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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Music and Dance

Robert Woody
Robert Woody
Associate Professor of Music Education
rwoody2@unl.edu
(402) 472-6231

Dr. Robert H. Woody is associate professor of music education at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln School of Music. He earned a bachelor of music degree from UNL and two masters degrees (music education and educational research) and a Ph.D. in music education from Florida State University. Additionally, he holds certificates in computers in music and Orff Schulwerk (Levels I and II).

Dr. Woody taught classroom general music as a full-time teacher in the public schools of Florida and has worked with children of all ages in additional instructional capacities. Currently at UNL, he teaches the undergraduate courses MUED244 Music Learning and Development and MUED344 General Music Methods, and the graduate courses MUED836 Psychology and Sociology of Music and MUSC839 Music in the Lives of People. He also teaches MUSC189H Psychology of Music Seminar to freshman in the UNL Honors Program. Dr. Woody's work in the classroom was recognized with the Distinguished Teaching Award for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Dr. Woody's research deals primarily with the psychology of music. He is an author of the book Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills, with Andreas C. Lehmann and John A. Sloboda (Oxford University Press). He is specifically interested in the cognitive mechanisms of expressive performance and the skill-based factors that contribute to participatory music involvement among people. He has published articles in research journals such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, Psychomusicology, and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education; other writings have appeared in the Music Educators Journal, General Music Today, and American Music Teacher. He is also a frequent presenter at conferences, including the Biennial Convention of MENC: The National Association for Music Education and the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition.