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ERIC Number: EJ685901
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Feb
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 16
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1857
Musical Understanding, Musical Works, and Emotional Expression: Implications for Education
Elliott, David J.
Educational Philosophy and Theory, v37 n1 p93-103 Feb 2005
What do musicians, critics, and listeners mean when they use emotion-words to describe a piece of instrumental music? How can "pure" musical sounds "express" emotions such as joyfulness, sadness, anguish, optimism, and anger? Sounds are not living organisms; sounds cannot feel emotions. Yet many people around the world believe they hear emotions in sounds and/or feel the emotions expressed by musical patterns. Is there a reasonable explanation for this dilemma? These issues gain additional importance when we ask them in the context of music education. For example, can we, or should we, teach music students to listen-for musical expressions of emotion? If so, how? My contention is that listeners can and do hear emotions in musical patterns; musical sounds can be expressive of emotions. Accordingly, I offer ideas for teaching students how to hear and create musical expressions of emotions.
Blackwell Publishing. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8599; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: customerservices@blackwellpublishing.com; Web site: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/jnl_default.asp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A