INCULCATING MORALS IN ADOLESCENTS THROUGH THE IGBO FOLK MUSIC

The rate at which societal ills and vices are ravaging the world is fast increasing, more especially high level of immorality which is one of the consequent factors of modernism and globalization. This seems to be more common among adolescents. It has thus led to the loss of rich indigenous cultural values and ideal s that encourage morality and good behavior which the Igbo adolescents of the past were known for. Music is an integral part of Igbo culture and it plays a very significant role in every aspect of Igbo traditional life ranging from birth to death. It is ag ainst this background that this paper seeks to examine the importance of Igbo folk music in a child's upbringing. It is also aimed at proffering an approach by which Igbo folk music can serve as a vehicle for moral rejuvenation and an aid in curbing moral decadence in adolescents. Survey and bibliography were employed as the methodology and the theoretical framework was based on Kohlberg's stages of moral development which emphasized that human beings develop philosophically and psychologically in a progressive fashion. The paper concludes by suggesting that since the life of an Igbo person rotates around the traditional music of his/her community, the positive societal norms, attitudes and ideals can be inculcated through the early introduction of an Africa n child to the traditional musical arts through formal school.