Editorial Note
Editorial Note
The Benin Journal of Music and the Arts (BENJMA), which was established in 2021, is a publication of the Music Programme of the Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. BENJMA operates an open access policy of internet publication to facilitate easy accessibility and wide readership, and also produces complimentary print versions to meet the desire of readers who would want to obtain hard copies as alternative
and/or supplementary acquisitions. BENJMA is designed to publish at least one (1) Issue yearly, and to undertake the publication of Special Issues from time to time when the need arises.
BENJMA receives and publishes well-researched scholarly articles in music and the arts to promote scholarship and support the dissemination of research findings at local and global levels. It provides the forum for discourses on the historical, contemporary, and evolving subject matters that would serve as bases for the formation of future perspectives, the making of impactful predictions, and the galvanisation of developmental ideas.This present publication, Volume 1, is the maiden edition of BENJMA published in May 2022. This volume is a kaleidoscope of articles on music and the arts, featuring twelve (12) articles from a range of thematic areas such as musical syncretism, traditional festival, music education, music administration, church music, music copyright, music in drama, music in literature, music in movie, theatre for development (tfd), and aesthetics. Readers would most assuredly find the articles interesting, informative, educative, and thought-provoking.
Volume 1 , May 2022
Music education plays a significant role in cultural preservation, creativity development, talent cultivation, and national advancement. However, despite its recognised educational and socio-cultural value, music education in Nigeria has continued to experience persistent challenges that have adversely affected its growth and effectiveness at various levels of the educational system.
Music education plays a significant role in cultural preservation, creativity development, talent cultivation, and national advancement. However, despite its recognised educational and socio-cultural value, music education in Nigeria has continued to experience persistent challenges that have adversely affected its growth and effectiveness at various levels of the educational system.
Music occupies a central position in religious worship and serves as a medium through which adherents express faith, hope, devotion, and
This study addressed the persistent problem that musical artefacts are often defined narrowly as physical objects - a limitation that requires urgent attention as musical heritage increasingly expands across digital, embodied, and transnational contexts. It examined this gap by analysing a curated corpus of 120 musical materials using a conceptual–analytical design informed by material culture theory, intangible heritage studies, and ethnomusicology.
The Church, as the ecclesial community of Jesus Christ, holds the divine mandate of evangelism - a commission rooted in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) - where gospel music plays an important role. Gospel music serves as both a theological and cultural expression capable of fulfilling this mandate. However, in South-Western Nigeria, the practice of gospel music has witnessed significant deviations: performers with questionable moral and spiritual integrity exploit the art form for fame, wealth, and influence.