Learning: On the Multiple Facets of a Colloquial Concept

Abstract

 Learning is a term that seems clear and precise at first glance. It happens naturally and incidentally in many daily situations, but can also be organized intentionally and formally. Therefore, one needs to consider the colloquial term as used in many different contexts and, consequently, in as many different meanings. The article reflects on learning, especially music learning, from different perspectives of education, psychology, neurobiology, and cognitive sciences. Thus, learning is seen as an interplay between mind and body with several associations with cognitive traits like intelligence and memory, purposeless play and functional training (deliberate practice), body action and embodiment (movement). These are the main dimensions of an interactive network that constitutes a wider concept of learning which is generally rooted in a neurobiological understanding of a cognitive process by which mental representations are developed, extended and differentiated.