I consider this a two-way process. On the one hand, the digital way of making music kind of causes us to lose what used to be traditional music. On the other hand, it brings about improvement to what formerly was. Either way, there is an effect; an effect that can be considered either positive or negative. As for me, I prefer to consider it as having both positive and negative effects.
I am an Igbo man. Igbo is a language and a tribe in the eastern part of Nigeria, and it has a great cultural heritage. I am privileged to have grown up in the village, in my hometown, and I can tell you for sure that there are great efforts towards preserving not just musical traditions but the entire culture of the Igbo people. I have listened to the Umu Ada perform with their local Ekwe and Udu; I have watched masquerade dances alongside their local Igba. Nevertheless, the eradicating power of the digital era must not be overemphasized.
Take it or leave it, the likes of highlife, juju, bongo, fuji and many other musical genres that are now considered traditional were not always there. They more or less emerged alongside modern musical instruments, and that is no doubt the transformative power of the digital era at play. Given the introduction of advanced instruments, these genres tend to be more interesting than the original traditional music, thereby replacing them.
It could either be seen as a disadvantage with reference to the fact that it dismisses what used to be our tradition, or as an advantage with reference to the fact that it brings about advancement to our traditional music. Either way, there is an effect. I even heard that there is now an advanced Ogene music pattern that incorporates the use of modern instruments like the keyboard and lead guitar. The Oja will most likely be replaced in this new Ogene pattern, and we might thus lose a traditional instrument as this new Ogene pattern gains popularity.
As an individual, I have always enjoyed traditional music. As a matter of fact, Afro genres are my favourite, highlife to be specific. In as much as I will admit that our original traditional music comes with certain uniqueness, I would be a liar to not admit the fact that modern Afro genres are advanced version of what used to be. With this being the case, I am of the opinion that no one needs to be blamed for what is becoming. Change is constant, and what will be must always be; the best we can do as lovers of tradition is to preserve what can be preserved. But then, we must also learn to realise that change will and must always happen.
Thank you so much guys for reading through to the end. The pictures used for this post were generated using meta AI.
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