HARNESSING THE AFRO-INDIGENOUS MUSIC TRAINING PATTERN TOWARDS THE BREEDING OF CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL SOCIETY: BEROM PEOPLE OF PLATEAU STATE IN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Every community has a unique method for transferring its customs, traditions, and way of life to the next generation, which also serves as a guarantee to its cultural preservation and prevents the culture from going into extinction. More so, every illness has a remedy, and every culture has its uniqueness regarding its custorticle and beliefs. This aims to critically highlight the traditional training methods employed by Africans, with a focus on the Berom people of Plateau State, Nigeria, to acquire knowledge, skills, and values before, during, and after the continent's colonisation thus, examining the historical methods used in the training of musicians by providing a clear understanding of how education in Africa was done. Interestingly, evidence suggests that musicians who received their training through traditional apprenticeship methods in Nigeria continue to earn more than those who received formal training. To comprehensively understand musicians' contributions to human development, this study explores how African musicians are traditionally trained, with a particular emphasis on both informal and formal artists. Using a mixed research approach that incorporates data from public social domains and in-person interviews, the researcher seeks to illuminate the enduring methods used by Africans in training musicians and what sustains their relevance despite colonial attempts to limit their effectiveness.