Music psychology has probably never been in a healthier state than as at present: the explosion of research over the last decade or so has meant that specialised tributaries of the main stream are beginning to emerge. My own empirical research with children made me realise that one of the most prominent tributaries might be called the developmental psychology of music, and this book represents my attempt to delineate it. I started serious work on the project whilst on study leave at the Center for Music Research at Florida State University, in autumn 1983; I am very grateful to the British Academy for providing the financial support for this visit, and to all those in Tallahassee, especially Vincent Kantorski, Clifford Madsen, Wendy Sims, and Jack Taylor, who made it so enjoyable.

Working in a large school of music in the U.S.A. was a new experience for me, and it put a new perspective on my view of the relationship between music psychology and music education. It became increasingly obvious that there was a clear-cut job to be done; whereas pedagogical practice in the sciences has a firm foundation in developmental psychology, it seemed to me that the equivalent foundations for music education were nowhere explicitly set out.