Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills

Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills, by Andreas C. Lehmann, John A. Sloboda and Robert H. Woody. Oxford University Press (www.ouf.com/us; [phone]), 2007. 268 pp. 29.95.

Psychology for Musicians is a reference guide written by a three-member interdisciplinary team (psychology, music education, and musicology professors). The book was conceived as a classroom textbook, organized into 12 chapters with an academic semester in mind. The authors' main goals, as outlined in the first chapter, are threefold: to discuss the findings of scientific research in music psychology and music education and to make observations if/when those findings contradict a practitioner's advice; to understand the mechanisms involved in music listening and music making; and, although focusing on the...