Prof. Tanja Spatz

Tanja Spatz studied music education (schools), music theory (under Prof. Dr Ludwig Holtmeier) and ear training (under Prof. Wolfgang Motz) at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (University of Music Freiburg). Since the summer semester of 2026, she has been contributing her extensive experience as a researcher and educator to numerous degree courses with a teaching profile and a performance profile at the HMTM.

In her work, Tanja Spatz bridges the gap between theory and practice. A key focus of her work is therefore the examination of methodological issues, including those relating to pre-university and non-university education. In recent years, particular attention has been paid to relative solfège systems – methods in music teaching where pitches are named using syllables based on their position in the scale.

Together with Moritz Heffter, Tanja Spatz also developed the »koala« app, a digitally available, collaborative annotation tool that simplifies communication about music – particularly when approaching it through listening. The project was funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education and expanded through a fellowship from the Stifterverband.

Historical teaching methods also offer a wealth of points of reference for her work, particularly with regard to learning through musical practice. Tanja Spatz is currently conducting research as part of a doctoral project (based at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg under the supervision of Prof. Dr Ludwig Holtmeier) on the hybridisation of thorough bass treatises and their teaching strategies from the second half of the 18th century.

In addition, Tanja Spatz has published, as editor, »Solmisation, Improvisation, Generalbass. Historical Teaching Methods for Contemporary Music Education« (with Prof. Laura Krämer and Prof. Marcus Aydintan).