Musical Beginnings Origins and Development of Musical Competence [Paperback]

From where, and by what mechanisms, does an individual's musical ability originate? The interest surrounding this question has recently been heightened by research into prenatal perception of sound, particularly among developmental and music psychologists. This timely volume provides an up-to-date, integrative account of research on the development of musical ability, particularly in infancy and early childhood. Each chapter addresses central issues and charts a child's developmental progress with reference to his or her changing environment: from the intense and semi-exclusive mother-baby bond, to the wider contexts provided by family, school, and society at large.

1. Prenatal auditory experience,J-P. Lecanuet
2. Musicality in infancy research: biological and cultural origins of early musicality,H. Papousek
3. Infants' auditory sensitivity towards acoustic parameters of speech and music,C. Fassbender
4. Intuitive parenting: a hidden source of musical stimulation in infancy,M. Papousek
5. The development of the perception of time and temporal regulation of action in infants and children,V. Pouthas
6. The development of artistic and musical competence,D. Hargreaves
7. The young performing musician,J. Sloboda and J. Davidson
8. Linguistic and musical development in preschool and school-age children,M. Imberty