Songs and speech play central roles in early caretaker–infant communicative interactions, which are crucial for infants' cognitive, social, and emotional development. Compared to speech development, ...however, much less is known about how infants process songs or how songs affect their development. Lyrics and melody are two key components of songs, and much of the research on song processing has examined how the two components of the songs are processed. The current study focused on the roles of lyrics and melody in song perception, by examining developmental patterns and the ways in which lyrics and melody are processed in the infants' brains using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The results revealed that developmental changes occur in infants' processing of lyrics and melody in a similar timeline as perceptual reorganization, that is, from 4.5 and 12 months of age. We found that 4.5-month-olds showed a right hemispheric advantage in the processing of songs that underwent a change in either lyrics or melodies. Conversely, 12-month-olds showed significantly higher activation bilaterally when lyrics and melody changed at the same time. These results suggest that 4.5-month-olds processed songs in the same manner as music without lyrics. Moreover, 12-month-olds processed lyrics and melody in an interactive manner, a sign of a more mature processing method. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the independent development of music and language, and also considering the relationship between speech and song, lyrics and melody in song, and speech and music more broadly.
•We examine the brain response to lyrics and melody change in Japanese infants.•We examine the effects of interaction between lyrics and melody in songs.•Developmental changes occur in infants’ neural processing of lyrics and melody in a similar timeline as perceptual reorganization.
O presente artigo aborda interfaces entre desenvolvimento musical, Musicoterapia e Musicalidade Comunicativa. Objetivando investigar o desenvolvimento musical de crianças com autismo e suas relações ...com ganhos terapêuticos em Musicoterapia Improvisacional Musicocentrada, foi avaliado quantitativamente o desenvolvimento musical de 25 crianças com autismo no início e final do tratamento de Musicoterapia, o que foi correlacionado aos ganhos terapêuticos. Os resultados mostram maior nível de desenvolvimento musical após tratamento e correlações positivas do desenvolvimento musical com melhoras principalmente na linguagem/comunicação. Dentre as discussões levantadas, destaca-se a relevância da teoria da Musicalidade Comunicativa para a compreensão das relações entre Musicoterapia e desenvolvimento musical.
An infant's early contact with music affects its future development in a broad sense, including the development of musical aptitude. Contact with the mother's voice, both prenatally and after birth, ...is also extremely important for creating an emotional bond between the infant and the mother. This article discusses the role that auditory experience-both typically musical and that associated with the mother's voice-plays in fetal, neonatal, and infant development, particularly in terms of musical aptitude. Attempts have also been made to elucidate the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying the positive effects that appropriate musical stimulation can have on a child's development.
This article describes the development of a music practice microanalysis protocol that is based on the three-phase model of self-regulated learning (i.e., Forethought, Performance, and ...Self-Reflection). Up until now, most studies on music practice have tended to focus on behavioural aspects. The expanded view presented here outlines a technique for mapping the types of behaviours (actions), cognition (thoughts), and affect (feelings) that can help focus musicians’ practice. To explain the technique, we describe the practice of two first year Bachelor of Music students studying at a prominent university music school who are compared at three time points across one semester as they prepare an étude for a performance exam. These case studies demonstrate two broadly contrasting self-regulated learning profiles of how microanalysis can be used to cue students to think about what they are doing and then reflect critically on the strategies they can use to improve their playing. As a technique, microanalysis can inform educational interventions aimed at breaking the cycle of habits that typify musical practice by encouraging musicians to become more behaviourally, metacognitively, and motivationally involved in their own learning.
The strategies that enable musicians to adapt their behaviors so that they can break through, feel energized, and perform well collectively distinguish what it is to be a self-regulated learner. ...These strategies range from one's ability to monitor thoughts and actions to being able to navigate and control one's emotions, especially when feeling frustrated or anxious. Given the challenges of the music profession, it becomes imperative for teachers to equip their students with the necessary skills to self-regulate their own actions, feelings, and thinking so that they are eventually able to cope with the demands required of a contemporary professional musical career. In this study, we focused on the self-regulatory engagement of four master's level cellists who were enrolled in a prominent European higher music education institution. Our data comprised self-regulated learning-based diary-reports that describes the students' practice of self-chosen, especially demanding passages as they prepared for a public recital. Results depict differences between the musicians according to the efficiency of their practice leading up to a formal public recital.
The lifespan trajectory of musical achievement in the field of classical music and the factors that promote or hinder the development of talent in music are the focus of Manturzewska’s model of the ...lifespan development of professional musicians. This article aims to describe Manturzewska’s model briefly, relate it to recent research, and explore the extent to which it fits the diversity of musical careers of contemporary professional musicians. A brief depiction of the developmental model provides insight into the six developmental phases of the model and the factors that influence them. Recent research investigating talent development and career research in music suggests that Manturzewska’s theoretical model is largely consistent with findings from expertise research, research examining the determinants of musical development, and current models of talent development. The development of musicians with traditional careers as orchestral musicians in permanent, full-time employment or as successful soloists in contemporary musical culture is likely to be represented largely accurately in Manturzewska’s model. However, the diversity of typical portfolio careers, characterized by simultaneous irregular musical and non-musical activities in musical and non-musical fields, cannot be depicted in a single, more-or-less linear development model. Appropriate research, especially long-term studies that model the lifetime development of professional musicians (not only) in classical music, is lacking. Furthermore, Manturzewska’s model addresses important aspects that have been insufficiently studied by others, such as the development of professional musicians in the second half of life, and provides a sound and inspiring basis for future research.
Longitudinal studies on musical development can provide very valuable insights and potentially evidence for causal mechanisms driving the development of musical skills and cognitive resources, such ...as working memory and intelligence. Nonetheless, quantitative longitudinal studies on musical and cognitive development are very rare in the published literature. Hence, the aim of this paper is to document available longitudinal evidence on musical development from three different sources. In part I, data from a systematic literature review are presented in a graphical format, making developmental trends from five previous longitudinal studies comparable. Part II presents a model of musical development derived from music‐related variables that are part of the British Millennium Cohort Study. In part III, data from the ongoing LongGold project are analyzed answering five questions on the change of musical skills and cognitive resources across adolescence and on the role that musical training and activities might play in these developmental processes. Results provide evidence for substantial near transfer effects (from musical training to musical skills) and weaker evidence for far‐transfer to cognitive variables. But results also show evidence of cognitive profiles of high intelligence and working memory capacity that are conducive to strong subsequent growth rates of musical development.
Quantitative longitudinal studies on musical and cognitive development are very rare but can offer insight into causal mechanisms driving the development of musical skills and cognition. This paper documents longitudinal evidence from three different sources: a systematic literature review, a model of musical development from a large birth cohort study, and data from the LongGold project. Results suggest substantial near transfer effects and weaker far‐transfer effects on cognitive variables.
Music and early language acquisition Brandt, Anthony; Gebrian, Molly; Slevc, L Robert
Frontiers in psychology,
01/2012, Volume:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Language is typically viewed as fundamental to human intelligence. Music, while recognized as a human universal, is often treated as an ancillary ability - one dependent on or derivative of language. ...In contrast, we argue that it is more productive from a developmental perspective to describe spoken language as a special type of music. A review of existing studies presents a compelling case that musical hearing and ability is essential to language acquisition. In addition, we challenge the prevailing view that music cognition matures more slowly than language and is more difficult; instead, we argue that music learning matches the speed and effort of language acquisition. We conclude that music merits a central place in our understanding of human development.
In this paper we explore early musical behaviors through the lenses of the recently emerged "4E" approach to mind, which sees cognitive processes as Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, and Extended. In ...doing so, we draw from a range of interdisciplinary research, engaging in critical and constructive discussions with both new findings and existing positions. In particular, we refer to observational research by French pedagogue and psychologist François Delalande, who examined infants' first "sound discoveries" and individuated three different musical "conducts" inspired by the "phases of the game" originally postulated by Piaget. Elaborating on such ideas we introduce the notion of "teleomusicality," which describes the goal-directed behaviors infants adopt to explore and play with sounds. This is distinguished from the developmentally earlier "protomusicality," which is based on music-like utterances, movements, and emotionally relevant interactions (e.g., with primary caregivers) that do not entail a primary focus on sound itself. The development from protomusicality to teleomusicality is discussed in terms of an "attentive shift" that occurs between 6 and 10 months of age. This forms the basis of a conceptual framework for early musical development that emphasizes the emergence of exploratory, goal-directed (i.e., sound-oriented), and self-organized musical actions in infancy. In line with this, we provide a preliminary taxonomy of teleomusical processes discussing "Original Teleomusical Acts" (OTAs) and "Constituted Teleomusical Acts" (CTAs). We argue that while OTAs can be easily witnessed in infants' exploratory behaviors, CTAs involve the mastery of more specific and complex goal-directed chains of actions central to musical activity.
Despite major advances in research on musical ability in infants, relatively little attention has been paid to individual differences in general musicality in infants. A fundamental problem has been ...the lack of a clear definition of what constitutes "general musicality" or "musical ability" in infants and toddlers, resulting in a wide range of test procedures that rely on different models of musicality. However, musicality can be seen as a social construct that can take on different meanings across cultures, sub-groups, and individuals, and may be subject to change over time. Therefore, one way to get a clearer picture of infant musicality is to assess conceptions of musicality in the general population. Using this approach, we surveyed 174 German adults, asking about their view and conceptions regarding behaviors that characterize a musical child under 3 years. Based on previous studies on adult and child musicality, we designed a survey containing 41 statements describing musical behaviors in children. Participants were asked to rate how indicative these behaviors were of musicality in infants and toddlers. PCA analysis revealed 4 components of musical abilities and behaviors in under-3-year-olds: Musical Communication, Enthusiasm and Motivation, Adaptive Expressiveness, and Musical Abilities as traditionally defined. Professional background and musical expertise of the respondents did not significantly influence participants' conceptions. Our results suggest that, in order to capture musicality in young children, a wider range of skills and observable behaviors should be taken into account than those assessed by traditional musical ability tests for young children.
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