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 "Tonpsychologie" and 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.