The pathway of music acculturation: a duet between parent and infant

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Date
2013-11
Authors
Pretorius, Gerda Georgina
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University of the Free State
Abstract
English: In designing a pathway model of music acculturation, it is proposed that infants are born musical, are ready at birth to process musical information and motivated to take part in musical communication. This position contests views that regard musical development as a matter of biological growth, or musical aptitude as an exclusive talent. My position also challenges the perception that organised music-educational settings offer a complete music acculturation process. Such views pay no attention to the fact that infants learn musics of their culture by way of adapted behaviour which emerges as a result of repeated, spontaneous and arousing stimulating experiences. Due recognition also needs to be given to the fact that the daily absorption of a variety of musical literature, the experience of being sung and chanted to, and the experience of being moved to music, are essential for processes of acculturation as the foundational phase of audiation. Thus, the thesis of this study is that acculturation takes place in an intimate reciprocal relationship. The mother-infant dyad express their emotional bond by means of a non-verbal, musical duet. In experiences of primary intersubjectivity, infants display their inherent musical sensitivity when adapting to the prosodic contour and temporal structure of the mother’s sing-song conversation and multi-modal movement. The intuitive conversation is described as infant-directed speech and identified as a musicalemotional narrative. A secondary form of psychological intersubjectivity (companionship) emerges as a result of the dyad’s growing reciprocal confidence when attuning to subjective experiences of the other by way of intuitive musical behaviour. It is argued that musical aptitude develops by way of early and experience-driven reorganisation of neuronal networks. These networks are activated by way of frequent absorption of and interactive response to music of different musical contexts in the home environment. This situation indicates the parental role in unstructured musical guidance of infants. Applying a bioecological systems approach, this pathway model determines that early competencies, cultural influences and social relations all play roles in foundational processes of music acculturation. Parents should be informed accordingly; therefore basic principles for an appropriate approach towards musical parental guidance (MPG) are extrapolated.
Afrikaans: By die ontwerp van ʼn roetemodel (pathway model) van musiek-akkulturasie word dit voorgestel dat babas musikaal gebore word, dat hulle by geboorte gereed is om musikale inligting te prosesseer en dat hulle gemotiveerd is om deel te neem aan musikale kommunikasie. Hierdie posisie neem stelling in teen sienings wat musikale ontwikkeling as ʼn saak van biologiese groei, of musikale aanleg as ʼn eksklusiewe talent beskou. My posisie bevraagteken ook die persepsie dat georganiseerde musiek-opvoedkundige omgewings ʼn volledige musiek-akkulturasieproses bied. Sulke sienings skenk geen aandag aan die feit dat babas musieke van hul kultuur aanleer deur aangepaste gedrag wat na vore kom as die resultaat van herhaalde, spontane en stimulerende wederkerige ervarings nie. Behoorlike erkenning behoort ook gegee te word aan die feit dat die daaglikse absorpsie van ʼn verskeidenheid musiekliteratuur, die ervaring van sang en dreunsang en die ervaring om beweeg te word op maat van musiek, essensieel is vir prosesse van akkulturasie as die basisfase van oudiëring (audiation). Die tesis van hierdie studie is dus dat akkulturasie plaasvind binne ʼn intieme wedersydse verbintenis. Die moeder-baba-paar druk hul emosionele band uit deur middel van ʼn nie-verbale musikale duet. In ervarings van primêre intersubjektiwiteit toon babas hul inherente musieksensitiwiteit wanneer hulle aanpas by die prosodiese kontoer en die temporele struktuur van die moeder se sang-gesprek en multi-modale beweging. Die intuïtiewe gesprek word beskryf as kindgerigte spraak (infant-directed speech) en geïdentifiseer as ʼn musikaal-emosionele narratief. ʼn Sekondêre vorm van psigologiese intersubjektiwiteit (samesyn) kom tot stand as gevolg van die paar se groeiende wedersydse vertroue wanneer elk ingestel raak op die subjektiewe ervarings van die ander deur middel van intuïtiewe musikale gedrag. Dit word aangevoer dat musiekaanleg ontwikkel deur vroeë en ervaringsgedrewe herorganisasie van neuronale netwerke. Hierdie netwerke word geaktiveer deur gereëlde absorpsie van en interaktiewe reaksie op musiek van verskillende musiekkontekste in die huis-omgewing. Hierdie situasie wys op die rol van die ouer in die ongestruktureerde musiekleiding van kinders.
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Keywords
Music acculturation, Musical predispositions, Audiation, Infant-directed speech, Dyad construction, Primary intersubjectivity, Secondary intersubjectivity, Neuronal networks, Early learning, Musical parental guidance, Musical literature, Bioecological systems approach, Appropriate practices, Non-verbal processes, Dissertation (M.Mus. (Music))--University of the Free State, 2013, Musical ability in infants, Parent and child, Acculturation
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