Development of Musical Schemata in Children's Spontaneous Singing

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the general pattern of development of children's singing, and then presents an analysis of the spontaneous songs of two children illustrating schematic control over the melodic and rhythmic contours of the phrases used in the songs. A brief study of the children's memory for some of their own songs is presented. The major points of the early development of the child's singing and of what typical songs are like around the age of two years are tabulated. Musical development investigations is carried out in the context of existing theory and data indicating that the child develops the cognitive components of adult auditory information processing piece by piece over the first 8 years of life. The chapter analyses the contour control in spontaneous songs in age range from 1:0 to 3:6 years. Dimension involved in the characterization of schemata is that of the level of psychological reality they are thought to have.