The underlying study tries to investigate different cognitive mechanisms that influence the development of musical preference at the stage of encoding and decoding of everyday musical structures. The preferences of 18 dyslexic children und 63 adults with cerebral injuries have been tested using paired comparisons. The influence of the musical structure was accounted for by using three different scopes of tasks: 1) consonant vs. dissonant chords, 2) tonal vs. atonal melodies, 3) metric vs. nonmetric rhythms. Compared to the control group, dyslexic children and left and right lateral lesions with sensory aphasia showed significant deficits in the stable expression of preferences. Dissociations of the single scopes of tasks appeared 1) between the three tasks concerning the aesthetic judgement, which is due to the varying musical structures, 2) between the ability of aesthetic judgement and the perceptual discrimination, which was tested by three other tasks. The results give evidence to two separate levels of musical information processing.

Using biographical and experimental data, seven aspects of female composing have been discussed: 1. The composer is a woman; 2. according to expert raters, women's compositions score higher/lower than men's compositions; 3. developmental conditions for the ability to compose differ between women and men; 4. female composing is a matter of numbers and kind of musical instruments used in compositions; 5. female composing is related to a female creative process; 6. female composing is related to personality characteristics that differ from male composing; 7. female composers have biological conditions in the brain that differ from those of male composers. The biographical data of Dora Pejačević and of Alban Berg were used for comparison. The experimental data came from a comprehensive study on psychological, neuropsychological, and endocrinological aspects of musical capacities performed at the University of Tübingen.

Purpose of our investigation was the analysis of the effects of listening to music on learning activities, which are carried out simultaneously. The review of the literature on this topic showed an impressive deficit in regard to adequate empirical research. Therefore we developed an experimental design to work out empirical answers to some unsolved questions in this area. As the first independent variable we chose three different conditions of music-stimulation: 1. Learning during the presentation of music, chosen by the subjects. 2. Learning during the condition of a standard-music. 3. Learning during the condition of silence. As the second independent variable we select the experience, which the subjects already had with reference to the problem of listening to music during learning-activities. We therefore chose two groups, the first included subjects, who usually hear music during learning. The second group included subjects, who never hear music during learning. As dependent variables we chose three different tests, which should measure three different abilities: concentration, memory-capacity and text-analysis. In addition we also collected subjective evaluations of the subjects, which covered the areas of perceived efficacy, concentration and well-being and perceived effect of the different music conditions. The experiment was carried out by using a "within-subjectdesign". The participants were 24 female and 24 male students. The central results were, that with reference to the "objective" test-scores no significant differences were found, neither with regard to the different music-conditions nor with regard to the two experiencegroups. With reference to the "subjective" evaluation processes we found a number of hypothesis-confirming differences. Common to all these differences was, that the persons, who are experienced in learning while listening to music, felt best and perceived the greatest efficacy while listening to their own music. In contrast, the other group felt best and perceived greatest efficacy under the condition of silence. The results are finally discussed under theoretical and methodological perspectives.

In the sixties, studies by J. Kagan found among children two different types, one more reflective, the other more impulsive. The first tending to shun risks, but more efficient at solving certain problems, the latter more outgoing, seeking a quick way to success, but making a greater number of mistakes. The present study tried to find out whether similar results could be obtained when the tests were applied to adults. Again, a more reflective and a more impulsive type could be found, the reflective type giving a higher self-estimation as to their musical proficiency, which judgment does indeed correlate highly with their actual performance.

Considerations on the problem of consciousness and the therapeutic effects of music are made from a basic, theoretical point of view, aiming at those areas of consciousness in which music may be therapeutically effective; problems of musictherapeutic practice are of minor concern. Central is the distinction of music and language to point out specifics of the reception of musical structures. lt is shown that language alone is not sufficient to represent all areas of consciousness, therefore music can claim a role as therapeutic agent. However, this non-verbal way to consciousness is confounded with problems of conscious (verbal) reflection. This barrier prevents an easy admission to therapeutically relevant material.

The term »synesthesia« is generally as well as academically used to define a variety of phenomenons. Ten exemplary results chosen from approximately 100 years of empirical research in synesthesia are introduced and discussed. Using the definition of R. Cytowic (Synesthesia - A Union of the Senses, 19"8 9) the suggestion is made to differentiate between »synesthesia« in its original meaning and »intermodal analogies«. lt is possible to define eight discriminating characteristics explaining their basically different processes (absolute/relative attribution). Relations between synesthesia and absolute pitch ( or intermodal analogies and relative pitch) should be studied more intensively. Finally , synesthesia as opposed to intermodal analogies is judged to deserve no special interest for aesthetic reasons.The term »synesthesia« is generally as well as academically used to define a variety of phenomenons. Ten exemplary results chosen from approximately 100 years of empirical research in synesthesia are introduced and discussed. Using the definition of R. Cytowic (Synesthesia - A Union of the Senses, 19"8 9) the suggestion is made to differentiate between »synesthesia« in its original meaning and »intermodal analogies«. lt is possible to define eight discriminating characteristics explaining their basically different processes (absolute/relative attribution). Relations between synesthesia and absolute pitch ( or intermodal analogies and relative pitch) should be studied more intensively. Finally , synesthesia as opposed to intermodal analogies is judged to deserve no special interest for aesthetic reasons.

The author claims that in two Ariosi of his piano sonata op. 110, Beethoven tried to find expression for psychologically instable situations by freeing the dynamics of the music from the limitations of traditional patterns. This inits consequence may be described as an unique phenomenon in the history of composition which so far has not found the musicologists' attention.