The Epistemology of African Music Theory: Rethinking Analytical Frameworks Beyond Western Musicology

This research undertakes a critical epistemological inquiry into the foundations of African music theory, arguing for the systematic development of analytical frameworks grounded in indigenous African musical epistemologies rather than Western musicological assumptions. Dominant analytical approaches to African music, including those applied to Nigerian musical traditions, have historically employed Western theoretical constructs including European harmony, metric notation, and formalist structural analysis that distort or obscure the logic of African musical systems. This study develops an original epistemological critique of this analytical tradition through philosophical analysis, case studies of Nigerian musical traditions from Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, and Kanuri communities, and engagement with existing African music theory scholarship including the contributions of J.H. Nketia, Akin Euba, and Kofi Agawu. Grounded in African philosophy of knowledge, ethnomusicological theory, and decolonial thought, the research proposes a set of epistemological principles for African music analysis including polyphonic temporality, communal aesthetic logic, spiritual ontology of sound, and social functionality primacy. These principles are applied to the analysis of selected Nigerian musical repertoires to demonstrate their analytical productivity. The study makes an original theoretical contribution to African musicology, ethnomusicology, and the global sociology of musical knowledge, advancing debates on the decolonisation of music scholarship. Keywords: African music theory, epistemology, decolonial musicology, analytical frameworks, Nigerian music.