Avaliação da aptidão musical: Viagem em torno de questões históricas e epistemológicas rumo a uma reflexão sobre a actualidade

Abstract

The theme of the assessment of musical aptitude is deeply associated with the historical origins of Music Psychology. Starting from the idea that ‘a construct is a theory’, this article attempts to decode the episthemological undergrounds which have supported several debates since the beginning of the 20th century. Choosing the concept of validity as a key point in the discussion of what is musical aptitude and how one can assess it, the author reflects critically on the contributions of scholars such as Seashore, Wing, Gordon, Manturzewska and Karma, among others. She suggests the use of assessment measurements of musical aptitude as long as they are articulated with educational measurements which take individual differences into account. She criticizes the absence of rigour in school gradings and questions their need. She defends nevertheless the development of more rigorous measurement and assessment procedures duly accompanied by objective calculations and a qualitative reflection on their limits.