Children’s musical abilities from prenatal time to three years of age

Key words: Infant directed speech, Music, Child, Early childhood development

Recent and amazing discoveries of neurosciences on musical abilities of the foetus and the newborn baby show that refined ability and musical competence are developed very early and can be used by parents to provide opportunities for early development through music listening and baby-talk. The foetus is able to hear the mother’s voice since the 31st week. After birth, if the mother’s face and her voice are perceived together, the recognition of the mother is quicker. Newborn babies are able to process music and rapidly develop great competences in listening to music. In particular, baby-talk, a universal language to communicate with babies, facilitates segmentation and comprehension of words. Singing is very important to regulate arousal state and promote body coordination. Baby-talk and singing promote the relationship between parents and children, which facilitates the understanding of emotions and builds adequate social intelligence. Human musicality helps the development of receptive and expressive vocabulary.