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MESSAGE FOLLOWS:
Spontaneous musicality during early childhood: A case study using
conversation analysis
Mike Forrester (School of Psychology, University of Kent)
Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
Friday 26th February, 2010
2pm Studio 5
In the psychology of music, and in developmental psychology, many
suggestions are made regarding the significance of early musicality for
children’s social and emotional development. There are however few
detailed studies on children’s developing musicality during the pre-
school years and the aim of this talk is to describe one such study – a
longitudinal single-case study- and consider selected examples of this
child’s spontaneous musical behaviour. Using a qualitative research
methodology known as conversation analysis, detailed descriptions of
musical activities highlight particular relationships between musicality
and other social and cognitive competencies such as word learning and
interpersonal skills. The pattern of behaviour exhibited suggests that
this child’s musicality was initially embedded in, and expressed
through, dyadic interaction and gradually becoming more of a self-
focused and ‘individuated’ set of practices by the time she was three
years of age. Concluding comments will invite discussion regarding our
assumptions about the development of musicality.
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