Pupils' experiences of four music pieces were compared regarding two didactical approaches to music listening in Croatian schools: the predominantly cognitively oriented standard (STA), and the experimental cognitive-emotional (CEA). The research comprised 557 pupils, 10 and 11 years old. After the initial listening to a music piece pupils mostly reported to like its musical components which reflects that listening to music in school is mainly directed toward music-theoretical components of the music. During the central listening pupils' thoughts were mostly related to the music piece content (e.g. narratives related to the music) and to associations within and out of the music piece context. However, some differences between the two approaches emerged. Depending on the music piece, the more active pupils' engagement in CEA encouraged reflections about content and/or expressing opinions about the broader context of the music piece.