IDENTIFICATION AND PROMOTION OF MUSICAL TALENT

Research on musical giftedness in Poland has a long tradition. Looking back, these endeavours can be seen as a process of transformation and reorientation of the basic concepts, methods and strategies of research, and of attitudes towards the problem of the psychology of talent. This process resulted from successive discoveries of new aspects of musical giftedness and new factors influencing its development. In the light of experience until now, musical giftedness can be seen as a lifelong process of music related activity, with strong intrinsic motivation to improve both results and knowledge. Simultaneously, it is a stream, very sensitive to external and internal emotional pressures, a potential which cannot be realized without active and competent socioemotional support and tutoring – in all stages of the talented person's life. Research on this problem requires international cooperation among experienced researchers, counsellors, music teachers and parents of the musically gifted.