the cultural implications of the composition. This practice has helped the Kings Choral Voices of Port Harcourt in no small way to establish themselves as the choir to beat in the Capital of Rivers State. Their beautiful costumes and regal looks contribute immensely in projecting them on stage.

Organization of Instrumental Ensemble Accompaniment for Choral Performance African traditional instruments are used to accompany voice performances. In south-south Nigeria, choral performance is given a unique sonic flavour when accompanied with indigenous percussive instruments. One group used in studying the organization of instrumental ensemble for choral performance is “The Kings Choral voices” Port Harcourt Rivers state south-south Nigeria. Ajewole (2010) extensively classified the organization of instrumental ensemble into two 184 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… categories. The Kings choral Voices of Port Harcourt uses‟ the second category of instrumental combination that comprise of indigenous musical instruments capable to produce sound only of definite pitches such as clappers, sticks, drums, rattles, wood-block, slit-drum, calabash, pot drum and bell. These instruments used the choral group fall under the idiophone and membranophone family of the classification of African musical instruments.

Basically, each instrument has its function in the ensemble just as the voices are placed in different parts to produce harmonic sonic experience. In the drums section, there are drums of different sizes which include high pitch, low pitch and medium pitch drums to produce a set of varying sonority where one drum is used as the master while others support the ensemble as accompaniment. The stick clappers, bells, rattles and wood-block serves as metronome to keep time, the pot drum‟s function is like the bass voice part that provides depth while the slit-drum is also used as a lead instrument together with the master drum. Though some choral groups combine melodic and percussive instrument in their ensemble such as xylophones and indigenous flute the Kings Choral Voices of Port Harcourt maintains the use of instruments of indefinite pitches.

Nigerian Choral Music in Community Context Knowledge of traditional Nigerian music within its social context and an understanding of its compositional structure are essential for discerning the methods and motivations for musical integration in Nigerian choral music. Noteworthy here is to explore Nigerian choral music within different ceremonies, as a means of preserving communal history and within leisure activities. Cultural isolation or integration, distinct languages, and varied spiritual beliefs account for much of the diversity in Nigerian musical traditions. However, within Africa, one finds societies whose musical cultures form a network of related traditions that overlap in certain aspects of style, practice, or usage, and share common features of internal pattern, basic procedure and contextual similarities. Therefore, despite some differences in development, Nigerian musical traditions maintain a similarity of function and structure. Ethnomusicologist Nketia summarizes these similarities best when he states that “the most important characteristic of [African] musical traditions is the diversity of expression it accommodates, a diversity arising from different applications of common procedures and usages.” 185 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… Music is one of the most prevalent social activities of the African people. This is almost exclusively due to the interrelationship between music-making and everyday human activities. In this way, the purpose of Nigerian choral music is not necessarily to produce agreeable sounds, but to translate every day, communal experience into living sound. The Nigerian musical environment recognizes, as its main objective, the depiction of life, nature and the supernatural; therefore, an aesthetic criterion, such as beauty of tone, is often quite arbitrary. Perhaps the most important characteristic of African music is the fact that it is common property. This is especially true of African song as Nzewi (2003) opines that: Vocal music is considered the essence of African musical art. In addition, the primary motive of African instrumental music is to replicate spoken or sung language. The fact that singing is not a specialized endeavour suggests that any individual who has the desire to sing is urged to do so.

While instrumental performance requires familiarity with traditional techniques typically imparted to a select few, singing is encouraged for all members of an African community. Therefore, the communal ownership of African song is paramount; no one is restricted from singing because it may not be aesthetically beautiful. The infusion of vocal music into everyday activities, coupled with the participation of entire communities, further validates its social significance. Putting it more succinctly Agodoh (2005) asserts that “The foundation of African music- making is the community” Nigerian musical performances are often organized social events associated with collective activities. This includes occasions when members of the community come together for the performance of a ceremony, to exercise social or political control through protest music, for the presentation and preservation of communal history, and for leisure. Music made in such a communal context provides opportunities for sharing in a creative and collective experience while simultaneously expressing group sentiment. The role of the percussive musical instruments in the Nigerian choral music is huge and different communities have used these instruments in expressing their deep rooted thoughts and reflection.

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Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… Sustaining Percussion Playing Skills The playing of percussion musical instruments is transmitted by observing and participating in the act of playing from generation to generation. (Euba, 1977:1; Omibiyi,1979:75; Vidal, 1986:276) all agree to the fact that playing skills of indigenous musical instruments get better as the interested learner takes part in the actual performance where observations are made and put to practice. Sowande, (1965) argued that by extension, every cultural group as a homogenous entity contributes to the heterogeneity of music in Nigeria while Nketia, (1974) believes that there is a self-contained system in Nigerian society. In Nembe Bassambiri Bayelsa State south-south Nigeria, it was observed that the present group of young people does not have the basic skills to play certain founder mental drum idioms. This is because most active young people in the community are no longer interested to follow laid down cultural practice or even participates in indigenous activities where they will observe and learn these percussion skills due to the advent of modern civilization. Rather than learning from the events first hand many prefer to record and watch at the comfort of their homes. Some go as far as using artificial indigenous beats from the electronic keyboard. The unwillingness of these young people will certainly hamper the development and transfer of these percussion playing skills.

Conclusion The feeling that comes with the rhythm produced by the percussive instruments during choral singing is monumental. Depending on the occasion, it leaves you with dancing steps that propels the „Africaness‟ in you. Music within the Nigerian community may be performed for entertainment, for the ancestral message it conveys, for the outlet that it provides for social interaction, or for the sharing of community sentiment. It may be performed as a tribute to an individual or as an offering to a god. Whatever the function African and indeed Nigerian choral music is a communal activity, one that emphasizes artistic ability in conjunction with social, political, and religious values.

Performance is a life skill available to each and every member of the community from birth until death. The corporate approach to music-making in Nigerian communities not only ensures the participation of all members, but combines ideology, efficiency, identity, and festivity with the performance of music. 187 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… This is not possible without the strong participation of the percussive instruments that gives constant and steady rhythmic navigation. The different roles these various instruments play in the percussive orchestra, gives credence to the originality of the composition and also showcases the rich cultural heritage of our people. The ability of the instrumentalists to making these instruments observe some musical dynamics at the same time with the choir singing strengthens the sonic effects of these instruments on choral performances. It is imperative that training and conscious retraining is of traditional musical instrumentalist be considered as a priority to make the up their game because champions are not just made but they emerge from continues effort to exercise, study their craft by all legitimate means possible to attain greatness. A choral group that does not spend time rehearsing and gathering or composing new repertoires will remand like a dwarf and local champion in choral performance. The normal way of learning by observing and apprenticeship is definitely not enough to attain mastery of the instrument.

References Agordoh, A. A. (2005). African music: Traditional and contemporary. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Ajewole, J.O. (2010) Foundation of instrumental and vocal ensemble music. Ibadan: Mercy-Ken Services Limited. Akpabot, S.E. (1998) Form, function and style in African music: Macmillian Nigeria Publishers Limited. Ilupeju Industrial Estate Yaba Lagos. Ballantine, C. (1995) Taking Sides or Music: Music Departments and the Deepening Crisis in South Africa. In Papers presented at the Third and Forth Symposia on Ethnomusicology, 52-55. Grahamstown: Rhodes University, Euba, A. (1989). Intercultural expressions in neo-African art music. In Methods, models and means, essays on music in Africa: Intercultural perspectives, Vol. ii.‖ Bayreuth African Studies 16 115-178. ______. (2001). Issues in Africanist Musicology: Do We Need Ethnomusicology in Africa? In Proceedings of the forum for revitalizing African music studies in higher education, ed. Frank Gunderson, 137-139. Ann Arbor, MI: The U. S. Secretariat of the International Center for African Music and Dance, The International Institute, University of Michigan. 188 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Amaegbe & Omuku: Sonic Effects of Indigenous Percussive Musical Instruments… Nketia, J.H.K. and Jacqueline C. D. (1984). Introduction: Trends in African Musicology. In Selected reports in ethnomusicology. Vol. 5. Studies in African Music, eds. Los Angeles: UCLA Program in Ethnomusicology, Department of Music. Nzewi, M (2003). Acquiring knowledge of the musical arts in traditional society: In Musical arts in Africa: Theory, practice and education, eds. Pretoria: University of South Africa (UNISA). Omojola, B. (2000) Culture and society identity in nigerian traditional music. The Performer, Ilorin Journal of the Performing Arts. Vol. 1 No. 2, p. 41-55 Vidal, A.O. (2000) Music, culture and national development. A Distinguished Lecture Series. Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Otto-Ijanikin (August 2000).

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MUSIC COMPOSERS’ CHALLENGES IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY NIGERIA: THE RETRIEVAL RESEARCH STRATEGY (R.R.S.) AS A LEEWAY

Alvan-Ikoku O. Nwamara, Ph.D. and Jude C. Nnam

Introduction Nigerian music/composition, Nigerian musicologists/musicians/composers or Nigerian musicology and so on, are not new terminologies in any part of the globe in recent times. Much has been said and documented on these terminologies and most Nigerians who have been deeply committed to each of the terms have so far done Africa proud in various capacities in their various chosen fields. This paper seeks to enumerate the challenges facing Nigerian composers in modern times and further present the Retrieval Research Strategy (RRS) which Nwamara and Chukwu (2011) present as the systematic retrieval of all research works on Nigerian/Nigerian musicology from institutions, libraries, shelves etc., and looking into them in order to utilize and implement the observations, suggestions and recommendations thereof.

By the term composer, the writers consider a music creator without any restriction to the kind of music or genre. This cuts across all music types including; art, pop, traditional, etc. A composer may be trained, semi-trained or untrained. When a composer is said to be trained, it does not necessarily suggest that such a composer must have got his training from a music institution where training of a composer is organized, systematic and formal. It is possible for such a person to have learnt by apprenticeship. Although areas of music composition fall within three broad areas;

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… 1. Art music composition 2. Popular music composition and 3. Traditional music composition

These broad areas fall within Okafor‟s (2004) classification of Nigerian music as the traditional Music, the Popular Music, and the Classical Music; which Nwamara (2009) added Art Music to the Classical Music, converting the third category to the Classical and Art Music.

Traditional Music: Includes all traditional and/or folk music in Nigeria which serve as media for the expression of the people‟s culture; transmitted orally from one generation to another with allowances for each generation to make selections and variations from the original without destroying its tone of continuity.

Popular Music: This is most times is referred to as „Pop‟ music. It is a “contemporaneous music, which appeals to a mass audience… it does not require guided listening because people are familiar with its idioms and are, therefore, quite receptive to it… it is music with broad immediate and implicitly transient appeal. It is also social-entertainment and dance oriented, draws its core clientele from urban dwellers, and finds its expression mostly in pubs and nightclubs. It is more popular with the youths than the adults” (Okafor, 2009:5).”

Classical and Art Music: Classical and Art music in this context, includes all written or scored music, composed in accordance with certain universally accepted conventions and rules. In line with Okafor (2009); it is generally absolute music but may be derived from or used as popular styles for dance or for entertainment (suite, dance, ballet, divertissement, gavotte, minuet, polka, rhumba). It also includes the accepted national music of some countries like rhapsody, which is Swedish; polka, which is Czech; reel, which is Celtic. Nwamara (2009a) includes music of the church, their liturgy and scriptures (cantatas, oratorios, mass, litany, canticles, anthems, motets, plainsongs etc.). In Nigeria, classical and art music are mainly performed in the concert halls and churches for mainly the elites, the Christian congregation, and the academia.

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Each of these classes of music discussed above can be either instrumental or vocal and have so many variations and kinds. With these numerous aspects of composition in existence, one has to expect that there would definitely be as much problems facing their actualization as their number.

Theory of Retrieval Research The Retrieval Research Strategy (RRS) as propounded by Nwamara and Chukwu, (2010), basically designed to bring back to the scene, most (if not all that are still in existence) of the past research findings which have been neglected over the years as a result of either misplacement of priorities or lack of direction and proper guidance. Much useful and well-researched works have been lost over time as resultant effects of this fact. Some others are hidden in archives and some kept in unpopular libraries, while the very few that are still in circulation are not being explored, utilized and implemented.

Most problems that music scholarship and composition are facing today are as a result of the fact that Africa is blessed with very talented and well trained composers whose works are known and respected globally. Yet in Africa, the works of these very respectable scholars and composers, though recognized to an extent in certain secluded quarters; are not being put into meaningful uses as to better the state of Nigerian music both locally and internationally. Conferences, symposia, workshops, summits etc., are actually held in various parts of the world on Nigerian music, but the big question remains; what are the outcomes of these meetings over years? For how long shall we continue to recycle ideas without implementations?

The Problems/Challenges and Issues The challenges of the Nigerian music composer are so numerous and have been viewed from several perspectives by various Nigerian scholars. Effort is being made here to bring to focus, a few of these scholars‟ views covering the three main areas of art music, pop music and traditional music be it vocal or instrumental music. Issues of identity, acceptability and attitude are also addressed.

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Problems associated with 21st century Nigerian vocal music: Ekwueme (2004) in his work entitled “Composing contemporary Nigerian choral music: Problems and prospects,” looks at problems facing music making/composition for Nigerians and the world at large from the perspective of language, form, style, idiom, content, structure, theory, purpose, audience and aesthetics. Although it is basically on art music, reasonable aspect can be likened to what is applicable to both modern Nigerian pop and traditional music. The paper which dwells on contemporary Nigerian vocal music observes that in spite of these numerous problems associated with composition of these songs, some good composers have exploited some of the features of traditional Nigerian music to create choral works for international consumption. Antiphony, tonality, ostinato, harmony, augmentation and diminution, maximization of the use of exclamations and “untranslatables” Nwamara (2009b), are techniques and features of traditional Nigerian music used by these good composers as enumerated in the paper. The paper notes that many so-called Nigerian composers are not even aware of the existence of the problems earlier stated; few are aware and know what the problems are while a few others who know the problem do not know how to tackle them. Ekwueme (2004) goes further to suggest that the ideal twenty-first century composer of Nigerian choral music needs to be; a multi-talented composer, competent at languages and linguistics, with a sound knowledge of theory of music, and vast, competent experience in harmony and counterpoint .... have an impeccable ear; capable of hearing and distinguishing (between) micro tones .... have a thorough understanding of the human voice, and a more than superficial knowledge of the state of affairs in Nigerian and international choral techniques. (p. 296)

Problems associated with 21st century Nigerian instrumental music: The major problem here remains dearth of well trained and accomplished instrumentalists caused majorly by indiscipline and lack of commitment. The advancements in technology have worsened the issue as most composers now resort to the help of computers and synthesizers for the realization of their creative works. No one wants to be patient anymore to learn the art since robots can help out in difficult situations. This affects the traditional instrumental music composers worse than the art and pop. Traditional instrumental music composers are 193 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… sometimes collaborative composers, therefore, when there is lack of reliable instrumentalists, there may be no or low quality compositions. As matter of fact, the average twenty-first century Nigerian composer, composes what is readily marketable in the music market as decided by the consumers. This is symbiotic in nature.

Issue of Nigerian identity/”Nigerianism”: There is no doubt that the West has contributed so much to the betterment of musicology in Africa. But care is being taken by Nigerians to alienate those that according to Nzewi (1997), are not always “mentally, culturally and humanly adequate” for Nigerian societies because their contents most often result to “a systematic mental subversion and cultural alienation for modern Nigerians in music.” This is important as Nketia (2004) asserts that “many factors influence a composer‟s perspectives and approach to his work, in particular his nurture, training, cultural background, personal philosophy, response to the colonial encounter, and musical experiences (page 16).

Searching for an Nigerian Identity in the composition of Nigerian works, Uzoigwe (2001) in his “Tonality Versus Atonality: The Case for an Nigerian Identity,” illustrated two basic points using one of his piano solo compositions entitled “The Talking Drum.” The two points are as follows: 1. The need for Nigerian composers to consider the possibility of musical thought that derives basically from Nigerian social-musical creativity, and find ways of examining it as far as possible in order to concretize those factors that may contribute in giving Nigerian art music real Nigerian identity. Western technology may be utilized to reproduce musical tones, but Western tonal and rhythmic perceptions may not be adopted to conceive and order musical patterns. 2. The need to relate this musical thought to the concept of duality – that is a duality that comprises a synthesis of Nigerian and Western musical traditions – which is at the core of understanding the unique aesthetic qualities that inform the creative output of the Nigerian composer.

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… He notes that ―these are but steps towards a general theory of Nigerian art music.‖ (Pg. 173)

Omibiyi-Obidike (2001), in her own opinion presents the issue of a Nigerian identity in contemporary Nigerian Art Music as a central issue of concern to observers, foreign enthusiasts, Nigerian musicians and the composers themselves. This, according to Omibiyi-Obidike (2001), being as a result of the fact that most of these compositions by academically trained Nigerian composers; are not directly related to or embedded in the music of their cultural background. She notes having said elsewhere that: Although they (Nigerian composers) make use of traditional themes by incorporating Nigerian rhythmic and melodic structures, texts, traditional songs in both vocal and orchestral works and combine Western and traditional Nigerian instruments, their compositions are still completely embedded in the Western classical tradition... (Omibiyi-Obidike, 1992, p. 38).

As at year 2001, her views on contemporary Nigerian Art music included as follows; (a) Contemporary Nigerian Art Music has not made an impact on its local audience as they are totally negative and unreceptive to it. (b) It has not expressed a personality or an identity of its own vis-a-vis Western classical or even Art Music of other world cultures. In her view, Nigerian Art Music can become acceptable to and appreciated by Nigerians the same way Western classical music is received worldwide by those who have been exposed to it, if; (c) Nigerian Art Music is rooted in Nigerian traditional music or a direct derivation from the indigenous rather than Western tradition. (d) Music education in schools at all levels includes education based on Nigerian traditional music as well as the use of traditional musical resources.

There exists some level of enslavement in the global musicological setting. Why must a non-English composer be requested to translate his work originally written in his native language to English before it would be accepted for publication 195 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… in most reputable journals and books globally? The problem here is not just to translate the language for easy understanding of what the composition says; but requested to translate syllable by syllable or word for word in the body of the composition. This destroys the “Nigerianity” in our compositions.

Issue of acceptability: On the issue of acceptability of Nigerian compositions by Nigerian audience, Ogunnaike (1986) posits that the relationship between the composer and his audience is further complicated by the reluctance of audiences to accept music written in a twentieth/twenty-first century idiom. Atonal music, for instance, is not usually well received by Nigerian audience that are used to tonal music.

The poor reception of atonal music notwithstanding, Uzoigwe (2001), still maintains that atonality should not be perceived or interpreted in same way Western society does since it can be traced to exist in Nigerian musical tradition where tonal centres often fluctuate even within a given musical composition, depending on the fluctuations in performance-situation and other non-musical factors. He cites the part singing in parallel seconds among the Ekiti of Nigeria which they perceive and accept as pleasant and satisfies a social-musical need.

An important component of traditional resources has been variously referred to as “musical bias” Washsmann (1956); “artistic values” Nketia (1966) and “inner significance” Adelugba (1983). These constitute the inner core of Nigerian music and serve as means of identity, differentiating it from the music of other world cultures. They are manifested in performance techniques and individual styles – vocal and instrumental – voice texture, choice and use of traditional repertoire, internal structure, vocal intonation, aesthetics of musical performance and so forth. For instance, it is easy to differentiate between ―the strained and heavily masked voice of a Japanese ritual singer‖ and the Italian ―belcanto‖ performer. In the same manner, Nigerian style of voice production is quite different. In this regard, mention must be made of yodelling, ululation among others. The level of authenticity displayed by the Nigerian performer makes him popular. 196 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Therefore, these artistic norms must be identified, isolated and organized for educational use so that they can form part of the training of professional Nigerian composers and performers. (Omibiyi-Obidike, 2001, p. 155) These are areas that are yet to be fully exploited by Nigerian composers if we must make our work more acceptable to our Nigerian audience.

Misplacement of priority: It has been observed that most Nigerian composers only compose for some sort of selfish gains. Be it in form of financial or position. When the composer is supposed to influence and positively affect his society through his creativity. What are the contents of our works? This is where it becomes imperative to adopt some of our new theories like Adedeji‟s (2010) „transformative musicology‟, which postulates that “music could be used as a vehicle of the transformative processes needed in our society and that composition constitutes its major tool”. In addition, Adedeji (2010) suggests various ways and models to redirect art music composition in order to meet contemporary social challenges and concludes on the urgent need to compose music that prognosticates into the future by focusing on transformative themes.

The popular music (mainly gospel) composers have made some remarkable progress in this aspect of musicology. The traditional music composers have as well made some remarkable impact but the art music composers are yet to follow suit in effort to transform using the musical art. We seem to be more concerned with level of complexity and the contrapuntal nature of art compositions than the resultant effect of these songs. These are good and necessary in our compositions but we need to take a step further to accommodate other non-musical aspects of composition as we compose.

The Nigerian child is important to Africa since he will grow to replace the adults of today. What legacy are we leaving for them? Who cares for their tomorrow musically? How many of us consider Nigerian children‟s rhymes and theatre important? We are training most (if not all) Nigerian children that live in cities with European songs because they are those available in both audio and video formats. This calls for a re-think.

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Attitude (“Professional jealousy”/backwardness): It has remained extremely difficult for many trained Nigerian composers and music scholars to accept whole-heartedly theories and creative works by fellow Nigerians as original and authentic. Instead these formulated Nigerian theories and creative works by Nigerians, constantly face destructive criticism and neglect, while the few original thinkers in musical research, creativity and academia are tactically made to face resentment and marginalization. This is rather unfortunate even as one observes that in this 21st century, many music scholars are yet to be: mentally re-oriented to accept even if only in principle, that Nigerian traditional music(s) contain all that are needed in philosophy, theoretical content and principles of practice for culturally meaningful and independent modern music education. (Nzewi, 1997 pg vii.).

Many supposedly creative Nigerians in our institutions have become petition writers/composers than music writers/composers. This is waste of creative resources. Little wonder why Nwamara (2012) refers to it as “misallocation of resources that could be channeled to productive uses” page 225. He cited instances where musicologists spend time ganging up (cliques), gossiping against colleagues and writing lengthy petitions (as long as seventy six pages) rather than researching and publishing original works. This is backwardness and has remained a great challenge even to many young and up-coming musicologists and composers.

The Way Forward Having stated all these problems and challenges facing the Nigerian composer, what is therefore the way forward? And to this, the writer recommends the retrieval research strategy (RRS). And what is this RRS? The Retrieval Research Strategy (RRS) calls for a recap on as many as possible music studies researches done in various parts of Africa and beyond and implementing the outcome of the researches, as long as they are beneficial and have Nigerian basis. It basically seeks to recall what has been done, scrutinize the research findings and sieve out what are needed from what do not necessarily seem to be very beneficial and afterwards prescribe the methodology of utilizing them for better results in the field of Nigerian musicology. 198 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Retrieval Research Strategic “Step-by-Step” Approach Nigerian musicology finds itself in a situation of scarcity in the midst of plenty. The solution therefore remains the RRS – which sets out to bring to the know, all that need to be explored, utilized and implemented for the restoration and preservation of our most cherished and valued Nigerian music. How do we go about this? The following shows in a nutshell, a step-by-step approach to the four- step strategy to salvage the music of our land.

RRS Step I - Data discovery and retrieval: This involves searching for and recovering Nigerian music related/based research works previously carried out by researchers and scholars in various institutions of higher learning both in Nigeria and overseas. These may be in form of seminar papers, conference papers, workshops, symposiums, essays, thesis and dissertations, as well as other academic papers. Data discovery and retrieval here definitely require the use of information and communication technology (ICT) gadgets for easier accessibility.

RRS Step II - Data collation, compilation and packaging: In collation, compilation and packaging, the works recovered from step I are required to be re- worked into some sort of readable and easily understandable wholes (both in soft and hard copy formats). Things are easier with the help of the internet. The internet enables one to have a global network of research assistants. Therefore this step can easily be completed without the stress of moving from one part of the world to another. A coordinator sits down on a computer system, downloads, collates, compiles and packages the submissions of all the contributors and his research assistants. He afterwards turns these into a whole package, set for the next step.

RRS Step III - Advertising, popularizing and marketing: In order to sell a commodity or product, one needs to create awareness through advertisements and well calculated and organized marketing strategies. This can be achieved by showcasing one‟s musicality and importance at every slightest opportunity, such that the discipline would eventually assume a better status in Nigerian societies of modern times (especially now that drama is drastically taking over the entertainment industry). This step will as well help to make these works available for constructive criticism by a larger number of critics. 199 Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.9 (2017)

Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… RRS Step IV - Implementation: Implementation demands using all the proposed ideas and solutions to solve the problems for which they are created. This involves the practical aspects of the theories propounded in the research works already carried out and have gone through the RRS steps I – III. Akin Euba‟s concept of Nigerian Pianism and Onyeji‟s Nigerian Vocalism and so on are worthy of this implementation to see how far these Nigerian based concepts can go in the global music world. Let our meetings, workshops, symposia, summits, conferences focus more on implementation of already researched works. When this becomes the primary aim in all academic meetings, only then will there be significant improvement in Nigerian composition in particular and musicology in general.

References Adedeji, „F. (2010), Transformative musicology: Recontextualizing art music composition for societal transformation in Nigeria‟, in Revista Electronica de Musicologia, Vol. XIV, http://www.rem.ufpr.br/_REM/REMv14/09/transformative_musicology.html Adelugba, D. (1983). The performing arts and the use of cultural heritage in Nigerian education in Pai Obanya & Emma Arinze‟s (Ed.) The use of cultural heritage in Nigerian education. Ibadan: Kelu Bestway Press. 96 – 110. Ekwueme, L. E. N. (2004). Composing contemporary Nigerian choral music: Problems and prospects. In L. E. N. Ekwueme‟s Essays on the theory of Nigerian music. Lagos: Lenaus Publishing Ltd. Pp. 282 – 329. Nketia, J. H. K. (1966). Artistic values in Nigerian music. Composer. 19, Spring, 16–19. Nketia, J. H. K . (2004). Nigerian art music, Accra: International Institute of Nigerian Music and Dance. Nwamara, A. O. (2009a). Music types in Nigeria in Nkechinyere Okediadi, Oliver Uche and Samuel Okeke (Eds.) Themes in Nigerian peoples and culture. Pp 228 – 241. Enugu: John Jacobs. Nwamara, A. O. (2009b). Untranslatables - A replacement for nonsensical syllables in the vocabulary, theory and practice of Igbo music. UNIZIK Journal of Arts and Humanities (UJAH) Vol. 10 No 1 pp 99 – 108.

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Nwamara & Nnam: Music Composers’ Challenges in Twenty-First Century Nigeria… Nwamara A. O. & Chukwu S. K. I. (2011). The retrieval research strategy (RRS): A recapitulation on music studies‟ research findings in Africa. Paper presented at the PASMAE ISME-Nigerian Region Conference held at the University of Botswana in Gaborone, Botswana, 26th -30th July. Nwamara, A. O. (2012). Integrity in professionalism: Analyzing the socio- professional challenges of Nigerian musicologists. In Nsukka Journal of Musical Arts Research. Vol. 1. Pp 210 – 227. Nzewi, M. (1997). Nigerian music: Theoretical content and creative continuum. Oldershausen: Institut fur Didaktik Popularer Musik W. D. Lugert. Ogunnaike, (1986). Contemporary Nigerian art music. The works of Bankole, Euba and Ekwueme. M. A. Thesis, Music. University of Lagos. Okafor, R. C. (2004). Festivals as purveyors of information in Igbo Culture. In R. C. Okafor and L. N. Emeka (Eds.) Nigerian peoples and culture. 4th Revised Edition. (pp 392 -410). Enugu: New Generation Books. Okafor, R. C. (2009). Music and national development. A Paper Delivered at the Annual Lecture of the Nigerian Academy of Letters. Held at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. 11th February. Onyeji, C. (2008). Nka emume. Potchefstroom: Platinum Press Omibiyi- Obidike, M. A. (2001). Nigerian musical resources and Nigerian identity in the new Nigerian art music. In M. A. Omibiyi-Obidike‟s (Ed.) Nigerian art music in Nigeria (Fela Sowande memorial). 150 – 160. Uzoigwe, J. (2001). Tonality versus atonality: The case for a Nigerian identity. In M. A. Omibiyi-Obidike‟s Nigerian art music in Nigeria. Ibadan: Stirling- Horden Publishers (Nig.) Ltd. Pp. 161 – 174. Washsmann, K. P. (1956). Scholars and musicians in music. Lusaka international music conference. 11 – 28.

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