Psychology of Music

Over the past 25 years there has been an increasing and worldwide research interest in music education, embracing a range of disciplines and perspectives. As well as particular research foci on the nature of curricula, musical behaviour and development, new research literatures have been developed that link music education with ethnomusicology, psychology (including neuropsychobiology, cognitive and developmental psychology), history, sociology and philosophy, as well as with mainstream studies in pedagogy. This review creates a ‘map’ of these various and related literatures in order to (i) provide a summative overview of the current breadth and depth of available research knowledge for actual and potential users, and (ii) create a research development agenda that embraces indicators of possible research priorities for the immediate future. The review is also a celebration of the major UK impact on these research literatures. An introduction (Swanwick) leads into a series of linked overviews, focusing first on research concerned with individual musical development (Hallam and Lamont), then on the potential impact to musical learning of social group membership (O’Neill and Green) and schooling (Cox and Hennessy) and concluding with an ethnomusicological perspective (Farrell) and coda (Welch).

Research in music education and related topics has a long tradition in Scandinavia. This article gives an overview of research in music education, with emphasis on the years 1990–2002. Research is related to four major issues: The characteristics and musical development of children, youth, and adults; how social variables, especially gender, are present in some educational settings; how music is taught and studied in educational institutions, from pre-school to tertiary education in academies; and how research has addressed basic issues in music education, i.e. ‘What is music education?’ and ‘What is music education research?’, as well as ‘What is the relationship between research and practice?’

This article presents a very general survey of tracks and trends in music education research in Germany and its roots in the 19th century, where the beginning of empirical music psychology can be traced back to Tonpsychologieand perception research of scholars such as Helmholtz, Stumpf, Wundt, and Wellek. Focus areas that are addressed in the article refer to child development and early music learning, the acquisition of musical skills, music in schools and society, gender studies, multicultural approaches and cross-cultural studies.

The research enterprise in the United States is a vast one, with at least 15 music education and two music therapy research journals. This is in addition to the multitude of papers presented at a myriad of state, regional and national conferences, including the hundreds of papers presented at the biannual meetings of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC): National Association for Music Education. Much of the USA music education research occurs in situ, such as general music classrooms and secondary ensemble rehearsals, and examines the impact of different aspects of teaching strategies on students’ attentiveness, attitudes and achievement, as well as studying informal learning. While common in the USA, it is unusual to see work in the UK that focuses on ensemble conducting or music classroom or ensemble management. Also, work in the USA can be classified under the titles used by the Special Research Interest Groups of MENC: Affective Response, Adult and Community Music Education, Creativity, Early Childhood, Gender Research in Music Education, History, Instructional Strategies, Learning and Development, Measurement and Evaluation, Perception and Cognition, Philosophy, and Social Sciences. Of late, there has been an increased interest in multicultural issues in research as well. There is a deficit of published philosophical inquiry, however.

Music education research in Australia has grown almost exponentially over the past 25 years. Particularly in the area of doctoral research studies, there has been a substantial increase in the number of theses completed from two in 1977 to 72 in 2002. In addition, there have been increases in professional research undertaken by university academics, in the number of nationally competitive research grants being awarded by the Australian Research Council and other research funding agencies, and in commissioned research studies. This article reviews the various types of music education research being undertaken in Australia and also discusses the dissemination of the findings of research through articles in national and international scholarly journals and papers presented at local and international conferences. One of the conclusions drawn is that Australian music education has ‘come of age’ in terms of both the quantity and the quality of its national research profile.

This paper reviews research on Hong Kong’s music education. The review shows that music education in Hong Kong after the change of sovereignty in 1997 differs from that in the People’s Republic of China; there is an emphasis on western classical music rather than the traditional Chinese music in the classroom, with a disconnection between what students enjoy after school and the music they hear and sing in school; composing is the least taught aspect of music; and a more student-centred approach catering more for children’s interest is recommended. The findings also show that computers have encouraged motivation and creativity while complementing listening and performing. Constant development has occurred in teacher education, while teachers’ understanding of children’s musical development and their ways of thinking about music can help their teaching effectiveness.

This review also suggests the need for further scholarly study into the effects of a curriculum that is more balanced between western and Chinese music and effective ways of teaching Chinese music, the teaching of music creativity, including the integration of technology and less rigid systems of teaching and learning to promote children enjoyment in music learning.

In this brief article we share with our colleagues around the world the British impact on the development of music education and psychology of music research in Brazil and Argentina. Although both countries are pursuing similar research policies, their research areas differ. Brazilian research on music education has had its focus on curriculum studies, evaluation, psychology of music, and media studies. Argentina on the other hand has a strong tradition in research in music education and psychology of music, in particular developmental and cognitive aspects of music perception and performance. Both countries are working towards the improvement of music research in South America and the continuation of the fertile partnership with British scholars and institutions.