Institute of Education London

Psychology of Music and Music Education

Course Code:MMAMUS_08

The psychology of music is concerned with how we sift through and organise music, both mentally and as a psycho-motor function. Enquiries have included theories about how people learn musical concepts and skills, and about how children develop musically. In this module these areas are critically examined and brought to bear on the aims and methods of music education. The module explores different psychological schools that have influenced musical enquiries, including the empirically-based musical aesthetics of the early 20th century; the development of musical ability tests from Seashore to Bentley and Wing; the impact of gestalt psychology on theories of musical perception and analysis; the cognitive psychology of music; and the recent emergence of the social psychology of music. The module will look at the processes of musical skill and knowledge acquisition, assessing the implications of such study for pedagogic strategy. Questions about how children develop musically, with an emphasis on the writings of Piaget and musical psychologists who followed him, will be explored in depth.

Related Programmes

Social Pedagogy: Working with Children and Young People in or on the Edge of Care MA
Music Education MA