NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ866240
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Aug
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
Musical Cognition at Birth: A Qualitative Study
Hefer, Michal; Weintraub, Zalman; Cohen, Veronika
Early Child Development and Care, v179 n6 p769-783 Aug 2009
This paper describes research on newborns' responses to music. Video observation and electroencephalogram (EEG) were collected to see whether newborns' responses to random sounds differed from their responses to music. The data collected were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. This paper will focus on the qualitative study, that is, in depth analyses of video recordings. Our findings from this analysis were supported by results from the quantitative analysis, especially analysis of the EEG recordings. Our analyses point to clear differences in response to random sounds vs. to music, thereby supporting the hypothesis that musical cognitive activity is already present at birth. Our video analyses showed movements, especially hand movements, which were cyclical in nature; these cyclical movements fit the phrase division of the musical piece (an excerpt from a piano concerto by Mozart). Correspondence between certain musical events (crescendo, rise to the highest register) and movement responses surpassed our expectation in terms of apparent responsiveness to cycles of tension release generated by the music. (Contains 4 figures and 2 notes.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A