The Developmental Origins of the Perception and Production of Musical Rhythm

Hannon, Erin E.; Nave-Blodgett, Jessica Erin; Nave, Karli

doi:10.1111/cdep.12285

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…This is not consistent with results from studies with adult musicians showing that those who begin training before age seven outperform those who begin later on rhythm tasks [2,3,7,8]. However, our finding is consistent with the maturation of rhythmic abilities in childhood: beat perception is in place by infancy [43–45], but auditory-motor integration does not develop fully until mid- to late adolescence [46,47]. Moreover, rhythmic tapping tasks require basic fine-motor abilities that do not mature until late childhood [48,49].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Contributions of age of start, cognitive abilities and practice to musical task performance in childhood

2019

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Studies with adult musicians show that beginning lessons before age seven is associated with better performance on musical tasks and enhancement in auditory and motor brain regions. It is hypothesized that early training interacts with periods of heightened neural development to promote greater plasticity and better learning and performance later in life. However, we do not know whether such effects can be observed in childhood. Moreover, we do not know the degree to which such effects are related to training, or whether early training has different effects on particular musical skills depending on their cognitive, perceptual or motor requirements. To address these questions, we compared groups of child musicians who had started lessons earlier or later on age-normed tests of rhythm synchronization and melody discrimination. We also matched for age, years of experience, working memory and global cognitive ability. Results showed that children who started early performed better on simple melody discrimination and that scores on this task were predicted by both age of start (AoS) and cognitive ability. There was no effect of AoS for the more complex rhythm or transposed melody tasks, but these scores were significantly predicted by working memory ability, and for transposed melodies, by hours of weekly practice. These findings provide the first evidence that earlier AoS for music training in childhood results in enhancement of specific musical skills. Integrating these results with those for adult musicians, we hypothesize that early training has an immediate impact on simple melody discrimination skills that develop early, while more complex abilities, like synchronization and transposition require both further maturation and additional training.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Contributions of age of start, cognitive abilities and practice to musical task performance in childhood

2019

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“…It is important to acknowledge that small sample sizes and task differences may drive some of the observed variability between studies. For example, synchronization tasks may have different working memory and attentional demands than rhythm discrimination tasks, and different cognitive measures (verbal IQ tests, reading readiness) may involve different timing demands (see Hannon, Nave-Blodgett, & Nave, 2018). We did not assess language abilities or basic auditory processing abilities in either our adult or developmental samples, so we cannot make any definitive conclusions about the relationships between these abilities and meter perception in music.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical beat perception develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is enhanced in those with musical training.

Nave-Blodgett¹,

Snyder²,

Hannon³

2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Most music is temporally organized within a metrical hierarchy, having nested periodic patterns that give rise to the experience of stronger (downbeat) and weaker (upbeat) events. Musical meter presumably makes it possible to dance, sing, and play instruments in synchrony with others. It is nevertheless unclear whether or not listeners perceive multiple levels of periodicity simultaneously, and if they do, when and how they learn to do this. We tested children, adolescents, and musically trained and untrained adults with a new meter perception task. We presented excerpts of human-performed music paired with metronomes that matched or mismatched the metrical structure of the music at two hierarchical levels (beat and measure), and asked listeners to provide a rating of fit of metronome and music. Fit ratings suggested that adults with and without musical training were sensitive to both levels of meter simultaneously, but ratings were more strongly influenced by beat-level than by measure-level synchrony. Sensitivity to two simultaneous levels of meter was not evident in children or adolescents. Sensitivity to the beat alone was apparent in the youngest children and increased with age, whereas sensitivity to the measure alone was not present in younger children (5-8-year-olds). These findings suggest a prolonged period of development and refinement of hierarchical beat perception, and surprisingly weak overall ability to attend to two beat levels at the same time across all ages.

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“…Collectively, these findings show that infants tend to increase movement quantity in response to rhythm, a capacity that could serve as a critical precursor of entrainment abilities (Provasi et al, 2014). Lack of reliable evidence regarding rhythmic entrainment in infants could stem from research methodological issues (Provasi et al, 2014), and/or directly reflect infants' inadequate motor control and coordination, as might be expected with their slow trajectory of cortical maturation (Einarson & Trainor, 2016;Fujii et al, 2014;Hannon et al, 2018;Thelen, 1981;Trainor & Cirelli, 2015;Zentner & Eerola, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Infants appear to possess the prerequisite perceptual skills for entrainment, such as beat induction (Hannon et al, 2018;Winkler et al, 2009), detection of tempo change (Baruch & Drake, 1997), and metrical processing, as are all common to Western music (Hannon & Johnson, 2005;Hannon et al, 2011;Hannon & Trehub, 2005a, 2005b. Further, brief training sessions involving passive infant movement (i.e., structured vertical bouncing by an adult) influence infant perception of and preference for duple versus triple meter (Gerry et al, 2010;Hannon & Trainor, 2007;Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, brief training sessions involving passive infant movement (i.e., structured vertical bouncing by an adult) influence infant perception of and preference for duple versus triple meter (Gerry et al, 2010;Hannon & Trainor, 2007;Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005). Overall, sophisticated rhythm perception emerges early in infancy and develops steadily over time, suggesting an innate predisposition that is further shaped by experience and ongoing exposure to musical culture (Hannon et al, 2011(Hannon et al, , 2018Hannon & Trainor, 2007;Hannon & Trehub, 2005b;Ilari, 2015;Soley & Hannon, 2010;Trehub, 2010;Trehub & Hannon, 2009). These perceptual capacities may reflect a distinct competence for accurate detection of time intervals, as would be needed for entrainment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Infant Movement Response to Auditory Rhythm

2020

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Rhythmic entrainment occurs when an auditory rhythm drives an internal movement oscillator, thus providing a continuous time reference that improves temporal and spatial movement parameters. Entrainment processes and outcomes are well known for adults, but research is lacking for infants who might benefit from diagnosis and treatment of irregular rhythms within biological, sensorimotor, cognitive, and social domains. The present study used a combination of inertial measurement units and custom-made software to determine the amount, tempo, and regularity of movement in 28 infants aged 6-10 months while they were exposed to silence, an irregular rhythmic cue, or a regular rhythmic cue with tempo changes. We also assessed changes in the infants’ movement parameters following a one-week rhythm training protocol. While results revealed no significant effect of auditory condition on amount or tempo of movement, infant movement was significantly more regular when infants were exposed to 120 bpm (beats per minute) than to an irregular rhythmic cue or a 10% faster rhythmic cue (132 bpm). Infants showed no notable changes in movement amount, tempo, or regularity following one week of training involving auditory and physical rhythm. Overall, infants seem to engage in spontaneous movements with or without auditory rhythm but may not show tempo sensitivity through their movements. Increased movement regularity suggests that 120 bpm may be a preferred tempo for infants, at which they are more likely to demonstrate well-timed movements that may reflect interval entrainment. Infants’ auditory-motor systems appear not to respond to a 1-week rhythm training protocol.

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The Developmental Origins of the Perception and Production of Musical Rhythm

Cited by 19 publications

References 40 publications

Contributions of age of start, cognitive abilities and practice to musical task performance in childhood

Contributions of age of start, cognitive abilities and practice to musical task performance in childhood

Hierarchical beat perception develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is enhanced in those with musical training.

Infant Movement Response to Auditory Rhythm

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