New announcement - 10.06.2023 15:34

Music Psychology Contribution to the Education and Profession of Music Pedagogues

Blanka Bogunović

Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia

The lecture outlines the cooperation between two closely linked disciplines: Psychology of Music and Music Education. It highlights the mutual benefits of the challenging collaboration between music pedagogues and music psychologists that extends from the early beginnings of music instruction and even does not stop with the end of musicians’ professional careers. In the Western Balkans region, this interdisciplinary exchange is especially valuable in the frame of the three-stage music education system (elementary, secondary, university music education) where various musical skills are meant to be mastered, in individual and group settings (e.g., instrumental, solfege, chamber music, orchestra, choir). The lecture aims to present the main lines of music psychology contributions to music education and profession, based on research and understanding of the practice of specialist and general music education. The research results relevant to the future competencies of Higher Music Education (HME) students and music pedagogues in practice will be introduced, and the practical implications will be emphasized. The important aspects of cognitive, emotional and social development of youngsters, young professionals and adult musicians who are involved in diverse musical activities will be pointed out. Hence, building up the awareness of the psychological processes and attributes (e.g., motivation, personality, abilities) can support the learning (of students) and teaching (of music pedagogues in schools) processes and mastering strategies for enhancing students’ listening, performing and creating music. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of individual capacities, strong and weak sides, and knowing metacognitive ‘how to do’ strategies can make learning and teaching more efficient and, in the long term, could be beneficial for the well-being of the students and teachers. The broad applicability of Music Psychology knowledge is already being aware of in a ‘broader world’ of music education, in the frame of European music institutions. In the last 15 years, its rising presence in the curricula of the HME in the Western Balkans countries gives hope for further constructive collaboration between disciplines, psychologists and music educators in new institutions in the region. Therefore, the position of the Psychology of Music in the frame of HME in the European and WB region will be sketched, and suggestions for further development will be proposed.