studied musicology, literature, pedagogy, and psychology at the Universities of Mainz, Freiburg, and Cologne. He earned his doctorate with an empirical study in the field of psychology of music concerning young people’s capacity for judgment with regard to new music, a contribution to cognitive psychology.Since 1975 Schmidt-Banse has conducted intensive research in the areas of film music and music films.He has held a professorship in systematic musicology at the University of Osnabruck since 1980 and has conducted extensive research into the linguification of music – new forms of an analysis of expression. Moreover, Schmidt-Banse has long been active as a radio essayist with a focus on music features.