When speaking of musical talent, hereditary disposition is usually highlighted. A real development of inherited traits, however, given an understanding of the human individual as a unique being, is facultative. With this in mind we conducted a qualitative research study designed as a two-case study, utilizing case comparisons (longitudinal observation with full participation and complementary methods). We focused on musical and personal dimensions in two characteristically different violin students at an elementary arts school. The research objective was to gain insight into and to capture the effects of personal characteristics, value preferences and participants’ attitudes on the scope of one’s potential development in (but not only in) the realm of music. The research suggests a significant intervention of personality factors into developments of the participants’ musical abilities.

The paper defines the timbre hearing as one of musical hearing abilities. It summarizes the principles of testing the timbre hearing that have been part of non-standardized musical tests since the mid- 20th century. The author also presents two levels of her own test for preschool children and pupils of younger school age. She derives recommendations for music education and musical psychology from the research.

In the presented study we bring a methodic elaboration and proposals for teaching the guitar playing on the elementary level. We specify the most frequent bad habits in guitar playing and offer the most essential alternative approaches on the basis of theoretical background of the subject from the fields of didactics, music psychology and functional anatomy. The relevancy of the studied topic is articulated by the exactingness of the educational process in the category of the youngest pupils and their proneness to acquiring undesirable habits.

Systematic teaching of accordion playing in Slovakia began in 1950s. The chromatic accordion was originally used as an accompanying instrument to dance, singing of chastushkas and enthusiastic communist songs. Thanks to the link to the period cultural ideology it was supported also by the newly built music education system, which began to be systematized following the nationalization of all music schools in 1951. Although the accordion playing was taught at almost all music schools, the teaching was not carried out by qualified teachers, but usually by pianists and organists. The pedagogic departments which were parts of music schools in Bratislava, Žilina and Košice acquired the status of conservatory in 1960. Until 1989, when the political regime collapsed and changed, there had been only three conservatories in Slovakia – in Bratislava, Žilina and Košice.

In Bratislava the accordion playing began in the school year 1952/1953. The most significant teacher was Marta Szőkeová (1920–2002), a promoter of innovative German bellows technique. She is credited with the establishment of the classical accordion department at the Bratislava Conservatory and thanks to her the accordion playing was included also in study programmes of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava.

Žilina Conservatory, too, opened its first year for those interested in accordion playing study in 1952/1953. Among many teachers Miroslav Košnár (1938–2016), an ardent promoter of accordion, stands out. Due to regular participation in international competitions he established contacts with foreign teachers, acquired new music material and steered the repertory of his students to the West- European accordion literature.

At Košice Conservatory accordion started to be taught in 1955/1956. Vladimír Čuchran (1941– 2010) taught here, one of the most renowned Slovak accordion players. He was the first one who gave an evening recital on accordion and accomplished the recording of original accordion pieces of Slovak composers. Thanks to his initiative several pieces for accordion originated, some of them were dedicated directly to him and the majority of them he personally premiered.

Teachers-exponents such as Marta Szőkeová, Miroslav Košnár and Vladimír Čuchran were instrumental not only in the raising of qualified teachers and performers, but also in the laying of foundations of the Slovak accordion teaching.

The author deals with the history of Orff’s Schulwerk in Slovakia since the 1960s. She describes the difficulties joined with the spreading of the Schulwerk’s ideas in the context of the socio-political situation in the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, as well as the period of boom following the fall of the Iron Curtain. The contribution presents the personalities credited with the spreading of the Schulwerk’s ideas in Slovakia and offers a survey of their teaching and publication activity. It brings the profile of the Slovak Orff Society – an organization which has been dealing with education of teachers by way of domestic and foreign activities.

The author of the contribution is the leader of Visegrad Music Team, which was founded in 2007. He presents the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS), in which he worked for a long time as a National Coordinator for the Czech Republic. He introduces the most important activities of the Visegrad Music Team, its importance for the music teaching and the revision of the general education programmes (state programmes). The contribution evaluates the history and mission of Visegrad Doctoral Conferences in Prague since 2009 until the present.

[The contribution is available only in Slovak language in the printed version of the revue.]