Musical Engineering as Epistemic Bridge: Integrating Acoustical Physics, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Decolonial Musicology.

Abstract:

This article introduces Musical Engineering as a framework that bridges acoustical physics, cognitive neuroscience, and decolonial musicology. Using Critical Realism as its lens, the study examines how sound’s physical properties, frequency, resonance, and timbre, interact with human perception and culturally situated practices of music-making. The research addresses the fragmentation of knowledge across science and culture, which has limited a holistic understanding of music as both a phenomenon and a practice. A mixed qualitative design was employed, combining acoustical modeling of indigenous instruments (Dundun, Oja) and Western instruments (violin, bagpipes), interpretive analysis of neuroscientific data on auditory perception, and ethnographic case studies. Fieldwork was conducted in Lagos State, Nsukka (Nigeria), Maryland (USA), and Scotland (UK), involving 54 musicians, instrument makers, and educators from both African and Western classical traditions. Findings show that sound principles are culturally mediated rather than neutral. Musical Engineering emerges as an epistemic bridge, offering pathways for inclusive learning, curriculum reform, and future research in areas such as AI-driven sound studies and global acoustical databases.