Based on a phenomenological and hermeneutical approach, the subject of this master thesis is to explore how a newly emerged educational method in Denmark called Music Mind Games, functions in Music lessons within the Danish elementary school. Music Mind Games is a method for teaching musical theory and is developed by American pianist and music teacher Michiko Yurko, who has expanded the method throughout the world including Denmark.
The motivation behind the thesis is an interest in understanding, how a method like Music Mind Games can contribute to fulfilling the newly introduced changes and requirements in the Music lesson for both teachers and students. Furthermore, there is a general view in the Danish society that students should be educated as creative and innovative citizens through different subjects in school, in order to contribute to society. The question is, whether Music Mind Games can contribute to such demands within the Music lessons?
Drawing on knowledge about Music Mind Games in general, the constitution of the Danish elementary school and how children develop musical abilities, the thesis will examine the subject by using mixed methods such as participant observation in several elementary schools in Denmark, and semi-structured lifeworld interviews with several teachers and pupils in order to find out how they experience and use Music Mind Games in the Music lesson. We have used the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a tool for extracting the essence of the interviews, and combined the results of the IPA and relevant communicative, psychological and general learning theories, in order to analyse the participant observations.
The results of these analyses and the following discussion of these show, that Music Mind Games can be a helpful tool in the Danish elementary school’s Music lesson, in order to educate students towards a holistic understanding of music. The Music Mind Games method provides certain creative actions through different qualities such as adaptable structure and appeal to children’s different styles of learning. Finally, the method shows a potential for scholarly integrity in the Music lesson, possibility for modifications adjusting it to personal developed didactics and opportunities for creating synergies between different institutions managing musical education.