Comparing Approaches to Music Education in Malaysia and Bulgaria: Progress Towards a Qualitative Study

This article is a working paper that previews the next stage in an ongoing comparative study. It explores nodal situations (Bode, 2013) within music education in Bulgaria (Demerdzhiev, 2024b) and compares them to the findings of a grounded theory-based study of the education of gifted music students, conducted in Malaysia from 2017 to 2019 (Demerdzhiev 2021a, 2024a). While Western-style music education tends to prioritize curriculum, evaluation, and technical equipment (López-Íñiguez & Westerlund, 2023), traditional music education in Southeast Asia and Southeast Europe places more emphasis on the teacher-student relationship and the development of students’ artistic personalities, alongside instrumental technique (Brand, 2006; Demerdzhiev 2021a). Recent studies indicate that this holistic approach is crucial for nurturing young people’s musical talents (Bork, 2016; McPherson, 2016; Gagné, 2023, López-Íñiguez,& McPherson, 2023). The project seeks to facilitate mutual learning and capacity improvement while encouraging a critical review of music education programs in both regions and beyond.