A Retrospective Study of Atenteben in Ghanaian Musical Instruction.

Abstract:

This historical research seeks to investigate the development of the atenteben, and its inclusion in the Ghanaian school curriculum. The atenteben, is a flute which is locally produced in Ghana from the stem of a species of the bamboo plant. The bamboo is a hollow, jointed, giant, woody grass that breeds predominantly in the tropical zones. While the bamboo is usually used for furniture, housing, and other household implements, the material has been crafted into a musical instrument, atenteben, to create pitched sounds for ceremonial and entertainment activities. This study sought to trace the historical route of atenteben, and illuminate how it became integrated into the Ghanaian school curriculum. Primary and secondary sources were employed for saturated data collection. Results indicated that the atenteben was first produced and introduced into the Ghanaian school curriculum by Dr. Ephraim Amu, albeit other scholars have contributed toward the development of the instrument as well as its teaching and learning. It was recommended that while seeking standardization and industrialized manufacture of the instrument through stakeholder collaborations, colleges of education should formalize teaching and learning of the atenteben in their curriculum. Further research will explore the atenteben in other keys, and examine writings and compositions of Dr. Ephraim Amu on the instrument.