Musical development in early childhood: A review of literature ; Tónlistarþroski ungbarna og tónlistaruppeldi - Yfirlitsgrein

If you have ever spent time with infants and small children you have probably noticed that music seems to attract their attention very easily. Whether it is from recordings, musical toys, instruments, human singing or other forms, music seems to elicit strong reactions from small children. Music often induces physical reactions such as rhythmic movements, followed by positive emotional behavior, which looks very much like dancing and musical enjoyment in older children and adults. Parents and caretakers are often amazed at these responses in very young infants because they give an impression of a sophisticated perception and behavior not necessarily associated with early infancy. But how much is known about the musical abilities of infants and toddlers? And what can this information tell us about the role of music in the life of infants and toddlers? There seems to be a consensus in the modern music psychology literature that the human is born musical. That is, a normal human is born with the capacity to hear, understand and learn music. In fact, infants learn early on to hear and expect certain patterns inherent in the music of their own culture and are capable of displaying various physical and emotional responses to different types of music. Furthermore, music seems to be a powerful medium for conveying basic human emotions and can consequently affect the emotional states of individuals. Cognitive abilities appear early in life, demonstrating that an infant is capable of more complex processing of their sound environment than previously thought. Moreover, it is clear that some learning can take place before birth in terms of processing auditory stimuli. The fetus is capable of hearing, processing and remembering musical patterns of sound heard during the third trimester of pregnancy, and sound is the most complex stimulus available prenatally. It is therefore worth considering the role of music and the auditory environment as a relatively stable feature in the transition from the fetal stage into infancy. ...