A Case Study of Highlife Music - Analytical Approaches to World Music

complexity and cultural diversity of the West African sub-region must be taken intoaccount in our classification of musical genres and in determining the rules of inclusionin and exclusion from the Highlife category. This is why Gledhill (1985:64) submits that“ genres are not discrete systems consisting of a fixed number of listable items”, whileNeale (1980:48) is of the opinion that “genres are instances of repetition and difference”.Despite inherent problems in genre classification some of which have been discussedabove, it is necessary to still classify creative works according to certain criteria so thatgenres do not exist as formless and amorphous entities which will preclude interpretationand analysis.The Concept of Change and Genre DevelopmentChange as a concept has been defined by Jick & Peiperl (2003:xvi) as a “plannedor unplanned response to pressures and forces and I agree with him largely. The global‘soundscape’ of the 21 st century with its avalanche of economic, technological, musical,social, political and ideological changes have created several layers of pressures, choicesand survival strategies. From the graphic historical development of Highlife music earlieron, we can see that the development of the Highlife genre has been characterized bychanges which define the genre in specific social and musical terms synchronically andcontextually. We are also able to understand to some extent, the dynamics of musicalchange and responses to such changes in contemporary Africa. However, to manage thesechanges and put them in proper theoretical perspectives, I will deploy three perspectivesof change developed by Linda Ackerman 3 , a business management expert. The modelswill help us to analyze these changes and to also assess how best they can serve asanalytical tools for musical change and genre development.Fig. 1a Developmental ChangeInvolves continuousimprovement of what is11