Constraints to Practices and Styles of Music Education among Orthodox and Pentecostal Churches in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study focused on constraints t o practices and styles of music education in Orthodox and Pentecostal Churches in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Quantitative and Qualitative research methods were utilized, respectively. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used as a qualitative method. Five choristers were selected each from orthodox and Pentecostal churches for FGD, while a multi stage sampling technique was used to select 367 choristers from Abeokuta metropolis, Ogun State. Structured questionnaires collected data on practices, styles and c onstraints to church music education. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and inferential tools such as independent samples t test and Analysis of Variance at 5% significance level. Results revealed that i nadequate musical knowledge / musical illiteracy and adverse attitude/interest towards learning (=1.92) ranked first among musical constraints of music education. There was a significant difference in the mean rating of music styles across Pentecostal and Orthodox churches (F=0.185; p>0.05). Also, there was a significant difference in the mean rating of constraints militating against music education across churches (t=4.637; p≤0.05), with more constraints in orthodox churches (30.7644) compared with Pentecostals (24.4091). In conclusion, church music practices and styles were more constrained in Orthodox churches than Pentecostal churches. Therefore, proactive measures should be adopted, especially among orthodox choristers, to nib the menace in the bud and improve church musical practices and styles across churches.