Provides the theoretical and practical techniques that explain meaning and understanding in music. This book gives coverage of such topics as: the development of skills in music performance; research on communicating music expressiveness; and more. It is useful for students and scholars of music education and psychology of music.

1. The Neurobiology of Music Cognition and Learning ; 2. Cognitive Constraints on Music Listening ; 3. The Development of Musical Abilities ; 4. A Comparative Review of Human Abilitiy Theory: Context, Structure, and Development ; 5. Making Music and Making Sense Through Music: Expressive Performance and Communication ; 6. Taking an Acquired Skills Perspective on Music Performance ; 7. Music and Neuroscience

"Written by international experts in their respective research fields, these chapters represent an up-to-date snapshot of key issues in music cognition and development research."--John Sloboda, Professor of Psychology, Keele University, and author of The Musical Mind "The MENC Handbook of Musical Cognition and Development is an exciting and valuable resource to music educators as well as to others interested in psychological, physiological, and cognitive aspects of musical activity and development. The topics addressed are well chosen and are developed with clear, engaging writing, and the extensive bibliographies will be very helpful to those wondering where to start in this rapidly burgeoning area of research. Balancing real-world practicality with scholarly depth is no mean feat, and this volume does so in an admirable way."--Richard Ashley, Associate Professor of Music, Cognitive Science, and Cognitive Neuroscience, Northwestern University "A valuable, thoughtful, and well-researched handbook that summarizes the newest findings for music educators and researchers in the rapidly growing field of music perception and cognition."--Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D., Bell Canada Research Chair in Psychology, McGill University, and author of This Is Your Brain on Music (Dutton) "Written by international experts in their respective research fields, these chapters represent an up-to-date snapshot of key issues in music cognition and development research."--John Sloboda, Professor of Psychology, Keele University, and author of The Musical Mind "The MENC Handbook of Musical Cognition and Development is an exciting and valuable resource to music educators as well as to others interested in psychological, physiological, and cognitive aspects of musical activity and development. The topics addressed are well chosen and are developed with clear, engaging writing, and the extensive bibliographies will be very helpful to those wondering where to start in this rapidly burgeoning area of research. Balancing real-world practicality with scholarly depth is no mean feat, and this volume does so in an admirable way."--Richard Ashley, Associate Professor of Music, Cognitive Science, and Cognitive Neuroscience, Northwestern University "A valuable, thoughtful, and well-researched handbook that summarizes the newest findings for music educators and researchers in the rapidly growing field of music perception and cognition."--Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D., Bell Canada Research Chair in Psychology, McGill University, and author of This Is Your Brain on Music (Dutton)

Richard Colwell is Professor Emeritus of Music Education at the University of Illinois and the New England Conservatory of Music. He is the founding editor of the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education and the Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning. He is also a Guggenheim scholar and a member of MENC's Hall of Fame.