Why Teach Music at School?

Abstract

In this study I ask how a place for music in the curriculum of general education can be claimed. After having dismissed non‐musical types of argument I concentrate on three types of argument that rest on a specific view of the nature of music. According to the first type of argument, music education is vital to the development of the whole person. According to the second type of argument musical experience involves a special kind of knowledge. The third type of argument states that the value of music is to be found in the richness of musical experience itself. I conclude that although none of these three positions succeeds in justifying music education conclusively, the third one can provide a ground for a consensus that music should be included in the school curriculum.