Attunement and Bodily Dialogues in Music Education

Abstract

In this paper Kirsten Fink-Jensen suggests how a phenomenologi- cal-hermeneutic perspective can contribute to the knowledge of learning and teaching processes in music education in school. The philosophical frame is Danish philosophy of life, represented by Knud Ejler Logstrup, and Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of body, both pointing to the wholeness of mind and body in all kinds of actions. Within this framework interpretation is an epistemological, practical-hermeneutic activity based on different analytical methods. Phenomenologically, experiences of music are constituted in an intertwinement of personal, cultural, and local meaning. The challenge fac- ing the teacher is then to understand what becomes meaningful to persons in a given situation. 'Bodily dialogue' is a metaphor of a hermeneutic process of understanding that highlights the importance of bodily aspects in the teacher's answer to a child's musical attuned articulations. This focus can facilitate children's learning processes and change and qualify the teacher's didactic reflections on the impact and progression of music lessons. In music education the issue of when and how learning processes take place is often discussed in relation to psychological studies of musical cognition, ability, development, intelligence, or experiences. Studies of music experiences usually