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merly acquired, they form their own knowledge base. It is this that allows each
individual to develop into the unique being he or she is. The humanistic view of
human beings further stresses that both heredity and environment are of importance
for children's development to proceed, but it is the interplay within the
environment, which shapes the child socially, culturally, and biologically. Based
on this humanistic approach both the educator and the child need to be active in
relation to the knowledge that is to be taught. For the learning to take place the
child needs to be allowed to learn through their own practical actions. Child
should be met with openness, and tolerance and their creativity, initiative skills
and personal responsibility should be emphasised (Hammerlin & Larsen, 1999).
The praxial view of music
Praxial philosophy stresses that music is a situation of specific dependency and a
deliberate activity. Music makes it possible for people to express themselves
together with others, according to Elliot (1996). The basic idea of the praxial
perception of music is, according Numminen (2005) that not only classical
music affects a person's spiritual growth and development, but also lighter music
(music with less advanced treatment of counterpoint, instrumentation, and form
handling) can also do this. Musical experiences often contribute to deep reflection
and this occurs regardless of the kind of music. Numminen interprets the
praxial viewpoint to mean that all musical activities, including singing, can be
seen as an opportunity for all people. Furthermore, she puts forward the point
that everybody can have important and positive experiences by singing.
Knowledgeable and cognisant educators that start from the praxial perspective
can also offer children a rich stimulating environment. What is important is that
educators are aware of and have a notion of music and musicality, which assumes
that music is an opportunity for all. Everyone can be developed through
this subject and all types of music affect people's spiritual growth, she says. It is
also important that educators have an understanding of the fact that musicality
cannot be equated with singing ability.
The ontological foundation of the present study rests largely on the praxiala
perception of music. Similar to Numminen (2005) it is also noted here that it is
possible - in fact even likely, that excellence in music requires a certain innate
musical potential. However, if this is the case it absolutely does not presuppose a
separation into "musical" and "non-musical" individuals, as this often leads to
the latter group not being given the opportunity to perform music because they
are not admitted to the educational institutions for music as they fail the entrance
examination. Music culture and society as a whole would benefit if everyone
who is interested in music was given guidance and in this way have the opportunity
to realise themselves musically.
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