Music And Language Development Essay

INTRODUCTION

Literature Review

Much similarity have been found between music and language development. Studies have found that the roots of music and language are indistinguishable, and early perception of sound, the first crucial aspect, involves common processes. Infant’s early vocalization shares both musical and linguistic characteristics. Melodic utterances, due to the environment, only starts occurring from 9-18 months. (Chen-Hafteck, 1997) In language oriented societies, language acquisition is reinforced early for communication purposes, while resulting in a general lag in musical ability, although young children possess similar potential to develop both musical and linguistic skills. Evidence suggest that parallel development of both families is beneficial. The interaction between the two in children may enhance the development of each other as well as creativity in both musical and linguistic expression. (Chen-Hafteck, 1997) Considering that listening skills are a prerequisite for learning to read, children who are better able to detect individual phonemes in words and detect changes in pitch and timbre of tones are better at reading (Lamb & Gregory, 1993)

Music learning promotes, apart from language skills, perceptual skills, numeracy, intellectual development, general attainment,

However, there has been little comparison between the quantity and quality of music exposure required for such improvements to be seen. This study hence aims to determine the quality (type) of music learning needed for significant changes in intelligence, language and cognition in children. The hypothesis is that the more intensive the music learning process, the higher the level of improvements in