Wilfried Gruhn 
Neurosciences in Music Pedagogy [PDF ebook] 

The theme of this book is how to transmit topical knowledge and recent findings in neurosciences to the needs of music educators. The authors offer a comprehensive view of neuromusical research and its potential applications to music learning. They take into consideration that (1) knowledge as such is not transferable; we cannot force children to learn or push synapses to grow. We can only provide a stimulating environment and environmental conditions that enhance and support learning, and (2) knowledge acquisition is governed by factors that are not fully under conscious control and can hardly be influenced externally. Nevertheless, children learn and are extremely curious and eager to learn. Their cortex is the organ where new experiences and knowledge are processed by interconnected neurons (mental representations) which become activated when a similar sensorial input is perceived. Since musicians have become a favoured model of brain plasticity in neurosciences, pedagogical expectations arose that education could benefit from music, and that neurosciences could underpin this assumption with solid and robust research data.