Intuitive parenting: a hidden source of musical stimulation in infancy

Abstract

Formal musical training is given even to children as young as two years of age and has proven to be quite effective with the majority. Training at an early age has also been said to be helpful in the other domains of psychological development. The benefits of a formal musical training, however, have not been studied in the period of infancy and toddler age. This chapter provides a discussion of the earliest musical training: infant-directed singing and infant-directed speech. Together with interaction games, these have been identified as effective musical stimulation and training. The chapter also tackles parents' predisposition for music education – intuitive, without real guide on what to do or knowledge of infants' precocious competences, but to merely provide mutual enjoyment. Interaction games, voice modulation and even just babbling and letting the infant participate and imitate are enough to increase predisposition to musical capacities. The growing evidence of early musical predisposition and extensive research on the early sources of musical stimulation in infants' environment have sparked interest in the study of the earliest stages of musical development. The chapter also suggests that parents keep to the natural method of intuitive early musical education.