ABSTRACT

The value and the importance of the purely rational ability or academic ability measured by the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test has been emphasized during the 20th century. However, it is clear that there is more to success in life than what we have traditionally meant by intelligence. Recently, the term emotional intelligence has been used in the field of education as well as in psychology. John Mayer and Peter Salovey proposed a theoretical framework for emotional intelligence in 1990. According to them, emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional meanings, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote both better emotion and thought. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concept and the theory of emotional intelligence and to show the practical role of aesthetic music education. The primary purpose of aesthetic music education is to develop the musical mind, possessed by every human being, to its highest possible level. The development of the musical mind/emotion is one of the best ways to enhance emotional intelligence, academic intelligence and moral intelligence. Our lives can be improved by the musical mind/emotion which enhances the abilities or skills required in social situation. Scientific research findings strongly support the place of music in school. In this study, the importance of aesthetic music education was discussed and its justification as a core subject in the 21th century was insisted.