Frågan om musik och psyke utifrån ett kulturhistoriskt perspektiv

The purpose with this article is to illustrate, how the connection between music and psyche can be understood and problematized from a culture historical point of view. Lev Semonëvic Vygotskijs reasoning about human’s consciousness relative to the dialectic between intellect and intelligence is the starting point for the discussion. The central theme of the text is about the importance of music as form of communication relate to cognitive development. Analyzes of music relative to Vygotskijs theses about meaning of languages is based on a definition of music as a synthesis of rythm and meaning. This definition is, as well as the definition of music ability, deduced from Vygotskijs thoughts about the dialectic between esthetic and discursive forms of thinking. Music ability should be understood as a natural form of thinking, which through mediating is being transformed to higher psychical processes and functions. Musicality, however, is not an isolated phenomenon, but integrated in those complex processes and functions which in its whole constitute the human psyche. It is therefore important, considering Vygotskijs thesis that learning comes before development, that the question about music and psyche not reduces to music pedagogy ore music physiology but also get attention in pedagogic psychological discourses.