Henkjan Honing
Henkjan Honing is a professor of Music Cognition at both the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He studies what musicality is and to what extent human beings share musicality with other animals. His aim is to define the cognitive and biological mechanisms that underpin musicality.
In addition to a research agenda (The Origins of Musicality), Honing has published several books for the general public, including the English-language publications Music Cognition: The Basics and The Evolving Animal Orchestra. Honing's books and lectures are popular with a broad audience and are appreciated both inside and outside the scientific world.
For a more elaborate cv see the UvA website.
Latest publications
Media attention
Marathon interview met Henkjan HoningNPO1
Mooie muziek, maar waarom?VPRO Gids
Ieder mens kan muziek herkennen, maken en waarderenNewScientist
Is music an exclusively human thing? A new study says noNPR
Apensoort Gibbons zingen samen duettenNPO1
Henkjan Honing over ToontjeHogerNPO2
Testen hoe muzikaal je bent met ToontjeHogerFolia
Zelfs een houten klaas heeft nog gevoel voor melodieHet Parool
Benieuwd hoe muzikaal je bent? Test het op dit platform, ook als je gestopt bent met blokfluitlesHet Parool
The dissenter talks with Henkjan Honing about musicalityDissenter
Courses
Evolution of Language and Music
In this course we survey different theories of the origins of music and language.
How Music Works II: Music Cognition
Over the years it has become clear that all humans share a predisposition for music, just like we have for language. We all can perceive and enjoy music. This view is supported by a growing body of research from developmental psychology neuroscience and the many contributions from the field of music cognition. These studies indicate that our capacity for music has an intimate relationship with our cognition and underlying biology, which is particularly clear when the focus is on perception rather than production.
The aim of this course is to identify the cognitive, biological and mechanistic underpinnings for music cognition as key ingredients of musicality, to assess to what extent these are unique to humans, and by doing so providing insight in their potential biological origins. As such this course has the aspiration to lay a new, interdisciplinary and comparative foundation for the study of musicality.
In addition, this course will discuss recent developments in the research field of music cognition. Topics include a) the origins and evolution of musicality, b) the cognition of rhythm and melody, c) musical competence, d) relation between musical and non-musical abilities, and e) the similarities and differences between music and language. The topics might change due to recent developments.