Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

This paper examines the phenomenon of Hand-Clap Accompaniment in Yoruba Cherubim and Seraphim Church Music in South-Western part of Nigeria in order to explicate the practices and functional values of different patterns used at different stages of musical performance during their church services. This study relies on phenomenological and cultural theories in musicology as premise for discourse. While primary and secondary source of data collection Findings revealed that hand-clap accompaniment as a phenomenon in Yoruba C&S Church music is a tradition that emanated from African musical culture. Apart from fact that hand-clap accompaniment serves as the metronome during the performance, the phenomenon is also valued in terms of the functions it performs as an integral part of Yoruba C&S Church music which includes musical, spiritual, appreciation and gratitude, socio-psychology and entertainment functions during all their liturgical services and outdoor gospel crusades. This paper concludes that hand-clap as a phenomenon in the Yoruba Cherubim and Seraphim Church music in Nigeria is a product of Yoruba traditional musical practice inherited from performance of folksongs and children’s moonlight play-songs. The Yoruba C&S Churches adopted hand-clap accompaniment as the most important and integral part of their liturgical music because of the indispensable functional values attributed to the phenomenon. This invariably made the practice a strong musical tradition and symbolic attribute of the Church. This is why the Church is regarded by the Yoruba people as ‘Ijo Alatewo’ (The hand-clapping Church).

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