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

Abstract

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.