Embodiment in music education

Authors

  • Melissa Bremmer Amsterdam University of the Arts
  • Luc Nijs University of Luxembourg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26034/vd.jrea.2024.4717

Keywords:

music education, embodied music cognition, embodied pedagogy, instrumental music education, general music education

Abstract

In this article, we give an overview of theoretical and empirical research that exemplifies how and why the body of the student and teacher plays a pivotal role in music learning and teaching processes. We will discuss the concepts of entrainment, alignment, and prediction, that have been developed within the theory of embodied music cognition, and their relation to music learning. Furthermore, we will discuss how physical modelling, gestures and touch are important embodied teaching strategies. The article concludes with some suggestion as to how these concepts and strategies can be put into the music educational practice.

Author Biographies

Melissa Bremmer, Amsterdam University of the Arts

Professor Arts Education at the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the Netherlands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, a master’s degree in educational sciences from the University of Amsterdam, and a PhD from the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on Embodied Music Pedagogy, inclusion in music education and Arts-Sciences education. She is a member of the Music in Special Education and Music Therapy Commission (ISME).

Luc Nijs, University of Luxembourg

Professor in Early Childhood Music Education and course director of the Bachelor in Music Education at the University of Luxembourg, and Visiting professor at the University of Ghent, affiliated to IPEM and to the Jonet Chair on Social Action and Music Making. He holds master’s degrees in music performance (Brussels) and philosophy (Ghent), and a PhD in systematic Musicology (Ghent). His work focuses on the role of the body in instrumental music learning.

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Published

2024-02-06

Issue

No. 2 (2024): The moving body in music and dance education

Section

Research articles

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Melissa Bremmer, Luc Nijs

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The CC-BY licence authorises the sharing and adaptation of the document provided that the work is credited, a link to the licence is included and it is indicated whether any modifications have been made.