Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v3 - Senior Secondary 2
African music(colonial and post colonial)
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African music(colonial and post colonial)
Download the Lessonotes Mobile Nigeria 2025 app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Music
Class: Senior Secondary 2
Term: 1st Term
Week: 7
Theme: History And Literature I
This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.
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Students should be able to identify the structural changes in " African (Nigerian) music of colonial and post colonial era"
This section delves into the "structural changes" in Nigerian music during the colonial and post-colonial eras. Structural changes refer to modifications in the fundamental components of music, including instrumentation, harmony, melody, rhythm, form, compositional approach, and functional context.
Materials: Chalkboard/Whiteboard Markers/Chalk Audio playback device (e.g., CD player, smartphone connected to speakers)
Selected audio excerpts of: Pre-colonial traditional Nigerian music (e.g., Yoruba Bata drumming, Igbo Ogene music). Colonial era music (e.g., Early Nigerian Highlife, a colonial-era hymn, Palm-wine music). Post-colonial era music (e.g., Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, King Sunny Adé's Juju, a contemporary Afrobeats track). Chart paper (optional) Projector (optional, for displaying pictures of instruments or scores)
Teacher Activities: Introduction (10 minutes): Begins by playing a short excerpt of traditional Nigerian music (e.g., Bata drumming) and asks students to identify key characteristics (instrumentation, rhythm, function).
Briefly introduces the topic: "African music (colonial and post-colonial eras)" and explains that the lesson will focus on structural changes. States the lesson's objectives clearly. Explanation of Key Concepts - Colonial Era (15 minutes): Delivers a structured explanation of the structural changes during the colonial era, referencing the "Key Concepts and Explanations" section above. Uses the chalkboard to list key changes (Instrumentation, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, Form, Composition, Function). Plays brief audio examples to illustrate each point (e.g., a short excerpt of an early colonial hymn emphasizing harmony, a Highlife track for instrumentation and rhythm). Encourages questions and clarifies doubts. Explanation of Key Concepts - Post-Colonial Era (15 minutes): Continues with a structured explanation of structural changes during the post-colonial era, building on the previous section. Highlights the evolution and further integration/fusion, and the impact of technology and globalization. Plays relevant audio excerpts (e.g., Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, a Juju track, a modern Afrobeats track) to demonstrate these changes in instrumentation, rhythm, and form. Facilitates a brief comparison between colonial and post-colonial influences.
Activity Facilitation (10 minutes): Divides students into small groups (3-4 students per group). Assigns each group one structural element (e.g., "Instrumentation," "Harmony," "Form") and asks them to discuss how it changed from the pre-colonial to colonial and then to the post-colonial era, providing specific examples. Monitors group discussions, provides guidance, and ensures active participation.
Student Activities: Active Listening & Observation: Students listen attentively to the audio excerpts and observe the teacher's explanations.
Note-taking: Students take comprehensive notes on the structural changes identified for both eras.
Group Discussion: In assigned groups, students discuss the assigned structural element, identifying and comparing its evolution across the three periods (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial). Group Reporting (Optional, if time permits): Each group briefly reports their findings to the class, providing examples.
Questioning: Students ask questions for clarification during and after explanations. --- The teacher should guide students through these questions, encouraging them to articulate their answers based on the lesson's content.
Question 1: Identify two Western musical instruments that became prominent in Nigerian music during the colonial era, and briefly explain how their introduction structurally changed the music.
Solution 1: Harmonium/Piano: These keyboard instruments introduced Western functional harmony (chords, chord progressions) to Nigerian music. Structurally, this meant a shift from predominantly monophonic or heterophonic textures to harmonically rich compositions, particularly in church music and later in nascent popular genres like Juju, where they provided harmonic accompaniment and melodic counterpoint.
Guitar (acoustic): The guitar brought a new melodic and harmonic accompaniment instrument. Structurally, it became central to genres like Palm-wine music and early Highlife, contributing to their melodic lines, chordal rhythms, and the overall blend of indigenous rhythmic complexity with Western harmonic frameworks. It also fostered new performance practices involving stringed accompaniment.
Commentary: This question assesses the students' ability to recall specific instruments and link them directly to a structural change (harmony, melody, rhythmic accompaniment) rather than just a general "Western influence." Question 2: Describe how the typical form/structure of Nigerian music evolved from the pre-colonial era into the colonial era. Provide an example.
Solution 2: Pre-colonial Nigerian music largely featured cyclical, responsorial (call-and-response), and often open-ended, improvisational forms, where repetition and variation were key. During the colonial era, the introduction of Western hymns, anthems, and popular songs brought more fixed, stanzaic forms (e.g., verse-chorus, AABA).
Example: A traditional Yoruba praise song might involve repeated rhythmic patterns and responsorial chants with flexible durations. In contrast, a colonial-era Nigerian church hymn adopted a clear, predictable verse-chorus structure with defined sections and melodic phrases, reflecting Western compositional norms.
Commentary: This solution demonstrates an understanding of both pre-colonial and colonial forms and can provide a specific example to illustrate the transition.
Question 3: Discuss one significant rhythmic structural change that characterized Nigerian music in the post-colonial era compared to the colonial era, making reference to technology.
Solution 3: In the post-colonial era, a significant rhythmic structural change was the increased sophistication and often greater precision in the execution of complex polyrhythms, largely facilitated by technological advancements like multi-track recording, drum machines, and synthesizers. While colonial music introduced Western meters and blended with indigenous rhythms, the post-colonial era allowed for more intricate layering and fusion of diverse rhythmic elements.
Example: In colonial Highlife, rhythms were often a blend of traditional percussion with a straightforward Western drum kit beat. In post-colonial Afrobeat (e.g., Fela Kuti), advanced studio techniques allowed for the precise interlocking of multiple complex traditional Nigerian percussion instruments (congas, shekere, gongs) with a Western drum kit, bass guitar, and horn section, creating a denser, more groove-oriented and intricate rhythmic foundation that was difficult to achieve with earlier recording methods or live ensemble limitations. Drum machines in later Afrobeats also allowed for programmed, complex, yet highly precise beats.
Commentary: This answer connects rhythmic changes to a specific factor (technology) and provides a clear comparative example, demonstrating a deeper understanding of the evolution. --- Differentiation (General Strategies): Flexible Grouping: Group students with mixed abilities to encourage peer learning and support.
Varied Resources: Utilize a mix of auditory (music excerpts), visual (charts, pictures of instruments), and kinesthetic (clapping rhythms, simple vocalization) resources to cater to different learning styles.
Remediation (For Struggling Learners): Simplified Explanations: Provide more concise and direct explanations of key structural changes, focusing on one element at a time.
Visual Aids: Use simple diagrams comparing instruments or rhythmic patterns before and after colonial influence.
Focused Listening Tasks: Provide specific guided listening questions for each audio excerpt, e.g., "What Western instrument do you hear clearly in this song?" or "Do you hear many different instruments playing together or just one melody?" Peer Tutoring: Pair struggling learners with stronger students for one-on-one or small-group revision.
Glossary: Provide a simplified glossary of musical terms used (e.g., 'harmony,' 'monophony,' 'polyrhythm').
Extension (For High-Achieving Learners): Research Project: Task students to research a specific Nigerian musician from either the colonial or post-colonial era (e.g., Fela Sowande, E.T. Mensah, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé) and analyze how their music structurally exemplifies the era's influences.
Comparative Analysis: Challenge students to analyze a chosen Nigerian popular song (e.g., an Afrobeats track) and identify specific structural elements that can be traced back to colonial influences and those that emerged primarily in the post-colonial period. They can present their findings in a short report or presentation.
Creative Composition Task: Ask students to compose a short melodic or rhythmic phrase that consciously incorporates both traditional Nigerian musical elements and Western structural influences learned in the lesson.
Understanding Modern Nigerian Music (Afrobeats, Gospel, Highlife Revival): Students can apply their knowledge to critically analyze contemporary Nigerian popular music. They will understand why Afrobeats, for instance, sounds the way it does – a fusion of indigenous rhythms, Western harmonic structures, and modern production techniques, all stemming from historical developments. This helps them appreciate the layers of influence in music played on radio, at parties, and in churches.
Cultural Diplomacy and Music Archiving: The understanding of how Nigerian music evolved can be integrated into cultural preservation efforts. Students, as future cultural ambassadors or archivists, can identify specific periods and influences in traditional and contemporary Nigerian music, helping to document and present Nigeria's rich musical heritage accurately to the world. For example, understanding the structural impact of colonialism is vital when archiving early recording artists.
Music Production and Composition: Aspiring musicians and producers can leverage this historical insight to create new music that consciously blends these diverse influences. They can experiment with fusing traditional instrumentation with Western harmony (colonial influence) or utilize modern studio techniques to recreate complex polyrhythms in new compositions (post-colonial influence), creating unique and authentically Nigerian sounds for film scores, theatre, or new popular music genres. ---