The aim of the course is to identify the cognitive, biological and mechanistic underpinnings for music cognition as key ingredients of musicality, to assess to what extent these are unique to humans, and by doing so providing insight in their potential biological origins. As such this course has the aspiration to lay a new, interdisciplinary and comparative foundation for the study of musicality (Honing, 2018).
In addition this course will discuss recent developments in the research field of music cognition. Topics include a) the origins and evolution of musicality, b) the cognition of rhythm and melody, c) musical competence, d) relation between music and nonmusical abilities, and e) the similarities and differences between music and language. The topics might change due to recent developments.
For detailed information, and how to register as a secondary subject, see UvA Studiegids 2019/20.
Honing, H. (ed.) (2018). The Origins of Musicality. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.
