Infant Musicality

What can infants hear? What are their reactions to music? Is it useful for them to sing and listen to music? Is their auditory sensitivity developed before their birth? At what age do they start singing, and clapping their hands? How can their musical development be improved? These (and other) questions are present in today's debate on music education and the responses are normally given in an intuitive way. Motivated by the fact that many open problems need to be solved, Professor...
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What can infants hear? What are their reactions to music? Is it useful for them to sing and listen to music? Is their auditory sensitivity developed before their birth? At what age do they start singing, and clapping their hands? How can their musical development be improved? These (and other) questions are present in today's debate on music education and the responses are normally given in an intuitive way. Motivated by the fact that many open problems need to be solved, Professor Tafuri decided, in 1998, to begin a longitudinal research project devoted to studying musical development from 0 to 6 years in children, with particular attention on the ability to sing in tune. During these 6 years, the subjects would have a regular music education experience with their mothers and often other members of the immediate family.This book has two main areas of focus. The first reconstructs the development of human musical abilities, the second puts forward an educational perspective based on the results of the research. The book will be of crucial interest to parents and music educators so that they can have scientific, theoretical and methodological foundations for their educational strategies.