This text provides the theoretical and practical techniques that explain meaning and understanding in music. It gives coverage of such topics as the development of skills in music performance research on communicating music expressiveness, and more.

Answering fundamental questions about musical preference, ability, and communication, the field of Musical Cognition and Development is critical to the understanding of how music is processed, grasped, and learned. Drawn from the widely acclaimed New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (Oxford, 2002), the MENC Handbook of Musical Cognition and Development covers the latest theoretical and practical techniques that explain meaning and understanding in music. A distinguished team of internationally recognized experts offers cogent and concise insights providing readers up-to-date information and references. The volume covers the most important topics in this field, including skill development in music performance, research on communicating music expressiveness, the neurobiology of music, the cognitive constraints in the listening process, and music and medicine as applied to neuroscience. Practical and affordable, this volume will prove essential for students and scholars of music education and the psychology of music. It is both an excellent starting point for those looking to gain an orientation to the field, and an up-to-date presentation of the most recent research findings for experienced researchers, instructors, and pedagogues.

Summarizes the latest research on music learning, focusing on the profession's empirical & conceptual knowledge of how students gain competence in music at various ages & in different contexts.

The MENC Handbook of Research on Music Learning, Volume 1: Strategies brings together the best and most current research on methods for music learning, focusing squarely on the professions empirical and conceptual knowledge of how students gain competence in music at various ages and in different contexts. The collection of chapters, written by the foremost figures active in the field, takes a broad theoretical perspective on current, critical areas of research, including music development, music listening and reading, motivation and self-regulated learning in music, music perception, and movement. The books companion volume, Applications, builds an extensive and solid position of practice upon the frameworks and research presented here. Throughout both volumes in this essential set, focus is placed on the musical knowledge and musical skills needed to perform, create, understand, reflect on, enjoy, value, and respond to music. A key point of emphasis rests on the relationship between music learning and finding meaning in music, and as music technology plays an increasingly important role in learning today, chapters move beyond exclusively formal classroom instruction into other forms of systematic learning and informal instruction. Either individually or paired with its companion Volume 2: Applications, this indispensable overview of this growing area of inquiry will appeal to students and scholars in Music Education, as well as front-line music educators in the classroom.

Thinking and Playing Music: Intentional Strategies for Optimal Practice and Performance distills cutting-edge teaching and learning methods for musicians of all levels, investigating topics in cognitive science that apply directly to musical development. Containing over one-hundred musical examples, many from the standard piano repertoire, Sheryl Iott uses accessible language to impart practical suggestions that anyone can incorporate into their practice. Maximizing efficiency and effectiveness while cultivating an observant, experimental approach can help musicians make the most of their time and potential while avoiding tension, injury, and burnout. Aligning efforts with inherent mental processes can make learning faster, deeper, and more secure while freeing up attentional space, allowing for creative, personal expression in performance. The book addresses: Beginning musicianship, covering relevant cognition topics such as language acquisition, aural processing and development of audiation while cultivating a playful, relaxed approach to the instrument The intermediate musician, presenting more advanced cognitive topics such as visual processing, chunking, and early problem solving The advanced musician, addressing increased demands on working and long-term memory, how to maximize transfer, a creative approach to problem solving, and strategies to tackle the most difficult repertoire Also included are sample lesson plans, workshop templates, and sample practice assignments.

The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology is the definitive, comprehensive, and authoritative text on this burgeoning field. With contributions from over fifty experts in the field, the range and depth of coverage is unequalled. It will be an essential resource for students and researchers in psychology.