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THE INFLUENCE OF MUSIC
ON THE SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT OF A PERSONALITY
N. V. Dolgaya
In the modern context, the spiritual development of a personality capable of continuous self-education and self-development, and of free and competent self-determination in internal and external space, is one of the key objectives of education. One of the ways to reach this goal is to expose a person to music as a specific art that helps develop their higher spiritual and practical power, and their ability for creative inner transformation according to the canons of truth, kindness and beauty. A lot of special studies have been devoted to the influence of music on the development of the spiritual world in a personality. At the same time, the range of possible areas of analysis of the spiritual education processes with the use of means offered by music art is far from having been exhausted and provides wide research opportunities, because among other arts, music has a particularly high «educational» potential.
During the entire course of human history, music has been used as a means of education and development of the highest spiritual qualities of a personality. One of the main principles established by Pythagoras in his school was using music (tunes and rhythms) for education aimed at healing human tempers and passions and restoring the harmony of emotional capabilities. Plato referred to music as «the training of the soul», considering it as an important means of education. His statement that good music elevates the soul, whereas bad music corrupts and spoils, has become paradigmatic. Therefore Plato called for using only music that meets high moral criteria able to inculcate austerity and simplicity of demeanor, and high moral qualities that influence the development of panhuman values. The teachings of ancient Greek philosophers laid the foundation for deep scientific conceptualization of the matter of the spiritual development of personalities with the use of music and the quest find answers in this connection continues to this day. A large body of research shows that by recreating the emotional experience of mankind, music reveals in each person an ability to experience complex feelings, gives them moral strength, fosters courage, faith in life and beauty, and enriches the soul and intellect. As V. Sukhomlinsky put it, "musical education is not about educating a musician but is, primarily, about educating a person”.
It is generally accepted as fact that the development of spiritually developed personalities undergoes several stages throughout people's lives. An interesting perspective on the issue, in our opinion, is offered by
E. Pomytkin who identifies five levels of human spirituality: (1) narrow-
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minded ego-centrism (typical of children who require attention, care and love from the surrounding world; the level of predominance of love for oneself); (2) family values (increased importance of taking care of loved ones; priority of values and needs of one's own family); (3) public, civil and national values (understanding that personal and family lives are closely connected with the life of society, the nation); (4) pan-human values (the ability to understand every person irrespective of their nationality); (5) spiritual consciousness, cosmic values or values of being (understanding that the universe is a single organism and all creatures living in it are integral to it); a person begins to treat all living creatures in the universe as they treat themselves [1, p.22-23].
Spiritual culture built on the values of music can reveal creative potential, transform the spiritual world of a person and raise them to the level of comprehending cosmic values. Under the beneficial influence of music, a person's make-up, morals and psychological patterns change and an understanding and sensation of the universal being emerge and develop. A. Losev believes that music is an art of becoming — its melodic movement reproduces movements of the soul. The soul tuned to the cosmos can catch the rhythms of universal harmony and contemplate the essence of earthly things, which is accepted by all ancient schools of thought [1]. The practice of artistic creativity shows that these ideas are not groundless — they emerged from the conceptualization of special spiritual experiences. The famous musician C. Scott is of the same opinion, stating that music is indeed a sister of prayer. Like poetry, it neither weakens nor wears our nerves down, but establishes a stronger connection with the soul that brings us back to basics, the light and beneficial inner impulses, leading us to Heaven...[3]. The last statement has a deep meaning because ego-centrism is a cause of the majority of difficulties that consume the human spirit.
The above enables us to conclude that spiritual education with the use of music helps reveal creative potential in a personality, raises a person to the level of the universal perception of reality and expands the horizons for learning the world's spiritual culture that reflects an infinite, multidimensional human aspiration for absolute harmony.
References
1. Лосев А. Ф. Музыка как предмет логики. М., 1927.
2. Помиткш Е. О. Духовний розвиток учыв у ^CTeMi шктьно'Т ocBim К.: 1ЗМН,
1996.
3. Скотт К. Музыка и ее тайное влияние в течение веков // URL: http://drasc.boom.ru/music.html
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