Embodiment in music education

Abstract

In this article, we give an overview of theoretical and empirical research that exemplifies how and why the body of the student and teacher plays a pivotal role in music learning and teaching processes. We will discuss the concepts of entrainment, alignment, and prediction, that have been developed within the theory of embodied music cognition, and their relation to music learning. Furthermore, we will discuss how physical modelling, gestures and touch are important embodied teaching strategies. The article concludes with some suggestion as to how these concepts and strategies can be put into the music educational practice.