Keep it Simple, Student! Plato and the musical education of citizens

Abstract

One of the most difficult aspects to investigate in Greco-Roman music pedagogy is the teaching of instruments, both for ordinary citizens and professionals. Treatises invariably focus on theory, considering the physical and mental effort involved in learning to play an instrument to be an almost servile activity unworthy of theoretical consideration. This article examines a well-known passage from Plato’s Laws, in which the philosopher outlines what can be described as a basic curriculum for teaching kithara playing in an imaginary Cretan colony, Magnesia. Plato’s aim is to define the levels of musical competence that he believed were essential for non-specialist citizens.