SOCIO-STYLISTIC APPROACH TO TEACHING AFRICAN DRUMS - GBEDU ENSEMBLE

Abstract

Black Africa possesses an infinite variety of musical instruments that is paralleled in world music history. These instruments come in various shapes and sizes. Others are made with consummate skills. African musical instruments and their extra musical functions in the society make the procedure of teaching them unique. In most schools emphasis have been laid on performance without having a systematic approach to the study of African instruments. Arguably, the organizational skills in teaching and learning procedure of Western musical instruments have made it much more comfortable for students in schools to prefer studying them to African instruments. Consequently this paper advocates the guidelines to teaching and learning of Gbedu ensemble which will serve as manual to investigating the language, structure and functionality of the instruments as historical devices and linguistic evidences. Ultimately, this paper provides a stylistic discourse on teaching methods that encompasses the application of instruments in contemporary African setting.

Hence, the cynosure of this study is based on the following guidelines:

1. Historical and Sociological Traits

2. Identification of Instruments in the Ensemble

3.Significance of Gbedu drum to the society.

4. Technological Make-up of Gbedu Drums

5. Techniques of Playing each instrument in the Ensemble.

6. Maintenance of the Instruments

7. Presentation in Steps

8. Evaluation

9. Pre-performance/ Pre-concert

10. Concert.

KEYWORDS: Contemporary music, Gbedu, Ensemble, Stylistics, Identity.