The path to establishing a specialized music education with solfeggio teaching, as a necessary subject for acquiring primary, and then secondary and higher musical education, was a difficult one due ...to the historical turmoil on the territory of Serbia and its' overall significant lag behind the rest of Europe in many aspects of national, cultural and educational development. Bearing in mind the lack of musically educated staff and the absence of a national composition practice, which would pave the way and open the door to the institutionalization of music education, the question of the origin of the national solfeggio school and its development arises. The aim of the paper is to observe the critical moments in the development of solfeggio teaching in the Republic of Serbia, including the actions of personalities from the field of music pedagogy spaning from the nineteenth century till present day, with particular reference to the most prevalent methodological approach.
In this paper, we used the method of theoretical analysis of previous research on musical abilities as an essential condition for practicing music. Due to its significant role in education, different ...methodical and didactic solutions are ap- plied in teaching practice that would encourage the development of musical abilities, knowledge, and skills in the most effective way. Improvisation plays an essential role in this process and, when applied in class, positively affects creative thinking and musical development. In the paper, the essential elements of musical abilities are presented, and the activities that can contribute to their development are listed, along with the views of relevant authors on creativity as an aspect of musical gifted- ness. The aim of the work is to show the place and role of improvisation in general education and music schools as an activity that introduces children to the world of culture and art but also significantly impacts the development of musical abilities, skills, and knowledge.
Musical abilities are among the primary conditions for success in the field of music. It has been proven that musical abilities already begin to develop in the prenatal period and that different ...types of abilities have a specific developmental path. Therefore, it is necessary to remember the critical periods for learning music, i.e., time frames within which musical experiences have particular importance. In addition to the informal musical experiences gained in the preschool period, formal music education is undoubtedly one of the best ways to develop musical abilities. The paper discusses the specifics of the music education system in Serbia, more precisely, the age of students that can enroll in programs for various instruments or solo singing. The data presented in the paper points to the conclusion that students that enroll in primary music education at the age of 7 or 8 (which coincides with the most crucial period for learning music) will have better prospects for the timely development of musical abilities when compared to children who begin musical training later. However, it should be held in mind that musical abilities develop even before the start of formal musical training, so efforts should be made to provide children with diverse and valuable musical experiences in the preschool period.
