This article discusses the methodological foundations that play a key role in research in the field of music education. One of the most important methodological guidelines is methodological analysis, considered as a meta-method in the context of music pedagogy. This analysis is an integrated approach to the research process, which allows us to comprehend various aspects and processes of musical and pedagogical theory and practice. Within the framework of methodological guidelines, professionally significant functions and approaches are also highlighted, which contribute to the awareness of the value of concepts of a musical and pedagogical nature, innovative processes in science and education, as well as the formation of a research strategy. The approaches under consideration include various intellectual operations, among which reflection stands out as a method of creative thinking and personal rethinking of values and motives in the activities of a teacher-musician. The basis for the development of methodological guidelines in this context is knowledge from various fields of human activity, including science and art. Reliance on knowledge serves as the basis and methodological basis for the pedagogy of music education, to determine the principles and methods of organizing the research process.