Abstract
Spiritual Music Education promotes deep, meaningful connections between teachers, students, and their music making. A spiritual approach focuses on every aspect of the student's human dimension-physical, emotional and cognitive-respecting and supporting each dimension equally. Consequently, students engage in music with increased body strength, clearer understanding, boundless creativity and heightened enjoyment. Most importantly, a spiritual music education instills a positive musical outlook for life. Six areas of spiritual music education are explored which are relevant to all vocal and instrumental disciplines, preschool through adulthood: The definition of "spirit" according to 20th century music philosophers, children revealing their deepest sense of spirituality, clarifying the difference between spirituality and sacredness to adhere to the laws separating church and state, multiculturalism in music education, applying spiritual philosophies of general education to music education, and a "SPIRIT" mnemonic that reminds teachers and students that spirituality in today's music class creates a meaningful musical outlook that resonates for a lifetime.
Recommended Citation
Freeman, Tamara R.
(2002)
"Spirituality in Music Education: Respecting and Elevating Students with Music,"
Visions of Research in Music Education: Vol. 2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/vrme/vol2/iss1/6