ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of music, one of the tools of mind, based on Vygotsky`s higher mental theory. Music, a socialized product, is transferred into a personal product and becomes occupied by individuals. Through the process, qualitative transitions of consciousness were reviewed. The study also reviewed how to apply higher mental theory to music education through scrutinizing the transition process of the practical consciousness of music such as the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky considered the tools of mind that resulted from historical and social activities as the results of higher mental activities of human beings. Through this, he paid attention to the development of individuals who interacted with each other. Additionally, he proposed a dialectical unification with the tools of mind called art externally such as society and internally such as individuals by beginning art from the human mind itself and from a social context also. He considered individual development as the process of qualitative transition and he embodied it as the zone of proximal development. His theories have significant meaning in music education. It showed that music is an important mediation in the higher mental development of human beings, and that the development of musical capabilities is based on the synchronization of society and individuals, and that music is based on the historical context of the people characteristics. Additionally, it showed that the zone of proximal development in music classes could be explained as a qualitative transition of inner individuals in musical thought development. It suggested that the most important factor in the internal course of development of the learner, who is the subject of the development, would be the interaction between a teacher and a student, and between peers.