26th GMTH Conference, Halle (Saale)
« The Miracle of Hearing : Musical Hearing Between Artistic Ambition, Creativity, and Science »
2nd – 4th October 2026
Call for Papers
Based on Robert Schumann’s remark “The most important thing is the cultivate the sense of Hearing” (Musikalische Haus- und Lebensregeln, Hamburg and Leipzig, 1850), the topic of musical perception will be addressed from a wide variety of scientific and artistic perspectives, whose unbroken relevance and urgency is becoming clearer than ever in the light of the unsatisfactory attempts to contribute to this field of study so far. The aim is to hold an interdisciplinary conference with experienced artists, scientists, and educators from the fields of ear training, music theory, and composition pedagogy, as well as from the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and musicology. The conference will address questions of contextualised complex musical perception and the role of ear training as a core subject in music education, as well as aspects of composition pedagogy with children. For this purpose, we would like to examine various approaches to the development of listening skills and explore which models and theories of musical perception can enrich music education practice. We are looking forward to vivid discussions and new insights into musical perception and invite you to submit your abstracts (max. 300 words). In addition to the usual formats, it is also possible to offer short teaching units on practical ear training for all participants.
Section I: Musical perception and form
Section II: Musical perception from the perspectives of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychoacoustics
Section III: Music education approaches between music theory, ear training and artistic standards
Section IV: Free topics and open student section
The Call for Papers is open through May 10, 2026. Proposals in English or German (such as papers, joint panels, lecture recitals, workshops, book presentations, and practical aural skills units) can be submitted here: https://www.conftool.com/gmth2026 (please create an account)
For more information: https://www.gmth.de/veranstaltungen/jahreskongress-halle-2026_en.aspx