TY - JOUR

T1 - Aesthetic Play

T2 - the Meaning of Music Technologies for Children's Development

AU - Bang, Jytte Susanne

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - The present article explores the role of music-related artefacts and technologiesin children’s lives. More specifically, it analyzes how four 10- to 11-year old girlsuse CDs and DVD games in their music-play activities and which developmentalthemes and potentials may accrue from such activities. Those artefacts are recentexamples of the history of mass-production, mass-distribution, and mass-consumptionof music. Since children do get into touch with the mass-phenomenonof popular music and artists, concerns may be articulated that this can have problematiceffects on children’s lives. By help of, among others, Marx Wartofsky’sartefact theory, the article tries to get beyond “black-or-white” prejudices concerningtechnologies and their limited insight; this is done by suggesting to focuson the children’s own perspectives and how music-play activities may be meaningfulin relation to the children’s complex life-worlds. Further, this leads to ananalysis of music-play activities as play with an art-form (music), which includesaesthetic dimensions and gives the music-play activities its character of beingaesthetic play. Following Lev Vygotsky’s insight that art is a way of building life,it is argued that music-play similarly can be viewed as a way for the children tobuild their lives.

AB - The present article explores the role of music-related artefacts and technologiesin children’s lives. More specifically, it analyzes how four 10- to 11-year old girlsuse CDs and DVD games in their music-play activities and which developmentalthemes and potentials may accrue from such activities. Those artefacts are recentexamples of the history of mass-production, mass-distribution, and mass-consumptionof music. Since children do get into touch with the mass-phenomenonof popular music and artists, concerns may be articulated that this can have problematiceffects on children’s lives. By help of, among others, Marx Wartofsky’sartefact theory, the article tries to get beyond “black-or-white” prejudices concerningtechnologies and their limited insight; this is done by suggesting to focuson the children’s own perspectives and how music-play activities may be meaningfulin relation to the children’s complex life-worlds. Further, this leads to ananalysis of music-play activities as play with an art-form (music), which includesaesthetic dimensions and gives the music-play activities its character of beingaesthetic play. Following Lev Vygotsky’s insight that art is a way of building life,it is argued that music-play similarly can be viewed as a way for the children tobuild their lives.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 20

JO - Journal fuer Psychologie

JF - Journal fuer Psychologie

SN - 0942-2285

IS - 1

M1 - 114

ER -