http://ijm.sagepub.com/EducationInternational Journal of Musichttp://ijm.sagepub.com/content/os-39/1/3The online version of this article can be found at:DOI: 10.1177/025576140203900102 2002 os-39: 3 International Journal of Music EducationLelouda StamouPlato and Aristotle On Music and Music Education: Lessons From Ancient GreecePublished by:http://www.sagepublications.comOn behalf of:International Society for Music Education: ISME can be found at: International Journal of Music Education Additional services and information for http://ijm.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Email Alerts: http://ijm.sagepub.com/subscriptions Subscriptions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Permissions: http://ijm.sagepub.com/content/os-39/1/3.refs.html Citations: What is This?- May 1, 2002 Version of Record>> at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 3PLATO AND ARISTOTLE ON MUSIC AND MUSIC EDUCATION:LESSONS FROM ANCIENT GREECEbyLELOUDA STAMOUUniversity of Macedonia, GreeceABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the Athenian views of music and music education asthese are presented in the works of the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle and tosuggest ways in which the issues raised by them are still relevant for music education today.Their philosophical and practical views on music education, apart from being an excellent andvery up-to-date source for advocacy, can also initiate thoughts and promote solutions on problemsthat still remain unsolved. During the study, of their works, the reader surprisingly realizes thatthese philosophers had stated 2,500 years ago what the music education community has, justrecently, come to realize concerning the value of music education, childrens musicaldevelopment, and instructional strategies in music.INTRODUCTIONIn ancient Greece, music was not the discrete art form that we, today, consider as music.It was the complete combination of poetry, melody, and dance in one unity; an incomparablyholistic power which defined people as personalities who think, act, and feel (Henderson,1957). Music was considered to be the gift of &dquo;Mousai&dquo;,goddesses of arts and letters, toman, and was strongly associated with ritual,educational, and recreational practices,pervading every aspect of private and social life.After the second half of the 5th centuryBC, the component arts of music were on occasion separated, although less often and lesscompletely than one might think. If unaccompanied dance existed at all, itwas perceivedto be not of much importance, while pure instrumental music was often criticized as relativelyunimportant. The drama was sung to a great extent, incorporating both solo and choralsong along with dance. Every singer, solo or choir, had to sing while moving his or herentire body in obedience to intricate patterns that required weeks of full-time training.Singers were also dancers and often players of the instruments that accompanied their singingand dancing (Lippman, 1963).Singing and speaking were close in the ancient Greek culture. The Greek language wasremarkably physical and measured with an inherent music characterized by precisely defineddurations (Anderson, 1966). In many literary descriptions, the words singing and speakingare coupled or used interchangeably, and one cannot tellwhether speech or song isinquestion. The indeterminate nature of much preserved Greek poetry is also a result of the at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 4fact that melody, like dance, was unrecorded. Performance intermediate between speechand song was usual in the form of chant or recitative or intonation.According to Anderson (1966), the music setting demanded from performer and listenermore profound responses than the ones that are known to Western persons today; thus,&dquo;the attempt to recreate any total experience from a reading of Greek literature is boundto fail&dquo; (p.l ). The recapture and recreation of the forms and character of the ancient Greekmusic is difficult because there is little evidence on how ancient Greek music actually sounded.The music writings that exist today are few and incomplete and continue to be interpretedin sharply varying ways. There exist, however, valuable indirect sources of information, suchas the study of archaeological material and the literary writings of the ancient Greeks. Theseare the most reliable guides to the structures and genres of the ancient Greek musicalcompositions, and to the emotions and ideas with which the Greeks approached their music,reflecting their conceptions of its significance in their lives (Barker, 1984).The writings that have come down to us fall broadly in three major categories (Winnington-Ingram, 1954). First are those that describe features of the practice of music making andcomposition, like passages from poets and dramatists and casual remarks made by historiansof that era, as well as deliberate attempts of analysis and historical reconstruction made byscholars and compilers of later antiquity. Second are the technical works of the ancientharmonic and acoustic theorists, who deliberately set out to describe, analyze and reduce toorder the data presented in musical practice. Finally are the works of philosophers and critics,who attempt a broader and more reflective investigation of the social, psychological, and moralfunctions of music. This type of source is of special interest for the purpose of this paper.Ancient Greece was organized in autonomous cities ( &dquo;polis&dquo;), each one of which developeditsown unique features in social life,laws, art, and education. The city of Athens in the5th and 4th century B.C. reached a high point of development in arts, sciences, politics,and philosophy, which contributed afterwards to the development of allof Westerncivilization. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Athenian views on music and musiceducation as these are presented in the works of the ancient Greek philosophers Plato andAristotle. The ideas of Plato and Aristotle strongly influenced philosophical thought onmusic and education in the later Western world and have often been used as philosophicalarguments in the advocacy for music education.PLATOS VIEWS ON MUSICPlato lived from about 428 to 347 BC. His career as a writer and teacher belongs entirelyto the fourth century, after the death of his teacher Socrates (399 B.C.) Almost allof hispublished writings survive today and, with the exception of some letters, take the form ofphilosophical dialogues in which Socrates isthe principal speaker. Although itis possiblethat the &dquo;Socrates&dquo;of Platos early dialogues represents the ideas and teaching of thehistorical Socrates, Platos later works probably express his own ideas, no matter whichcharacter is given the leading role (Barker, 1984).The Republic (Plato, trans. 1900) that was written in the middle period of Platos workinglife, together with the Laws (Plato, trans. 1980), his last piece of writing, deal mostly with at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 5social ethics and educational matters. The major theme of the Republic isthe nature ofjustice, which is considered to be of the highest value for the unity of human societies andthe harmony of the individual souls.Most of the work is presented as the imaginativeelaboration of requirements for a hypothetical ideal city, ruled by philosophical guardians,in whose entire organization justice would be perfectly embodied. While Republic teachesabout politics by examining the nature of justice, Laws studies what can be actually achievedthrough political action. In the Lcttns, Plato shows how the man of reason, the philosopher,can work with and within the pious traditionalism that dominates most political life(Anderson, 1966).Both Republic and Lazns provide important information on the role of music in educationand social life.In Book II of the Laws, Plato defines education as the virtue that first comesinto being in children. Accordingly, education is the means by which &dquo;pleasure and liking,pain and hatred, become correctly arranged in the souls of those who are not yet able toreason, and then, when the souls do become capable of reasoning, these passions can inconsonance with reason affirm that they have been correctly habituated in the appropriatehabits&dquo; (Laws, 653b, p.32). Plato believes that education in music, meaning the unity ofmelody, poetry, and dance, is important, because rhythm and harmony penetrate deeplyinto the inmost soul and exercise strong influence upon it.In ancient Greece, itwas generally believed that music had the power to affect peoplesthoughts and actions in several ways (Anderson, 1966). The ancient Greeks signify the moralcharacter that the music tends to inspire in the soul as &dquo;ethos&dquo; (Winnington-Ingram, 1954).According to the Laws, a man enjoys the music to which he has become accustomed. Thisis why Plato considers the teaching of appropriate songs crucial, in order to &dquo;prevent thechilds soul from becoming habituated to feeling delight and pain in a way opposed to thelaw and to those who are persuaded by the law, to make the childs soul follow and feelthe same joys and pains as an old man&dquo; (659d6-10). According to Plato, the ability to feeldelight and pain in the appropriate way can be developed by teaching children those melodiesand rhythms that have been decided by the wise men of the city to be the appropriateones for childrens education. Thus, children will eventually develop a taste toward goodand bad, similar to the musical tasteof the wise men inthe city. In the Republic, heemphasizes that one must distinguish between the types of songs suitable for men and thosesuitable for women, and modes and rhythms must be fitted to them; what is grand andconduces to bravery necessarily characterizes the male, while what tends to orderliness anddiscreteness willbe more like the character of womankind (Monro, 1894). According toPlato it would be a mistake to set a mans words to a womans color and tune, or harmonizethe tune and postures of freemen with the rhythms of slaves, or give free rhythms andpostures to a tune or speech that contradicts the rhythms.Different instruments are also considered to have different effects on the emotions andcharacter of the individuals. According to Plato, plucked stringed instruments, like the kitharaand the lyre, inspire and exalt the soul of man and are honored by all nations as the favoritesof gods. In contrast, music produced by reed-blown pipes, such as the aulos, has no placein Platos ideal city because of its orgiastic effect directly opposed to the ordered and stately at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 6worship of the city. Reed-blown pipes lead to a more intimate musical experience, whichmay become devotional, according to the individual (Anderson, 1966). Wind instrumentsare generally criticized by Plato because they also prevent the performer from singing orspeaking while playing, thus violating the unity of speech or song, instrumental playing,and dance. Plato condemns solo instrumental music as useless and harmful and as havingno discernible ethos. Kithara and lyre when played alone, should, according to him, &dquo;beregarded as unmusical virtuosity&dquo; (Laws, 670a2-3).The judgment of new musical works is considered by Plato to be a highly significant task.According to him, the judges of musical works presented in musical contests need to beexceptional in virtue and education, since &dquo;musicmust be judged by pleasure, but not thepleasure of any chance listeners&dquo; (Laws, 658e8-9). Plato believes that fine music is the onethat pleases the best men and the adequately educated men, and especially finest is the onethat pleases the one man who is distinguished in virtue and education. The judges of musicneed to be men of this kind so that they have the courage not to be swept away by thenoise and taste of the many people or pronounce a soft-spirited judgment. Plato admirestimes in the past when musical exhibitions in Athens were judged worthy of prize or penaltyby means other than the whistling, clapping, and rude noises of the contemporary theatre-going rabble (Anderson, 1966).Platos concept of the relationship between musical laws and legislation is characteristic. Ashe notes in his Laws, &dquo;itisto be remembered above allthat our songs are our laws - aparadoxical assumption, but one which we should accept&dquo;(799e10-11). This is why hebelieves that one must be careful when introducing a new kind of music. As Plato says,&dquo;thisis to be the dogma about it:let no one voice anything or make any dance movementcontrary to the public and sacred songs, or the whole choral exercise of the young, anymore than he would go against any of the other laws&dquo; (800a5-9). Egypt, Crete, Sparta,and Athens as they once were, are Platos models. He admires the absolute conservationof Egyptian art and music and also the fact that ithas been proved possible to legislatethose melodies that possess natural &dquo;rightness.&dquo;According to Platos beliefs, there shouldbe no hesitation to pick out from the traditional songs and dances what is fitting andharmonious for the city. To make the choice among these, examiners should be selectedwho are exceptional in virtue and are not younger than 50 years old. Also, the poets are tocreate nothing that differs from the citys conventional and just version of the beautiful orgood things; they should not show their creations to any of the non-experts before theyshow them to the judges appointed in these matters (Anderson, 1966).MUSIC EDUCATION IN PLATOS IDEAL CITYPlatos works mentioned above (Laws and Republic) present his two main concepts ofeducation. Education, according to him is, on the one hand, a technical term referring tothe systematic training of children in liberal subjects, and on the other hand, an idea rapidlyextending to every aspect of intellectual and ethical experience. It is the drawing and leadingof youth toward &dquo;right reason&dquo;as set forth in the law and as judged by the experience ofthe most distinguished elder people of the city (Anderson, 1966). at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 7Education in Platos ideal city has different stages organized on the basis of age. Educationin music, should, according to him, start from infancy, with mothers singing for and dancingwith their children. As Plato says in the Laws, &dquo;nursing and motion should be as continuousas possible&dquo;(790c8-9), and it isbeneficial when mothers &dquo;dont provide stillness but justthe opposite, motion; they rock them constantly in their arms, and not with silencebutwith some melody&dquo;(790d9-790e2).Plato recognizes the importance of the first three years of lifefor childrens development.As he notes in his Laws, &dquo;thatisthe age when, through habituation, the most decisivegrowth in the entire character occurs for everyone&dquo;(792e2-4). Plato also realizes theimportance of play and music in the education of the young child. According to him, &dquo;sincea childs mind cannot handle serious material, the precepts of the law will be conveyed tohim through terms he understands, namely those of play and song&dquo;(Lccms, 659e2-5). Thisis why Plato recommends that as soon as the child isable to walk, itistaken in theplayground where it learns by playing partly by itself and partly with other young children.Formal schooling should, according to Plato, start at the age of 6 and should be compulsory,even if the childs father does not wish him or her to go to school. Instruction should becoeducational, uniform, and &dquo;asfar as possible universal, on the principle that the pupilbelongs to the state first and to his parents second&dquo; (Laws, 804c2-e 1 ). Plato believes inwomens education but in a spirit different from that of mens. This is why boys and girlsshould, according to him, attend different schools. What a young girllearns, whilesuperficially not unlike what her brothers are learning in their boys school, is acquired ina different spirit. As Lodge (1947) says, &dquo;her voice, carriage, manners, and outlook becomedefinitely feminine, suited to the capacities of her sex and expressive of its nature&dquo; (p. 293).This period of schooling should end at the age of 20 and should focus on dance, music,and gymnastics. Gymnastics have to do most immediately with bodily excellence, while musicaims for the cultivation of the soul.In the ideal city, vocal music education appears to occupy a central part in childrenseducation. According to Plato, education iscoextensive with choric song, a combinationof vocal rhythms and modes with rhythm in bodily movement. The aim of training in music,however, isnot musical expertise but the cultivation of the soul. As he says, &dquo;thevocalaspect reaching the soul we regarded as education in virtue and we named itmusic &dquo; (Lazns,673a4-5 ).According to Plato, three years of compulsory study on the lyre (a plucked string instrument)should begin when the child isthirteen years old. Teacher and student must make theirinstruments sound in unison with the voice, using no heterophony or ornamentation. Theaccompaniment should not include melodies different from the vocal line that was createdby the composer, and should not include any contrasts of close and wide spacing of notes,of fast and slow tempi, or of high and low ranges. Plato believes that the above are unsuitablefor young people for whom we want to acquire a rapid practical knowledge of music, becauseopposite principles are confusing and create a difficulty in learning (Anderson, 1966).This stage of education, would, according to Plato, end at about 20 years of age and would,as he (Republic, trans. 1900) suggests, &dquo;leavethe boy (or the girl) of 20, a hardy, active, at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 8and disciplined young creature, versed in the best literature and music, and fairly thoughslightly grounded in the mathematical sciences&dquo; (p.15). For three years, between 17 and20 years of age, boys would serve the military in the area around Athens. Then, from theage of 20 to 30, the young men that developed good character and virtue, would enterupon the serious study of sciences, beginning with arithmetic, and preceding, on a scale ofincreasing concreteness, through plane and spherical geometry, theoretical astronomy, andphysical harmonics or acoustics. From the age of 30 until the age of 40, the young menwho excelled in those studies would be admitted to the highest and most complete of allpossible studies, the study of philosophy.As itisevident from the above, Plato views education as a lifetime process. He actuallybelieves that if good times are to come either to the city or to mankind, political power andthe best and highest intelligence need to, somehow, be brought together to the exclusion ofmere empirics from statesmanship and mere theorists from philosophy (Barker, 1959).ARISTOTLES VIEWS ON MUSIC AND MUSIC EDUCATIONAristotle was born in the Macedonian city of Stagira in 384 B.C. He went to Athens in367, where he studied with Plato for 20 years. After his teachers death, he left Athens,and was for a brief period tutor to the young Alexander the Great of Macedon. His writingscontain a closely reasoned and in many respects systematic study of the world in a multitudeof its aspects, which is so impressive, as Barker says, &dquo;thatit formed for centuries the basisof all educated Europeans conceptions of the universe and mans place within it&dquo; (p. 170).Little of Aristotles views on music aesthetics have survived. A substantial part of his viewson the educational and social aspects of music, however, exists in Politics (Aristotle, trans.1984), one of Aristotles major works. His contributions to the study of musical phenomenaare rooted in the evidence of the senses and occupy the fields of physical acoustics, physiologyand psychology of hearing, and physiology of voice production.Compared with Plato, Aristotle ismore catholic. As Barker ( 1984) notes, &dquo;heconsidersdifferent views and sets them in relation to one another, rejecting them only if he can pointto their basis in plain misunderstandings or mistakes of fact&dquo; (p.171). He is also willing toembrace, in the role appropriate to it,anything that people have found to be good andvaluable. Instead of rejecting anything that is not conducive to a &dquo;moral&dquo; education, Aristotletries to find proper places for the convivial harmonies, exciting instruments, and professionalmethods of training and performance within the lifeof a well-adjusted society.By notrejecting outright different music practices, Aristotle isa valuable source of information onthe practices and the views of the ordinary educated Greeks of histime. Plato, on thecontrary, offers some information on his contemporary music practices only through hisattacks against them. As Barker says, &dquo;the positive proposals that he [Plato] develops bearno resemblance at all, as he himself makes clear, to any state of affairs that has ever reallyexisted&dquo; (p. 171).Aristotle agrees with Platos definition of proper education as being the training to experiencepleasure or pain properly, which means the development of an attitude of fondness for what at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 9isnoble and good and distaste for what is immoral. Like Plato, Aristotle believes that theproper curriculum should include the usual subjects of general instruction inhiscontemporary Greece-music, gymnastics, letters, and drawing. By gymnastics he means awhole system of physical training, and by letters he means reading, writing, and the studyof the poets. Of the four subjects, Aristotle suggests that gymnastics should be taught fromthe age of seven to that of fourteen, an age at which instruction in letters, music, and drawingwould begin. Music instruction should not begin before the age of fourteen, because,according to Aristotle, young children are not able to understand music sufficiently in orderto derive pleasure or edification from listening to it when they become older.As Barker (1959) notes, one may find that in the educational system proposed by Aristotle,&dquo;the period of physical development seems long protracted, and the training of the mindlong delayed&dquo;(p. 432). Actually, Aristotle believes that education is a developmental process,in which each stage duly corresponds to the growth of the human being. The educationalprocess must begin with the training of the body, proceed to the training of appetite (tastefor what is noble), and culminate in the training of reason. According to Aristotle, &dquo;attheage of the body, of desire, or reason, must come the training of the body, of desire, orreason&dquo; (p. 433). It must not be forgotten though, that each stage prior to reason, if anend in itself, is also a means to the next stage. In the period of the growth of the body, forexample, the body must be trained but in such a way as to subserve and prepare the trainingof desires, the stage to come.Concerning instruction in the liberal arts of music, letters, and drawing, Aristotle believesthat, although their primary goal isthe promotion of virtue, some studies can be pursuedwith a view to their utility and because they are necessary for the management of a householdand for many branches of political administration. Such studies are reading, writing, and acertain amount of arithmetic and geometry. According to Aristotle, these studies shouldnot be pursued to excess, because excessive attention to any one part disturbs the proportionand balance of the whole mind, and results in that &dquo;professionalism&dquo; which a freemanshould avoid (Barker, 1959).In Politics, Aristotle deals, among others, with the function of music as a means of relaxationafter work. According to Aristotle, music isone of the greatest pleasures and means ofrelaxation after the pain with which allwork isattended. However, the danger of thisfunction of music is, according to him, that some people may find in this type of amusementan end in itself and miss the opportunity of a higher spiritual activity. The second functionof music is as an employment of leisure. According to Aristotle, it is important for men toknow what use to make of their free time. He suggests that leisure be spent in contemplation,a condition of the highest spiritual activity, which isdefined as the seeing of all things inthe light of a final purpose towards which one is always moving (Politics, 1341).The third function of music is as an agent of moral instruction. The kinds of music used intime of leisure must be such as not only to afford pleasure but also to carry a moral messagein themselves and to educate the listener in enjoying, loving, and disliking things correctly.An education in virtue must aim at producing this adjustment of the emotions; itmustendeavor to produce a temperament that feels pleasure when and as it should. Finally, music at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 10can function as a means for the purification of such excessive feelings as exalted excitementor strong feelings of pity or fear.This function of music isto purge the excess of passionand to leave the person with a quiet normal feeling. Moods of exalted excitement, pity, orfear can be relieved by the music of sacred melodies (Politics, 1342a).Related with the last function of music isthe issue of the moral character (&dquo;ethos&dquo;) of thedifferent modes. Aristotle, like Plato, recognizes the different ways in which differentharmonies may affect the human soul, but he does not reject any of those harmonies. Henotes that people respond to some modes with grief and anxiety, to others with mellownessof mind, and to others with a special degree of moderation and firmness. The Dorian modeis,according to Aristotle, the only mode that has this effect of moderation and firmness(Politics,1340b). Aristotle identifies similar effects of the rhythms. Some of them have acharacter that produces stability, others one that produces movement (of the latter somemovements of a more degenerate sort), while others have characters fit for free men. Aristotlebelieves that education should take advantage of these powers of music in order to guidethe youth appropriately. According to him, because music is naturally among the thingsthat give delight, instruction in music is particularly well-fitted to young peoples nature,who, because of their youth, do not willingly put up with anything unpleasant (Barker,1984).Raising the question whether or not the young ought to learn music by singing and playinginstruments themselves, Aristotle argues that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for thosewho have not taken part in musical activities to become adequate judges of them. One ofthe goals of music instruction isto make young people able to judge the quality of anymusic they listen to, and to feel pleasure in the sound of good music and distaste in thesound of bad. Additionally, Aristotle believes that by learning how to play music childrenhave some way of occupying themselves.Aristotle, like Plato, is not an advocate of technical excellence as a goal of music instruction.As he notes in Politics, students should not &dquo;learneither what contributes to contestsinvolving expertise in the art or those works that are difficult and extraordinary, ... butlearn such things up to the point where they are capable of enjoying noble tunes andrhythms&dquo;(1341al0-14). Aristotle argues that instruments that are difficult to learn areinappropriate for music instruction and agrees with Plato in that reed-pipe instruments,like the aulos, should not be taught because of their frenzied character and because theyprevent speaking or singing while playing. Aristotle is not, however, opposed to pureinstrumental music, unlike Plato who finds no value in it.Aristotles theory of education isbuilt more in the light of the contemporary practices ofhis time than in the light of Platos ideal city. He views music more widely than Plato interms of the functions it serves. Although the purpose of music is for him, as it is for Plato,the development of virtue, he does not reject other more &dquo;utilitarian&dquo;functions. He islesssystematic and complete than Plato in the educational system that he proposes and doesnot offer a lot of details on itsstructure and function. Barker (1959) says that &dquo;he givesscattered hints, rather than an ordered whole; and the system of philosophy into whichthey fit is but briefly mentioned&dquo; (p. 443). at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 11 DISCUSSIONDuring the 20th century, the importance of music has been a central issue in the advocacyfor music and the artsin public education. Placing the justification of school musicinstruction in a historical perspective, one recognizes that, across time, several writers,philosophers, aestheticians, musicians, and music educators have referred to the ideas ofclassicalGreece. The writings of Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotleand others have strongly influenced thought in Western civilization. As Rogers ( 1992 ) notes,&dquo;in any discussion of Western thought, it is difficult to ignore the contributions of the ancientGreeks&dquo; (p. 25). According to Alperson (1994), &dquo;platonicsuggestions were pursued withvigor by generations of philosophers, astronomers, musicians and mathematicians,&dquo; and haveoften been used to support several arguments on the significance of aesthetics education(Robinson, 1994; Reimer, 1992; Wolterstorff, 1994). Sparshott (1994) says that &dquo;ourmusicand our ways of thinking about itare (often quite self-consciously) variants of practicesand positions that began to be worked out in the Sixth Century BC&dquo; (p.37). The notionsof Plato and Aristotle about music and education were passed on to generations of thinkersthat followed, and one may stillevidence their direct or indirect influence in the writingsof contemporary philosophers, aestheticians, and music educators.The &dquo;ethos&dquo; theory, central in Platos and Aristotles philosophical thought about music,according to which particular musical modes are thought to evoke characteristic movementsof the soul, and thereby to affect both the emotions and characters of individuals and thewell-being of society, has had significant impact on philosophical arguments on theconnection of music with emotion. Alperson (1994) notes that &dquo;theethos theory resurfacesin such diverse guises as the Boethian notion of musica humana, the Baroque Doctrine ofthe Affections, and Adornos assessment of modern music in which the choice of musicaltechniques by Schoenberg and Stravinsky is seen to reflect a fundamental difference betweenprogressive and reactionary forces in society&dquo;(p. 201). According to Reimer ( 1992), &dquo;fromthe writings of Plato to the latest issues of the various scholarly journals devoted to thearts, the relation of the arts to feeling remains an ongoing point of contention&dquo; (p.36).The notion of the power of music to influence or shape feelings and the human characteris found, although significantly adapted, in Woodbridges arguments, which became theprevailing rationale for music instruction in the United States during the19th century.Jorgensen (1994) notes that Woodbridge, considering music to be a gift from the Creatorto humans, argued that &dquo;everyfeeling expresses itself by a tone, and every tone awakensagain the feeling from which it sprung&dquo;(p.17). Thus, &dquo;appropriately chosen music caninspire religious devotion, elevate and invigorate the individual morally and physically&dquo;(p.17). The platonic ideas on the effect of music on moral and spiritual development arealso found in Martin Luthers writings, particularly his preface to Georg Rhaus Symphonic~eIncundae (Jorgensen, 1994).One of the basic questions that arises when discussing the role of music in education isthat of the scope of music instruction in the public school system. Plato believed that everyperson should be taught music, meaning the unity of melody, speech, and dance, but thatthe aim of such training would not be musical expertise but the cultivation of the soul at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 12according to the values and ideals of the community. That the cultures values shoulddetermine its education is, also according to Reimer (1989), entirely proper, and &dquo;totheextent education is successful in both inculcating and refining a cultures values, educationmay be considered successful&dquo; (p.148).Aristotle, like Plato, was not an advocate of technical excellence as a goal of music instruction,and he differentiated between professionals and amateurs in music. Sparshott (1994) explainsAristotles distinction between professional and amateur music by noting the following:The former isa virtuoso music for the amusement of an audience and has no place ingeneral education. But there is a music that everyone should learn, the sort one playsor sings to oneself as part of ones moral life, in meditation and consolation. (p. 78)The question stillremains. As Jorgensen (1996) notes, &dquo;dowe go as far as... to positthat the training of artists should be the objective of general education in a democracy, ordo we opt for the less radical posture that all students should receive training in the arts aspart of their general education?&dquo; (p. 46). Reimer ( 1992) argues that instruction in musicand the arts in general, should exist in the form of general and special programs. Generalmusic programs are comprehensive and inclusive programs required of all students, whilespecial programs are electives, essentially selective and intensive, designed for particularlyinterested individuals or groups.Aristotle argued that students should not &dquo;learneither what contributes to contests involvingexpertise in the art or those works that are difficult and extraordinary, ... but learn suchthings up to the point where they are capable of enjoying noble tunes and rhythms&dquo; (Politics,1341a10-14). Such a notion is often reflected in arguments for the improvement of publicschool music education. Reimer (1989) claims that &dquo;the major error in general musicprograms and the major reason for their ineffectuality is their overemphasis on the technical-mechanical aspects of performing&dquo; (p.169). According to him, &dquo;somuch time is spent byso many teachers on the mechanical dimensions of performing, including all the intricaciesof notation, that music experience-the involvement of both mind and feelings withexpressive sound events-is often not enhanced by performing but is instead diminished&dquo;(p. 169).Plato had clearly stated the importance of early childhood music education. He noted thateverything done for infants makes a lasting impression upon them. Advocates of earlychildhood music education today emphasize the importance of early musical stimulationin the form of singing to the baby and moving with it (Brand, 1985; Fox, 1991; Heyge &Sillick,1998; Stamou, 1999; Stamou, 2001; Valerio et al.,1998). Brain researchers havefound that the most important time for learning in childrens life isfrom the day they areborn (if not before) until they are three years old (Begley, 1996). Gordon (1990) considershome to be the most important school that young children will ever know, and their parentsthe most important teachers that they will ever have. According to him &dquo;parents who simplysing with relatively good intonation and move their bodies with flexible and free flowingmovement, even though they may not play a music instrument, meet the basic requirementsfor guiding and instructing their children in developing music skills&dquo; (p. 2). at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 13Both Plato and Aristotle argued for the importance of vocal and movement instructionin music education. The importance of instruction in singing and moving also holds truetoday. Many researchers and music educators find that unless a child can sing or move toa song, he or she will not be able to play that song with correct intonation and rhythm(Bertaux, 1989; Gordon, 1990; Jordan, 1989; Stamou, 1998/1999; Stamou, 1999).Experiencing music primarily through singing and moving is also a characteristic of musicteaching approaches (e.g.,Orff-Schulwerk, the Dalcroze approach, etc.) that emphasizeexperiential understanding of music as a prerequisite for developing performance skills andmusic literacy.Plato and Aristotle considered that one of the main goals of music instruction isto makeyoung people able to judge the quality of any music they listen to, so as to feel pleasure inthe sound of good music and distaste in the sound of the bad. According to them, it is,however, very difficult if not impossible for someone who has not taken part in musicalactivitiesto become a perceptive listener and adequate judge of music. A number ofphilosophers, aestheticians, and, of course, music educators share this notion. Research hasshown that music training isa factor influencing musical taste (LeBlanc, 1980, 1982;LeBlanc, Jin, Stamou, & McCrary, 1999). Reimer ( 1989), while stating that &dquo;the primaryobjective of general music should be to improve every students capacity for musicallistening&dquo;(p.168), argues that &dquo;ones ability to think art istied directly to ones abilityto control the material within which one is thinking&dquo;(Reimer, 1992, p. 41) The positionthat music education requires a philosophical formulation rooted in music praxis is reflectedin the notions of praxialists, like Sparshott ( 1994), Alperson ( 1994), and Elliott ( 1995 ),who argued that to gain insight into the content of music and self-knowledge, music making- what Elliott (1995) calls musicing - is essential. Elliott (1993), following up on Gardner( 1991 ) and Kivy ( 1991 ), notes that - &dquo;tounderstand and appreciate an expert performanceof some kind, a spectator (or audience member) requires the same kinds of knowing as theperformer, which includes a reasonable level of procedural competency in performances ofthat kind&dquo; (p. 69). Based on the above, Elliott (1993) argues that &dquo;educating competent,proficient and expert music listenersfor the future depends on educating competent,proficient and artistic music makers in the present&dquo;(p. 81).Jorgensen (1996), like Plato, believes in the power and the responsibility of education toseek to realize such ideals as freedom, justice, civility, and a more virtuous and human society,ideals which &dquo;put a high premium on the dignity and value of human life&dquo; (p. 37). Accordingto Jorgensen, these ideals &dquo;areworth pursuing, even if they are only ever incompletely orimperfectly realized&dquo; (p. 37). Jorgensen refers to Schiller, who shares this belief in the linkbetween ethical and aesthetic. As she says, Schiller envisioned a society &dquo;inwhich membersplay and work, imagine and reason, corporately express and individually experience life, andthrough participating in artistic enterprises begin to hope for and struggle toward a bettersociety&dquo;(p. 39).While tracking the history of the justification of school music instruction, Jorgensen (1994)notes that &dquo;itseems that we have again reached a point in music education history wheremusic education occupies a fragile place in the public schools&dquo;, but &dquo;maybe, to some degree, at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 14this has always been so&dquo; (p. 26). According to Jorgensen, the justification of music on thebasis of aesthetic education has partly failed to clearly communicate to policymakers theimportance of music instruction in public education. Therefore, &dquo;ifmusic isto assume acentral place in the public schools from elementary to advanced levels of instruction, apolitical philosophy of music education must be forged -one that speaks to ideas of freedom,democracy, community, and the importance of social values of music&dquo; (p.28). This doesnot, of course, mean that the profession will cease to articulate its arguments on the aestheticand artistic qualities of musical study. It will just fashion its arguments in a way that is moreunderstandable and attractive to education policymakers and the public, who, as Jorgensennotes, are &dquo;sometimes ignorant of, or insensitive to, the arts&dquo; (p. 26). Under this need, itseems that the study of Platos and Aristotles thoughts on the role of music may offer tomusicians, educators, and philosophers the impetus for the formation of new ideas andarguments to support the justification of music in the public educational system on politicaland social grounds as well as others.REFERENCESAlperson, P. (1994). Music as philosophy. In P. Anderson (Ed.), What is music: An introduction tothe philosophy of music (pp. 193-210). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Anderson, W. D. (1966). Ethos and education in Greek music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress.Aristotle. The politics. Translated and with an introduction, notes and glossary by Carnes Lord. (1984).Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Barker, E. (1959). The political thought of Plato and Aristotle. New York: Dover Publications.Barker, A. (1984). Greek musical writings, volume I:The musician and his art. Cambridge, GreatBritain: Cambridge University Press.Begley, S. (1996, February 19). Your childs brain: How kids are wired for music, math and emotions.Newsweek, 327 (8), 54-62.Bertaux, B. (1989). Teaching children of all ages to use the singing voice, and how to work without-of-tune singers. In D. L. Walters, &C. C. Taggart (Eds.), Readings in music learning theory(pp. 92-105). Chicago, IL: G.I.A. Publications.Brand, M. (1985, March). Lullabies that awaken musicality in infants. Music Educators Journal, 71 (7),28-31.Elliott, D. J. (1993). Musicing, listening, and musical understanding. Contributions to Music Education,20, 64-83.Elliott, D. J. (1995). Music matters: A new philosophy of music education. NY: Oxford University Press.Fox, D. B. (1991). Music, development, and the young child.Music Educators Journal, 77(5), 42-46.Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind. New York: Basic Books.Gordon, E. (1990). A Music Learning Theory for newborn and young children. Chicago, IL: G.I.A.Publications.Henderson, M. I. (1957). Ancient Greek music. In the New Oxford history of music, I.London.Heyge, L. & Sillick, A. (1998). Music: A natural way to play with babies. Early Childhood Connections,4(4), 8-13. at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 15Jordan, J.(1989). Laban Movement Theory and how it can be used with Music Learning Theory.In D. L. Walters, &C. C. Taggart, (Eds.), Readings in Music Learning Theory (pp.316-333).Chicago, IL: G.I.A. Publications.Jorgensen, E.R. (1994). Justifying music instruction in American public schools: An historicalperspective. Council for Research in Music Education, 120, 17-31.Jorgensen, E. R (1996). The artist and the pedagogy of hope. International Journal for MusicEducation, 27, 36-50.Kivy, P. (1991). Music and the liberal education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 25 (3), 79-93.LeBlanc, A. (1980). Outline of a proposed model of sources of variation in musical taste.Bulletin ofthe Council for Research in Music Education, 61, 29-34.LeBlanc, A. (1982). An interactive theory of music preference. Journal of Music Therapy, 19, 28-45.LeBlanc, A., Jin Y. C., Stamou, L., & McCrary, J.(1999). Effect of age, country, and gender onmusic listening preferences. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 141, 72-76.Lippman, E. A. (1963). The sources and development of the ethical view of music in ancient Greece.The Musical Quarterly, XLIX (2), 188-209.Lodge, R. G. (1947). Platos theory of education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Monro, D. B. (1894). The modes in ancient Greek music. NY: Oxford University Press.Plato. Republic. Translated into English with notes and introduction by Bernard Bosanquet. (1900).Cambridge: University Press.Plato. Laws. Translated, with notes and an interpretive essay by Thomas L. Pangle.(1980). NewYork: Basic Books.Reimer, B. (1989). A philosophy of music education (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Reimer, B. (1992). What knowledge is of most worth in the arts? In B. Reimer &R.A. Smith (Eds.),The Arts, education, and aesthetic knowing (pp. 20-50). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Robinson, J. (1994). Music as a representational art. In P. Anderson (Ed.), What is music: An introductionto the philosophy of music (pp.165-192). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Rogers, G. L. (1992). Why teach music? A historical overview of aesthetics. Update, 10 (2), 25-29.Sparshott, F. (1994). Aesthetics of music: Limits and grounds. In P. Anderson (Ed.), What is music:An introduction to the philosophy of music (pp. 33-98). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania StateUniversity Press.Stamou, L. (1999). The effect of Suzuki instruction and early childhood music experiences ondevelopmental music aptitude and performance achievement of beginning Suzuki string students(Doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1998). Dissertation Abstracts International, 59/10, 3769A.Stamou, L. (1999, April). Early childhood musical development: How research helps us create the optimalmusic environment for infants and young children. Paper presented at the Research inMusicEducation International Conference, University of Exeter, Devon, England.Stamou, L. (2001, Fall). Brain and musical development before and after birth. Cadenza, 46 (1), p.47-48.Valerio, W., Reynolds, A., Bolton, B., Taggart, C., and Gordon, E. (1998). Music play: The earlychildhood music curriculum. Chicago, IL: G.I.A. Publications.Winnington-Ingram, R P. (1954). Greek Music, ancient. In Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians,3. London: McMillan.Wolterstorff, N. (1994). The work of making a work of music. In P. Anderson (Ed.), What is music:An introduction tothe philosophy of music (pp.101-129). University Park, PA: The PennsylvaniaState University Press. at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from 16ABSTRACTSPlaton et Aristote sur la musique et la pedagogie musicale: lerons de la Grece antiqueLe but de cet article est de discuter la vue ath6nienne sur la musique et la pedagogie musicaletels que presentees dans lestravaux antiques grecs des grands philosophes Platon et Aristoteet, pour sugg6rer des moyens par lesquels les points quils soul6vent sont encore pertinent ~16ducation musicale daujourdhui. Leurs vues philosophiques et pratiques sur la p6dagogiemusicale sont une excellente ressource pour plaidoyer lacause.Elles peuvent 6galementpromouvoir la r6flection et encourager des solutions aux problemes qui demeurent toujoursnon r6solus.Pendant 1etude de leurs travaux, lelecteur realiseavec 6tonnement que cesphilosophes avaient 6nonc6, il y a d6j~ 2,500 ans, ce que lacommunaut6 p6dagogique arecemment realiseau sujet de lavaleur de 16ducation musicale, du developpement musicalchez 1enfant, et des strategies dinstruction au niveau de la musique.Plat6n y Arist6teles en la musica y en la educaci6n musical: Ensenanzas de la antiguaGreciaEl prop6sito de este trabajo es discutir los puntos de vista atenienses sobre lamusica y laeducaci6n musical talcomo son presentados en los trabajos de los antiguos filosofos griegosPlat6n y Arist6teles, y sugerir modos en que los temas por ellos planteados sean todaviarelevantes para la educaci6n musical actual. Sus puntos de vista filos6ficos y pricticos sobre laeducaci6n musical, ademas de ser una excelente y muy actualizada fuente de promoci6n, puedentambi6n propiciar pensamientos y promover soluciones a problemas que aun permanecen sinresolver. Durante el estudio de sus trabajos, ellector sorprendentemente se da cuenta de queestos fil6sofos han manifestado, 2500 anos atris, lo que lacomunidad educativo-musicalrecientemente ha comprendido en cuanto al valor de la educaci6n musical, al desarrollo musicalde los ninos, y a las estrategias de instrucci6n en musica.Platon und Aristoteles iiber Musik und Musikerziehung. Lektionen aus dem altenGriechenlandZiel des Artikels ist es, antike Ansichten iber Musik und Musikerziehung zu diskutieren, wiesie in den Schriften der griechischen Philosophen Platon and Aristoteles iiberliefert sind, undBereiche aufzuzeigen, die auch heute noch fiir die Musikerziehung von Belang sind.Derenphilosophische und praktische Sicht der Musikerziehung kann unabhdngig von der Frage nachder Aktualitdt ihrer Argumentation Gedanken anregen und Lbsungen fiir Probleme anbieten,die unerledigt geblieben sind. Der Leser wird dabei uberrascht feststellen, daB diese Philosophenschon vor 2.500 Jahren erkannt haben, was Musikpddagogen eben erst wieder hinsichtlich desWerts der Musikerziehung, der kindlichen Entwicklung und der Vermittlungsstrategienfestzustellen beginnen. at UNIV OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY on July 23, 2013 ijm.sagepub.com Downloaded from