“Nonsensical syllable”? An inquiry into its rational in sub Sahara African music-making

Abstract

In an interview for post of lecturer, one of the interviewers (Lecturer of History and International Studies) said: “As an African child I enjoy and value folk songs especially those that feature what I later found that people in music call  „nonsensical syllable‟. What is your view of this terminology?” He asked me. This paper is an elaborate researched version of the author‟s response.  It presents a new perspective towards rethinking and appropriating the erroneous term – “nonsensical syllable”. The arguments are validated using  relevant folksongs of Aniocha people of Delta State, Nigeria to elucidate the discussion. The result of this research paper is significant for discussing  and developing contemporary analysis, theory, terminology that portray the rational of African music.