Topic:
Music : A Vital Ingredient for the Education of the Child

Speaker:
Dr Daniel Amponsah (aka Koo Nimo)
(Musician, Guitarist)

Chairperson:
Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang (Vice-Chancellor)

Date: Thursday, 28th April 2011
Venue: School of Medical Sciences Auditorium
Time: 3.00 pm

Synopsis
The paper discusses the importance of music in the general education of the child and calls for the development of educational curricula that exposes our children to the virtues that hold the society together. It stresses the contribution that music makes towards the development of the child’s personality, and advocates for parents to allow their children who want to pursue music as a profession to do so. The paper notes that while the study of music helps to build better learning capabilities, cultural studies helps the youth to understand who they are and fully develop within that context. Thus, in teaching music , the nation’s practices, beliefs and customs should be seriously considered.
The paper underscores the need for Ghanaians to appreciate the singing of dirges because of its uniqueness in demonstrating the African personality. Finally, it advocates the adoption of strategies to unearth the music and cultural potential of Ghanaians since music forms part of our daily lives and inspires the souls at any state that we find ourselves.