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.