Music is an important part of every culture, which is why it can be perceived as a cultural phenomenon. The desire for sound communication, creativity and sound environment is expressed through music. Planning music lessons which comprise of performing, listening and creating can be very complex. By implementing comprehensive planning, which is of vital importance, teachers would like to encourage learning response in cognitive, emotional, motivational and physical development. The aim of the master’s thesis is to identify how music activities can help teachers to raise the level of students’ concentration and self-control, and to improve the attitude of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties towards teachers and their classmates. The research was performed using the qualitative research method, i.e. the case study which involved working individually with a student who suffers from emotional and behavioural disorders. I held private music lessons with a fourth-grade student attending rural elementary school each week for 6 months. During the research, I observed his behaviour and response related to the emotional and behavioural area, following the standard observational protocol (during both the individual approach and regular lessons in classroom). Music activities of performing, listening and creating were chosen depending on the students’ current mood and their interests. The activities also included some outdoor learning and participation at various music events as well as some other out-of-school activities. I planned and performed music activities with the aim of providing a relaxed learning environment that promoted, through the activities of performing, listening and creating, an active and creative learning response in the area of cognitive, emotional, motivational and physical development.
I also took into account the differentiation and individualisation, and adapted the classes to the emotional and behavioural needs of specific student. During the learning process, I constantly tried to encourage self-confidence in students.
The findings showed how music activities can improve accompanying areas of emotional and behavioural development, including the attitude of the student towards music activities, the level of student’s self-control and concentration in the classroom, and the attitude towards themselves, classmates, and the teacher. During the 6-month music lessons, the student’s attitude towards music activities, classmates, teachers and himself has improved significantly. His level of concentration and self-control has increased, resulting in an improved social integration.
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