Social Transformation of Africa through Music: The Nigerian experience

Abstract

Music has been found to be an instrument used in transforming lives because of its effectiveness as an agent and medium of transmitting information to the populace. It is used to pass crucial information, impart knowledge, soothe emotions, and affect lives. Music affects the ways and manner of its hearers positively and negatively, hence, it is expedient that people get right information through a good channel and medium. Music composers, performers and producers should be careful of what is composed and performed in order to achieve the desired result. This paper seeks to enlighten music composers and producers on the need to judiciously use music as an instrument of transformation in Africa and other world cultures. The use and effect of music on human being was traced from antiquity to date through library sources. It discovers that some of the recent music composition and performance in Nigeria and some other world cultures are not good enough for consumption. It recommends a viable music teacher education that will impart adequate knowledge on the music teacher trainee which will in turn transforms the music consumers.