In the field of music performance, an issue that concerns music teachers is when and how the interpretation of a musical work should and could be oriented to a system of references. If we accept musical relativity, then what is the nature of reference objects? What does "representation" mean in a non-verbal cultural object such as music? Do musical signs refer only to music or only to extra-musical entities? Or maybe both? Controversy is related to the difficulty of consensus about what we characterize as meaning in music.

Representation refers to or implies the recognition and interpretation of a phenomenon (event, object, character, action, situation, etc.) through systems of meaning that encode ideologies, attitudes, social conventions and symbols, among others. The worlds of representation can be real or metaphysical and imaginary. In the thought of Nancy (2007), the time of representation begins when humans become aware of their identity based on particular characteristics. There is no meaning of humanity without a sense of representation.

Many theorists in the field of music semiotics and music philosophy agree that a musical work can have a representational meaning because it has structural elements, equivalents of which can be traced to the phenomena of the world, to biology, to human behaviour, to verbal-emotional and physical communication (voice prosody and gestures) as well as to life events (Davies, 2001). Also, the theory of musical topoi proposes a set of principles for the representational meaning of music (see Hatten, 2004).

The above issues have concerned the musicologists of Western art music and ethnomusicologists for the last two centuries, while recently, they have been the subject of discussion by philosophers of music education (Regelski, 2019). However, little research has been done in the context of music teaching-learning (Kokkidou & Tsigka, 2017), and more and more people realize that it is an unexplored area that deserves more attention.

In the present paper, we discuss the concept of the representational meaning of music, and the ways of integrating relevant narratives in the individual lessons of instruments will be discussed. The starting point for the discussion is the idea that music has semantic content, which can be intra-musical or extra-musical. In this vein, students will have the opportunity to deepen into the structural and expressive elements of the works they study, improvise freely or on the basis of melodic sequences of a composition, and experiment with arrangements of parts of the compositions. In addition, they can write lyrics for a musical phrase or express themselves with physical theatrical movements. The proposed approach can evolve as a musical methodological tool intertwined with real life, given the lifelong need for people to construct narratives about themselves, others, and the world, use metaphors, and anthropomorphically interpret the environments in which they live and act. All the above can enrich the practices of music teachers. The ultimate expectation is to trigger research, shedding light on specific aspects that require further investigation.

• Μουσικές εμπειρίες στο σχολείο, στο ωδείο και στην κοινότητα
• Πλουραλισμός και ιεραρχίες αξιών στη μουσική εκπαίδευση
• Σύνδεση της μουσικής εκπαίδευσης με την καθημερινή ζωή
• Ζητήματα αναπαραστάσεων και ιδεολογιών στη μουσική εκπαίδευση (φυλή, φύλο, γλώσσα, τάξη, κουλτούρα κ.ά.)
• Μουσική εκπαίδευση και Κριτική Παιδαγωγική
• Μουσικές εμπειρίες, δια βίου μουσική μάθηση και ευζωία
• Ιδεολογίες και κοινωνικές-πολιτικές αξίες στα προγράμματα σπουδών μουσικής
• Το κρυφό πρόγραμμα σπουδών στο σχολείο και στο ωδείο (σιωπηρές αξίες, μουσικός ηγεμονικός λόγος)
• Η μουσική διδασκαλία-μάθηση σε τυπικά, μη τυπικά και άτυπα περιβάλλοντα
• Πολυτροπικές δράσεις στη μουσική εκπαίδευση
• Πολύτεχνες παραστάσεις στο σχολείο, στο ωδείο και στην κοινότητα
• Διδακτική μουσικών οργάνων και μουσικών συνόλων: φιλοσοφία, μεθοδολογίες και καλές πρακτικές

Christina Tsigka completed her violin studies in the Department of Music Science and Art (UoM) in the class of Dimitris Chandrakis. She holds a master's degree in Semiotics and Cultural Studies (UWM) and is a PhD Candidate at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She attended numerous violin seminars with renowned professors including Lewis Kaplan, Ara Malikian, Margherita Marseglia and Marilyn McDonald. Since 2010 she has been teaching at Music Schools and conservatories. She is a member of the ESTA UK and the G.S.M.E. as a member of the Board (2014-2016) and vice president (2018-present). Her research interests focus on teaching the violin at an early age, emphasising new methodologies.

Nikolaos Zafranas. BA & MA in Piano Performance (University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, Austria), PhD in Music Education (Brunel University, London). Mental Health Counselor exp. at Gestalt Psychotherapy (Gestalt Foundation Thessaloniki). He has been distinguished in Greece and abroad. Recital performances, chamber music concerts and accompaniments in many European countries, South Africa and North America. His recordings are available on CD, on YouTube etc. Founding member of the "Piandaemonium" and the "Transcription Ensemble". Associate Professor of Music Pedagogy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.