Methodical applicability of playing on the def [tambourine] in the music education

Until the 1970s, women in the Novi Pazar region partied separately from men. On that occasion, in accordance with the customs of this environment, they could only be cheered by women who played the def [tambourine]. This instrument was accompanied by singing and playing during posedak/poijelo [evening visit to friends], džumbus [party], krna [a party where a girl prepares for marriage by painting parts of her body]. This form of music disappeared over time, but in the last twenty years, it has been revived and today it is an essential element of socalled bachelorette parties. Contemporary scientific findings indicate that the contents of the culture in which the student grows up have a significant place in teaching. Since women's playing on the def in the Novi Pazar region is little known to the public and has not been evaluated as a teaching content to date, we decided to analyze the structure of the def, the way and forms of music playing in the context of customs, and point out its methodological applicability through a theoretical analysis of the relevant literature. The aim of the work is to improve the teaching of musical culture in Serbia and preserve this element of intangible culture. The descriptive method and content analysis technique were used in the research. In the paper, it was established that the singing and dancing of women in the Novi Pazar area accompanied by def is a methodically applicable content in the area of listening to music in all grades of primary school, while in the fields of man and music and musical instruments is applicable in the fifth grade of elementary school. In accordance with the goals of the program and modern trends - content integration and intercultural education - teachers were given specific guidelines for processing this music content. Namely, singing and dancing of women accompanied by def can be integrated within the subject (between areas), but also outside the subject Music - with the contents of Nature and society (the way of life of people and their customs in the region where the student lives) and the Language (folk songs). Also, through the processing of this content in areas where the majority of Serbs and/or other national minorities live, students, in addition to mastering musical issues, would get to know each other and be guided to understand the culture of Bosniaks living in Serbia, which leads to intercultural education. We hope that with this work we will improve the teaching of musica in Serbia and contribute to the preservation of this form of music.