Course: Music Psychology

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Course title Music Psychology
Course code KMU/HPSK
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course unspecified
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Stratilková Martina, Mgr. et Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
Thematic areas: 1. The Subject of Music Psychology The areas of interest of music psychology, interdisciplinary ties of music psychology: thematic ties with artistic and medicine disciplines, thematic and methodological links with music sociology, music aesthetics, and anthropology. 2. Methods of Music Psychology The introduction to main areas of music psychology: observational, experimental and exploratory methods, and methods that use the measurement of body functions. The familiarisation with the most common types of research plans. 3. Music in Everyday Life Applied music psychology - the role of music in various life contexts. Music in advertisement, retail, restaurant, background music, music or acoustic ecology. 4. Physiology and Theory of Hearing Music The physiological process of hearing. The structure and function of the ear, the transmission of sound to nerve signal, tonotopy, auditory nerve and auditory cortex. Psychoacoustics - threshold of hearing, the issues of consonance and dissonance. 5. Music and the Brain The structure of nerve system, mainly that of the brain. The history of research of the relationships between brain activity and musical activities. Anatomical and functional peculiarities of musicians; musical peculiarities in some neurological diagnoses. 6. Musical Apperception - Emotions and Music Physiological measurements and their significance for the recognition of emotions induced by music. The relationship between emotional states and current musical preferences. The specificity of music emotions. 7. Musical Apperception - Personality Factors of the Relation to Music Personality qualities, influencing musical preferences, the typology of personality in relation to music, typical qualities of musicians. Musical imagination and musical thinking. 8. Musical Reception Social factors of the relationship with music: the influence of social background on the formation of musical preferences. Social influence, the relation of social and demographic characteristics to musical preferences. 9. Musicality The concept of musicality, the degree of musicality. Musical-hearing abilities. The diagnostic of musical abilities. 10. The Ontogeny of Musicality The development of a sense of music in one's life. Musical hearing in the prenatal period, the development of musical abilities in pre-school and school age, the musical-psychological characteristic of the period of adolescence and old age. 11. Music Therapy The concept of music therapy, specific and non-specific understanding, the history of music therapy, various music-therapeutic models, the issues of education within this field, the significance of music therapy of chosen diagnoses. 12. The History of Music Psychology The overview of the development of music-psychological thinking from the first thoughts of ancient Greece to the present. The focus on the constitution of the discipline in the 19th century, and the main areas of the interest of music psychology in the 20th and 21st century.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training)
  • Attendace - 12 hours per semester
  • Semestral Work - 25 hours per semester
  • Preparation for the Exam - 38 hours per semester
  • Preparation for the Course Credit - 10 hours per semester
  • Homework for Teaching - 15 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The course introduces into psychological aspects of music and its place in human life. It aims at interlacing with the tradition of musicological thinking and at presentation of recent contributions and approaches, as well as of refering to interdisciplinary contexts which go along with the discipline.
Acquired knowledge: The student acquires an overview of the spiritual phenomena that accompany musical activities. The student gets familiar with the methods of acquisition of new findings about music-psychological phenomena. The student understands historical transformations in the interest of music-psychological phenomena, and learns about the most up to date themes and approaches. Acquired skills: The student is able to use basic instruments of the diagnostic of musicality. The student is able to interpret various forms of musical behaviour, and acquires a preparation concerning the ability of self-reflection. Acquired qualifications: The student is able to critically evaluate published research studies. The student is able to distinguish spiritual actions that support musical activities. The student understands the coherence of the physiological, mental and behavioural aspect of a musical experience.
Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Mark, Seminar Work

Recommended literature
  • Franěk, Marek. (2005). Hudební psychologie, Karolinum, Praha 2005. Praha.
  • Holas, Milan. (1993). Psychologie hudby v profesionální hudební výchově. Praha.
  • Poledňák, Ivan. (1984). Stručný slovník hudební psychologie, Editio Supraphon, Praha 1984. Praha.
  • Sedlák, František. (1990). Základy hudební psychologie. Praha.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester