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The Arts in Children’s Lives pp 113–128Cite as

Early Childhood Musical Development

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Conclusion

In summary, systematic observation of young children’s musical behavior reveals a rich and diverse pattern of development and musical competencies. Although development may be faster or slower for particular individuals, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that, with appropriate support, all young children can achieve a degree of mastery in the contemporary musical idioms of the maternal culture. Moreover, a child’s present mastery level is always subject to qualitative change, especially in a supportive environment. The complex interaction between the basic structure of the human intellect and the opportunities provided by the socio-cultural environment determine the nature and extent of musical development in early childhood and on through the lifespan. Observed differences reflect individual developmental “routes” along the socially constructed musical “pathways.”

Keywords

  • Musical Experience
  • Musical Genre
  • Melodic Contour
  • Pitch Match
  • Vocal Pitch

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors
  1. Graham F. Welch
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

    Liora Bresler

  2. The Pennsylvania State University, USA

    Christine Marmé Thompson

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© 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Welch, G.F. (2002). Early Childhood Musical Development. In: Bresler, L., Thompson, C.M. (eds) The Arts in Children’s Lives. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47511-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47511-1_10

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