Cognition, emotion and musical expertise

This text, about the relationship between music and cognition, aims at launching new perspectives for an idea, which is quite old in psychological research, that musical activity has important consequences for emotional and cognitive human development. However, these are not always positive, once music learning processes, as traditionally developed, may also lead to frustration and illness, both physical as psychological. This text analyses these topics, focusing on expert learning of musical instruments of classical tradition as a form of continuous learning which involves the constant development and refining of metacognitive and self-regulatory abilities, as well as a capacity to overcome emotional obstacles derived from the type of investment necessary to achieve and maintain musical expertise.

expertise; musical psychology; cognitive development; anxiety; metacognition