Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music by John A.
Sloboda
Review by: James W. Sherbon and Kacper Miklaszewski
Source: Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education , Fall, 1987, No. 94 (Fall,
1987), pp. 77-82
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Council for Research in
Music Education

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John A. Sloboda. The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology
of Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Review I

Sloboda states in the preface that he became aware of a gap in the

literature on the cognitive psychology of music during the preparation for
the writing of this book.

On one side of this gap could be placed the vast majority of the psychological
research on music. On the other side was the experience and insight of the
musician, as expressed both through his practices and through the rigorous
disciplines of musicology, music theory, and analysis. It seemed . . . that the
psychology of music related rather little to what musicians actually did, and so
was failing to tackle questions of central musical importance (p. v).

Sloboda implies that music researchers have been studying perception of

single tonal stimuli with little attention to large-scale musical structure, per-
formance, and composition, which has resulted in a gap between
psychologists and musicians. Stating that "There has been little fruitful
dialogue between psychologists and practising or academic musicians"
(p. vi), Sloboda attempted to provide a work that has evolved "through the
eyes of a musician" as well as from the vision of a cognitive psychologist,
and hoped to derive solutions to some of the problems musicians encounter
(p. vi). It is obvious, as the title of the book indicates, that Sloboda dealt with
the factors of a cognitive nature while generally avoiding the more traditional
acoustical approach to psychology of music.

Sloboda divides the book into seven chapters in an attempt to help musi-
cians understand the mental bases of their skills (p. vi). "Cognitive psychology
is a fairly new branch of psychology. It is also a rapidly changing discipline,
and a generally acceptable definition of its aims and boundaries would be
hard to produce" (p. 8). Regardless of the previous statement, the author
has adequately stayed within the boundaries of his objective.

While citing other writings and sources on the psychology of music,

Sloboda mentions Farnsworth several times, the Journal of Music Therapy,
the "Journal of Research into [sic] Music Education, " Psychology of Music,
and the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (p. 9). It is difficult to
understand why there is no mention of the work of Radocy and Boyle and
no citations from the Council for Research in Music Education's Bulletin.

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78

Sloboda begins Chapter 1 in a rather lackluster manner with limited

documentation; the content apparently intended to serve as an introduction
and an overview providing the reader with brief hints of the subjects of
subsequent chapters. Perhaps the most substantial views in this chapter deal
with enculturation and knowledge acquired through everyday social experi-
ences as well as acquisition of specialized skills received through training.
He states:

Since a basic premise of this book is that we ¡earn the structures that we use
to represent music, an examination of the learning process itself is central to
our concerns. This process can be seen as having two phases. The first is
developmental enculturation. . . . The second phase is, then, the acquisition of
specialized skills through training (pp. 6-7).

In Chapter 2, the author launches into a discussion of "language and

music" relying heavily on the works of Chomsky and Schenker. At this point
one begins to wonder how the author will relate his writings to his objectives.
Only when the reader reaches the middle of this chapter, where Sloboda
begins to draw to a greater extent on the research literature, does the true
theme begin to emerge. Starting with a discussion of perception of frequency,
it becomes refreshingly clear that his work is connected strongly with
psychological aspects directly associated with music. From this point, the
narrative evolves around numerous musical examples, including excerpts
taken from the classical literature. It is evident that music is the focal point
around which cognitive human behaviors associated with musical stimuli
are analyzed. This emphasis on music provides a unique and welcome devi-
ation from the more traditional approaches to psychology of music evidenced
in the works of authors such as Lundin, Farnsworth, and Radocy and Boyle.
This observation does not imply that these latter works are less significant;
rather, Sloboda has perhaps filled a dimension not covered in other works.
After a thorough treatment of relationships between language and music,
which places a great deal of emphasis on music analysis (syntax, harmony
and tonality, rhythm and meter, melody, pattern and structure, and seman-
tics), the author concludes the chapter with a discussion of musical meaning.
The approach and analytical aspects of Chapter 2 make it one of the strongest
chapters in the book.

In Chapter 3, Sloboda focuses on music performance with a substantial

amount of space devoted to music reading. Also included in this chapter is
an informative section on rehearsal. Expert performance is defined as de-
manding a large number of subskills. Each of these is described and outlines
provided of the characteristics that appear to be essential to progression
beyond the amateur level. Subsequent chapters deal with: composition, and
improvisation, drawing heavily on works of the masters (Chapter 4); listening
to music, including informative sections dealing with hearing (excluding func-
tions of the hearing mechanism), attention and listening, memory, and musical

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 79

perception - the little attention given to the latter is disappointing (Chap-

ter 5); musical learning and development, with an obvious favoritism toward
enculturation, stages of development, and in conclusion, a brief overview
of the assessment of musical ability and of standardized tests, focusing on
the Wing and Seashore tests - the author admits that these tests "are some-
what dated" (Chapter 6); and the last chapter on the musical mind in the
context of culture and biology. The author begins this final chapter with his
explanation of psychology; it might have been placed more appropriately
at the beginning of the book.

The discipline of psychology occupies a curious and rather precarious position

in the world of science. It stands mid-way between the 'physical' sciences such
as biology and physiology, and the 'social' sciences such as sociology and
anthropology. Within its own boundaries it experiences the tension created by
the opposite pulls which the 'physical' and 'social' sciences exert. Thus, there
exists a sub-discipline of physiological psychology and one of social psychology.
Cognitive psychology occupies a middle position between these sub-disciplines
rather as psychology is between the biological and social sciences. . . . Accord-
ingly, this chapter (Chapter 7) explores a few of the social and biological con-
siderations relevant to musical thought and behavior (pp. 239-40).

Also included in the last chapter is a historical tour of music notation in

a cultural context, a discussion of scales and rhythms from an
ethnomusicological viewpoint, and a rather redundant review of the hemi-
spheric dominance literature. The book ends with a weak justification for
music as a human need.

In summary, Sloboda has provided a valuable work on cognition and the

psychology of music. The book's specific strength is that Sloboda discusses
cognition in relation to real music rather than laboratory-produced aural
stimuli. Sloboda clearly states his limitations which are perhaps too restric-
tive: "I have not ... set out to provide a 'recipe book' of psychological aids
to specific musical problems. Rather, I have tried to highlight and elucidate
some basic characteristics of musical skills and the cognitive mechanisms
which serve them" (p. vi). The book is too narrow in scope to be used in
ways other than as a supplement to a more comprehensive psychology of
music text. For example, the inclusion of a chapter devoted to a thorough
analysis of music learning and learning theories would provide a welcome
augmentation of the rather elementary but worthwhile discussion of encultu-
ration, development, and skill acquisition.

If the author had directed his attention to but ¡ust a few of the numerous
areas in which he has imposed limitations, e.g., "It is not my intention to give
an exhaustive account of developmental theories as they relate to cognitive
psychology" (p. 195), he would have provided a much desired comprehen-
siveness. However, in all fairness to the author, it should be recognized that
following most of his statements regarding limitations, he has provided

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80

sources whereby a reader may supplement the specific area of concern.

Regardless of the aforementioned shortcomings, numerous typographical
errors, and a few minor wording irregularities, Sloboda has made a useful
and unique contribution to an area of music study that has, until recent years,
been neglected somewhat by music researchers and authors.

James W. Sherbon
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina

Review II

After an examination of the literature, Sloboda concludes that a gap exists

between the vast majority of psychological research in music and the experi-
ence and insights of the practicing musician. The author asserts that the
psychology of music relates little to what musicians actually do and has
failed to tackle questions of musical importance. The purpose of this text is
to help "bridge this gap."

Perhaps all of us have shared a similar view, but Sloboda is among the
first to treat the psychology of music from a cognitive viewpoint. His Musical
Mind (a term used by Seashore) consists of seven chapters: 1) Music as a
Cognitive Skill, 2) Music, Language and Meaning, 3) The Performance of
Music, 4) Composition and Improvisation, 5) Listening to Music, 6) Musical
Learning and Development, and 7) The Musical Mind in Context: Culture
and Biology.

The first chapter is introductory and provides evidence that music can be
treated as a cognitive skill. This concept is demonstrated by a comparison
of our responses to music and to humor. In order to respond, one must first
understand and then react. There is both a cognitive and affective stage in
a musical response.

The focus of chapter two is on the relationship of music and language

according to the theories of Chomsky and Schenker. Insight into this relation-
ship is attained by examining the structure of language and music rather
than linguistic and musical behaviors. Sloboda identifies three components:
phonology, syntax, and semantics. Phonology concerns the way an infinite
variety of sounds are parcelled into a finite number of sound categories
which constitute the basic communicative units. Syntax is the way these units
are combined into sequences. Semantics is the way meaning is conveyed by
these sequences.

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 81

Chapters three, four, and five include three basic forms of musical activity:
performance, composition, and listening. There are three stages of involve-
ment in performance. First, there is the unpremeditated performance known
as sight reading. Second, there are the subsequent performances designed
to improve accuracy and fluency. This type of performance is commonly
referred to as rehearsal or practice. The final stage is the polished perfor-
mance which may include the memorization of a score.

In chapter four, Sloboda discusses the creative processes of composition

and improvisation. The author regrets that the vast majority of the literature
on musical composition is concerned with the finished product and not with
the process. The analyst is interested in explanations of a particular work
rather than with the genesis of a theme or passage. Sloboda proposes four
methods to gain insight into the psychological process. First is the examina-
tion of a composition from a historical point of view. This examination may
require investigation of sketches, notebooks, and manuscripts. Second is the
examination of what composers have to say about their own compositional
process. Third is the live observation of composers, and fourth is the obser-
vation of composers while improvising. Sloboda warns the reader that com-
position is the least studied and least understood of all musical processes,
and that there is really no substantial psychological literature to review.

In the introduction to the chapter on listening, Sloboda expresses his criti-

cism of musical perception research because most of it omits crucial musical
issues by examining only very brief segments of music. Such segments do
not present listeners with the range of patterns and relationships found in
even the simplest of songs, therefore, no valid inferences can be made.
Sloboda limits himself to summarizing existing research which he believes
is valid.

Chapter six deals with musical learning and development and is subdivided
into the concepts of enculturation and training. Enculturation is concerned
with experiences that are common to all members of a given culture, and
training deals with a specific experience not shared by others. Sloboda
concludes that small children are more susceptible to enculturation when
developing musically. This concept is illustrated by the findings of Moog,
Dowling, and Gardner. Musical training is related to enculturation in that
the acquisition of specific skills are dependent on interaction with the envi-
ronment. This section on training is organized around the Production System
Theory as applied to skill acquisition. The basic tenet of the theory is that it
is possible to construct machines that operate according to some typical
aspects of human thought. Most of this material is drawn from the author's
personal experience and related to this theory.

The final chapter discusses the role music plays in the world. The author
suggests that musical notation is the reason for the musical variety found

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82

among cultures. The section on biology points out some of the fascinating
studies on the function of the brain. Also included in this chapter is a discus-
sion on the origin and function of music.

No review is able to reproduce all the thoughts and concepts contained

in the text, nor is it intended to replace reading. Sloboda's book is, in my
opinion, rich in ideas and novel in that it combines research findings with
cognitive theory. The Musical Mind is the first book of its type and, therefore,
must rely in part on speculation instead of sound, empirical evidence. Despite
my enthusiasm for the book, I would not recommend it as a basic textbook
for students because it does not provide information on music psychology
covering the past and current trends. Nevertheless, the book is a brave
proposal in music psychology and ¡sa "must" book for those of us concerned
with this discipline. One cannot conclude a review for a research journal
without quoting Sloboda's opinion on music education research.

If one accepts the way of looking at learning that I have attempted to outline
. . . then it seems to me necessary to accept that the training (of oneself or
others) is more an art than a science. However much information scientific
research and theory can supply it will never allow a total knowledge of the
learner's cognitive system, because each learner is unique. No matter how
much scientific information is available, teachers and learners must still make
decisions on a largely intuitive basis. I confess to experiencing some relief that
this conclusion may be drawn on theoretical grounds, because if one had to
rely on research in music education it would be hard to find a consistent and
universally applicable set of findings (p. 231).

Kacper Miklaszewski
Institute for Research in Music Education
Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music,
Warsaw, Poland

Journal of Research in Music Education

CONTENTS: Summer 1987, Volume 35, Number 2
Forum
Ethnographic Research Methodology in Music Education • Patti J. Krueger
A Comparative Study of Color Association With Music at Various Age Levels • Robert
A. Cutietta and Kelly J. Haggerty
Vocal Music and the Classroon Teacher, 1885 to 1905 • Don D. Coffman
Ringing the Changes. General John Eaton and the 1886 Public School Music Survey
• Martin J. Bergee

Effects of Rote Versus Note Presentations on Rhythm Learning and Retention • Patricia
K. Shehan

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