The role of Gangan drum in contemporary Christian worship service among the Yoruba people

The prevalence of gangan (talking drum) in contemporary Christian service of the various churches among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria is overwhelming. Despite that gangan is a traditional instrument, it is the most commonly adopted instrument and used alongside other western instruments such as trap set, bass guitar, saxophone and keyboards to mention a few. Given its immense contribution to the effectiveness of music making, Gangan has not been given the appropriate consideration often given to western instruments in terms of availability of the instrument and the player. Data for this study was gathered from focus group discussion with Gangan instrumentalists, interview guide and participant observation. Findings show that, churches often compulsorily employ talking drummers for special services of the church even in the absence of other traditional instruments for a backup. In every Christian service, Gangan instrumentalists often dictate the rhythmic flow by taking the lead over other western percussion instruments, which were earlier approved by the missionaries as the main instruments of the Christian liturgical worship. It is recommended that the employment of talking drummers should be equally secured for better experiences of music in a traditional way in every Christian worship service. Churches should also be committed to periodic training of youths that will be more active in playing gangan and other traditional musicalinstruments in every worship service.