Traditional Music and an Organological Study of Some Musical Instruments of Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Music is one of the oldest and most practiced arts in Nigerian traditional societies. The revered place of music in the lives of Nigerians is indisputable, as a consequence of its towering roles in nearly all communal events and activities. In Nigeria, music is utilized in diverse facets especially in religious, economic, martial, and political life of the people. In other words, it is unusual to preclude music from any societal event. Though these attributes pervade all Nigerian traditional societies, it is even more fascinating that every ethnic group or culture has their peculiar music with which they are recognized. Thus, there is bound to be dissimilarities in the manner in which various societies regard music as a concept, phenomenon, or how it functions in traditional life. The thrust of this paper therefore, is to examine music as a phenomenon, its roles in society, and how it is conceived by the people of Plateau. Data were gathered using ethnographic method, while interviews formed a significant part of the research tools. Some existing videos and those collected from the field were analysed by the authors. Findings from data gleaned reveal that there is a plethora of music types among the Plateau people. It is also gathered that music forms a fundamental aspect of life on the Plateau, and is widely used in virtually all communal events. However, research efforts into the different traditional music types of the people of Plateau need to be intensified and sustained over time, in order to document findings that will further lead to addressing the protracted challenge of dearth of literature in the traditional music of the area under study.