2026

This article compares the inclusion of Yoruba tonal and compositional principles in the music composition curricula of three universities in Southwest Nigeria, using a comparative document analysis approach. Selected for their differing backgrounds and emphases were three universities: Ajayi Crowther University, Obafemi Awolowo University and Olabisi Onabanjo University. The analysis of all three curricula involved categorising the titles of the individual courses into the following: Western, general African, Yoruba or Oyo-based and composition-designated.

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.