THE VALUE OF AFRICAN MUSIC: THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

Abstract

There is no gainsaying the fact that culture is a significant aspect of every human society. No doubt, culture has many facets and music is a part of culture. Music allows people to express themselves effectively as it gives words to the innermost feelings of human beings when words can be scarcely found. African music is no exception to this fact. However, experience has shown that African music has been relegated to the background in our contemporary society. Consequently, there arises the need to appraise the value of the African music considering the past, the present and the future. Therefore, employing the hermeneutic and prescriptive methods of philosophy, this study observes that there is need to delve into the origin of African music by laying bare its uniqueness and also to evaluate or reappraise the role African music has played in the past, in the present, as well as its prospects (in the future). This study discovers that African music is so unique, symbolic, and also a powerful tool for social change. As a vehicle that drives the social life of the African, African music has been a major tool in the hands of social reformers to bring about the needed sanity on the continent. In this regard, the study recommends among other things that the contemporary African should appreciate and cherish African music to be able to reap the enormous benefits therein.

Keywords: African Music, Culture, Social Change, Social Reformers, Innovation