Lecture
1. Subject and tasks of music psychology. 2. History of the development of scientific views. 3. Questions of musical aesthetics and psychology. 4. Modern approaches to music therapy.
The course in music psychology is taught as a continuation of the course in general
psychology. It is intended for undergraduate students of music departments at institutions of higher education. As the basis for the systematic construction of the thematic material,
a dynamic approach was adopted, which, in our view, most accurately reflects the specifics of the psychic processes of a personality engaged in interaction with music. This approach is realized through the sequence most often found in general psychology: the nature of sound,
cognitive processes, the emotional-volitional sphere, individual
personality traits, and the specifics of artistic creativity.
The basis for compiling this manual was the research
of L.L. Bochkarev, A.L. Gotsdiner, E.V. Nazaikinsky, V.I. Petrushin,
M.S. Starcheus, A.V. Toropova, and the textbooks on the psychology of artistic
creativity by L.B. Yermolaeva-Tomina and V.I. Petrushin. The role of the general-psychological foundation was played by: the fundamental works of Ernst Kurth, «Music Psychology» (1931), and L.S. Vygotsky's «The Psychology of Art» (1934), as well as research on the psychology of emotions and thinking by V.K.
Vilyunas, S.L. Rubinstein, P.V. Simonov, Ya.A. Ponomarev, and O.K. Tikhomirov. The general scientific basis was provided by the works of V.V. Boyko, J. Moreno,
M. Esther Harding, and C.G. Jung, devoted to research on psychic
energy, and the works of A.P. Efimov, A.A. Ustinov, and V.A. Sinkevich on the nature of
the perception of musical sound. Examples from the history of music, life,
creativity, and also the sayings of great musicians considerably ease the
assimilation of the educational material.
Psychological education within the system of professional training of musicians is intended to equip future
specialists with knowledge of
the psychological subtleties and features of musical art and pedagogy. The future composer, performer, musicologist, or teacher must know well and have a fairly clear understanding of the inner experiences of a person, their thoughts and aspirations, analytical calculation and flight of imagination, the work on a musical piece and its concert performance, will and memory, character and abilities, and
other psychological qualities of the personality of the musician and the listener.
Music psychology is a branch of psychology in which
musical ear, the thresholds of auditory sensations, modal, rhythmic, and tactile sensations, the perception of music,
experiencing, comprehending, remembering, performing, and enjoying it are specifically examined.
The multifaceted manifestations of musical abilities, musical
giftedness, talent, and genius in the field of musical art never cease to surprise and delight us with their boundless possibilities,
with their, at times supernatural, force of nature.
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For us, the principal fundamental studies in the field of music psychology were the works: «The Psychology of Musical
Abilities» by B.M. Teplov, «On the Psychology of Musical Perception»
by E.V. Nazaikinsky, and others. On children's music psychology — the works of V.K. Beloborodova, G.S. Rigina, «The Musical Perception of Schoolchildren» by Yu.B. Aliev, «Do Children Perceive Polyphony?» by Z.A. Rinkyavichus, and others. In these works the authors rely on such landmark psychophysiological, acoustic, and pedagogical studies as: «Reflexes of the Brain» by I.M. Sechenov, «On the Sensations of Tone
as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music» by H. Helmholtz, «Musical Ear, Its Significance, Nature, Features, and Methods of Proper Development» by S.M. Maykapar, «Rhythm, Its Educational Significance for Life and
for Art» by É. Jaques-Dalcroze, «The Zonal Nature of Musical Ear»
by N.A. Garbuzov, and others.
As far back as the Middle Ages, al-Farabi in his «Great Book of Music», Ibn Sina in
the chapters on music of his books «The Book of Healing», «The Book of Salvation», «The Book
of Knowledge», Abdurrahman Jami in his «Treatise on Music», and many other great scholars of the East considered questions of musical aesthetics and psychology, in particular, the effect of music on the soul, mood, and organism
of a person.
The most ancient teachings on music psychology are found in
Ancient Egypt, India, and China, in the sacred book of the Zoroastrians, the «Avesta», and in the works of ancient Greek scholars — Pythagoras's teaching on eurythmy,
and Aristotle's teaching on mimesis. They asserted the idea of the enormous effect of music on the human psyche, on the development of the individual, and on society as a whole. For example, Plato said that «the power and strength of a state depend directly on what kind of music sounds within it, in what modes and
what rhythms».
Examples from the lives of great musicians — Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin,
Toscanini, and others — clearly show what psychological
qualities and truly astonishing abilities a person can possess when composing, performing, and perceiving music. From the history of the medieval East, accounts and legends have come down to us of how
the great scholar-encyclopedist Abu Nasr al-Farabi masterfully played
musical instruments, and could, through his performance, cheer or
sadden his listeners, distract them from their cares or make them think deeply, evoke joy, delight, or even lull the people listening to him to sleep. What is this? The performer's skill? The orientation of the work? The influence of personal
qualities? A special effect of music on the human psyche? A professional musician, a specialist devoted to one of the most astonishing
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creations of humanity — the art of music — must be able to find their way through all these and
other questions of music psychology.
Recently the study of
psychic energy as a universal basis for the existence of art
and of the human being in art has become especially relevant. Whereas in the 19th and early 20th centuries psychic energy was understood as a hidden, potential form of «living, nervous» energy, at
present it is held that «psychic energy represents
the activity of the non-material or ideal phenomena of the psyche, possessing information concentrated at its various levels — consciousness, preconsciousness, and the subconscious» (V.V. Boyko, «Psychoenergetics»). The mastery of the programme material is built in the logic of movement from the lower (physiological, preconscious) levels to the higher (supraconscious)
levels of psychic energy.
The study of the subject of music psychology should begin with a review of general psychological categories and concepts. This foundation serves
as the starting point, a reliable basis for building a branch discipline and, in
turn, an already relatively independent science — music
psychology.
After each section, upon examining a topic, it is advisable, in order to consolidate it and study it more deeply, to hold seminar classes.
THE EDUCATIONAL MINIMUM CONTENT OF OPD.F.02 Music Psychology and the Psychology of Music Education. Music psychology and the psychology of music education as fields of science and as academic subjects. The anthropological approach to their study. The musical consciousness of society and of the individual. The psychological content of the concept of “musicality”. The structure of musical abilities and the features of their development at different age stages. The musical needs of the individual and motivation in the musical-educational process. Features of the emotional-volitional sphere and psychomotor acts of the musician. Musical-cognitive processes of the individual's psyche. Psychological features of the personality and musical activity of students and music teachers. Psychological mechanisms of individual creativity in the process of musical activity. The psychological essence of a child's individuality and the manifestations of musicality and creative abilities in the process of musical study. The development of the perception of music, musical thinking, and the emotional sphere of students in the process of musical study. Psychological foundations of teaching musical language. Musical psychosemantics and ethnomusical aspects of music education. The psychological triad of musical upbringing, teaching music, and the musical-psychic development of the individual. The psychology of musical-pedagogical communication. Psychological features of the organization of the musical-pedagogical process, and psychological-diagnostic methods in the musical-educational process.
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