The Development of Kenyan Popular Guitar Music: A Study of Kiswahili Songs in Nairobi

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore the origins and development of Kenyan popular guitar music with a special study of Kiswahili songs in Nairobi. Chapter One represents the central issues that motivated the researcher to embark on this study and raises the questions that have been answered. It also discusses the objectives, assumptions, rationale, scope, limitations and theoretical framework and methodology upon which the research study was based. Chapter Two gives the background of the study by looking at the geographical, sociological and historical aspects of the urbanization of the area of study. This gives a firm ground for the study. Chapter Three focuses on the current popular guitar music trends in the City of Nairobi. This gives the status-quo of the subject of study. Chapter Four analyses the song texts of the selected popular songs in order to see the sociological contexts of the words contained in the songs. Chapter Five further analyses the musicological aspects by highlighting the essentials of the music in the form of transcriptions. Chapter Six discusses by way of conclusion the findings and suggests the areas for further research.