This paper described the similarities in the processing of language and music particularly in infant brains. Though neurological evidence shows fairly conclusively that language and music are processed in different regions of the brain, they rely on many of the same cognitive skills. Both involve recognizing patterns and following particular structural rules. In this case, it is entirely possible that as infants the two systems are not as clearly separated in the brain, and only become so as we grow and learn.
The relationship of language and music processing was explored in this paper. By looking at a number of studies in which infants’ responses to music and speech were recorded, the authors determine that these two domains have many overlaps. There were examples cited explaining the infant brain’s perception of prosodic and grammatical / segmental structure in music and language. What I found most interesting was the section on memory, in which the authors cited studies showing infants preferred to listen both to lists of words and to melodies that they had heard before. The article then went on to discuss learning mechanisms for each of these systems, suggesting that some aspects of each are acquired in the same way, one example being “statistical learning” or the detection of patterns in sounds or words.
This paper explored the relationship between speech and music and described how both are processed by the brain of infants. The article discusses how both music and language organized temporally. I was especially interested in the discussion of the ability of Western listeners to recognize different patterns in music. As infants, there was little or no indication that Western tonal conventions affected the way that babies perceived music. The author notes, that it is not until they start school that Western listeners’ responses to stimuli begin to show influences of typical Western musical structure.
This topic was very interesting because I have been playing the violin since I was three and music is very familiar thing to me. This reminds me of the time when my mom taught me English by singing mother goose songs when I was little. It was easier for me to remember lyrics than remember words itself, and I think this may have connection to the relationship between language and music processing.
This paper is interesting that it made me think a lot about the two domains. I strongly believe that there is a correlation between language and music. We know that it is harder for adults to learn both a foreign language and music. We also know that children are able to acquire any language which they are exposed to from infancy and over time become native speakers of that language, but what about music? I wonder if it works the same way. Many children learn how to play a musical instrument at an early age but that does not always mean all of them become musical when they grow up. Does that mean music is a talent or natural gift and that critical period doesn’t really affect it, while language is a case of brain plasticity and attributed to critical period? I want to believe that anyone can be musical if provided with the necessary instruction. However, this won’t explain why there are people who are tone deaf or just can’t sing.
From my observation, I’ve seen that many people who are musical – especially singers – tend to be better at learning foreign languages. Those who can sing well usually can imitate sounds or accents thus tend to have good dictation. Is it, in other words, they are good (or gifted?) at pronunciation? Or, is it the other way around; because they are good at imitating sounds and phonemes they can sing well?
Another example that supports the cognitive connection between language and music is the Williams syndrome. One of the characteristics of people with Williams syndrome, a genetic developmental disorder, is that they are both musical and very verbal with a rich vocabulary. However, they do also have intellectual impairments. This condition might have a link to the relationship between music and language domains. I think it is an exciting area of further research.
Nice article! I have never thought of the relationship between music and language. It was interesting to find out about how fetus in the womb preferred sounds that were similar to the mother’s voice. So, can we assume that fetus have an affinity for music in that language? I agree with Cindy’s comment about children that are exposed to music or a second language but sometimes they don’t all grow up to fully master the skill. How do we explain this?
McMullen and Saffran suggest that music and language develop through similar processes in the brain and that acquisition of knowledge in these domains does not stem from predisposition at the beginning of life. They contend that both music and speech reach us through frequency spectra and are both formulated by sets of rules and cultural traditions. Input certainly has a role to play in both domains and evolves over time since adults process music and language as different entities while infants do not. The authors parallel this exposure to music and language by observing that children acquire grammaticality around age 2 because they are encouraged to speak while musicality is acquired later because it is not used to communicate at the same frequency. Interestingly, musical memory can be just as nuanced as linguistic memory although the authors caution that neurological evidence clearly separates the brain regions in which language and music knowledge are stored. They stress that further evidence would need to be collected to validate the hypothesis that music and language share common acquisition processes.
This paper described the similarities in the processing of language and music particularly in infant brains. Though neurological evidence shows fairly conclusively that language and music are processed in different regions of the brain, they rely on many of the same cognitive skills. Both involve recognizing patterns and following particular structural rules. In this case, it is entirely possible that as infants the two systems are not as clearly separated in the brain, and only become so as we grow and learn.
The relationship of language and music processing was explored in this paper. By looking at a number of studies in which infants’ responses to music and speech were recorded, the authors determine that these two domains have many overlaps. There were examples cited explaining the infant brain’s perception of prosodic and grammatical / segmental structure in music and language. What I found most interesting was the section on memory, in which the authors cited studies showing infants preferred to listen both to lists of words and to melodies that they had heard before. The article then went on to discuss learning mechanisms for each of these systems, suggesting that some aspects of each are acquired in the same way, one example being “statistical learning” or the detection of patterns in sounds or words.
This paper explored the relationship between speech and music and described how both are processed by the brain of infants. The article discusses how both music and language organized temporally. I was especially interested in the discussion of the ability of Western listeners to recognize different patterns in music. As infants, there was little or no indication that Western tonal conventions affected the way that babies perceived music. The author notes, that it is not until they start school that Western listeners’ responses to stimuli begin to show influences of typical Western musical structure.
This topic was very interesting because I have been playing the violin since I was three and music is very familiar thing to me. This reminds me of the time when my mom taught me English by singing mother goose songs when I was little. It was easier for me to remember lyrics than remember words itself, and I think this may have connection to the relationship between language and music processing.
This paper is interesting that it made me think a lot about the two domains. I strongly believe that there is a correlation between language and music. We know that it is harder for adults to learn both a foreign language and music. We also know that children are able to acquire any language which they are exposed to from infancy and over time become native speakers of that language, but what about music? I wonder if it works the same way. Many children learn how to play a musical instrument at an early age but that does not always mean all of them become musical when they grow up. Does that mean music is a talent or natural gift and that critical period doesn’t really affect it, while language is a case of brain plasticity and attributed to critical period? I want to believe that anyone can be musical if provided with the necessary instruction. However, this won’t explain why there are people who are tone deaf or just can’t sing.
From my observation, I’ve seen that many people who are musical – especially singers – tend to be better at learning foreign languages. Those who can sing well usually can imitate sounds or accents thus tend to have good dictation. Is it, in other words, they are good (or gifted?) at pronunciation? Or, is it the other way around; because they are good at imitating sounds and phonemes they can sing well?
Another example that supports the cognitive connection between language and music is the Williams syndrome. One of the characteristics of people with Williams syndrome, a genetic developmental disorder, is that they are both musical and very verbal with a rich vocabulary. However, they do also have intellectual impairments. This condition might have a link to the relationship between music and language domains. I think it is an exciting area of further research.
Nice article! I have never thought of the relationship between music and language. It was interesting to find out about how fetus in the womb preferred sounds that were similar to the mother’s voice. So, can we assume that fetus have an affinity for music in that language? I agree with Cindy’s comment about children that are exposed to music or a second language but sometimes they don’t all grow up to fully master the skill. How do we explain this?
McMullen and Saffran suggest that music and language develop through similar processes in the brain and that acquisition of knowledge in these domains does not stem from predisposition at the beginning of life. They contend that both music and speech reach us through frequency spectra and are both formulated by sets of rules and cultural traditions. Input certainly has a role to play in both domains and evolves over time since adults process music and language as different entities while infants do not. The authors parallel this exposure to music and language by observing that children acquire grammaticality around age 2 because they are encouraged to speak while musicality is acquired later because it is not used to communicate at the same frequency. Interestingly, musical memory can be just as nuanced as linguistic memory although the authors caution that neurological evidence clearly separates the brain regions in which language and music knowledge are stored. They stress that further evidence would need to be collected to validate the hypothesis that music and language share common acquisition processes.