Musical Development as a Cognitive Ability
Cognitive Psychology
Abstract
This paper discusses theories of cognitive development and its relationship to musical development. Cognitive development is closely related to musical development and learning. Jean Piaget developed theories of the cognitive development in children. Musicologists have developed theories on how musical development has cognitive components. Cognitive development is acquired through interaction with an environment, just as musical development is acquired through interaction with a musical environment.
Jean Piaget on Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is the investigation of how mental skills build and change with increasing physiological maturity (maturation) and experience (learning) (Sternberg, p.444). Cognitive development involves qualitative changes in thinking, as well as quantitative changes, such as increasing knowledge and ability (Sternberg, p.444). Most cognitive psychologists agree that developmental changes occur as a result of the interaction of maturation (nature) and learning (nurture) (Sternberg, p. 444).
According to Sternberg, despite the differences in theoretical approaches, there are some basic principles that that crosscut the study of cognitive development (Sternberg, p.446).
First, over the course of development, people seem to gain more sophisticated control over their own thinking and learning. As people grow older, they become more capable of more complex interactions between thought and behavior. Second, people engage in more thorough information processing with age. Third, people become increasingly able to comprehend successively more complex relationships over the course of development. Finally, over time, people develop increasing flexibility in their uses of strategies or information. (Sternberg, p.446)
He explains that as people grow older they become less bound to using information in just a single context, and they learn how to apply it in a greater context (Sternberg, p.446).
One of the most influential contributors to developmental research is Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896- 1980). His theory of cognitive development is one of the most comprehensive in the field (Sternberg, p.446). Piaget believed that the function of intelligence is to aid in adaptation to the environment (Sternberg, p.44...
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...derlying tonal and metrical structures to guide their song performance, even though they seem to have no reflective awareness of such structures (Sloboda, p. 214).
Changes in musical awareness between the ages of five and ten seem to reflect a general intellectual change from inactive competence, which is displayed only within the bounds of specific and directed activities, to a reflective awareness of the structures and principles which underlie such competence (Sloboda, p. 215). Piaget would characterize this change as moving from pre-operational to operational though (Sloboda, p. 215). In music it is marked by an increased ability to explicitly classify music as conforming to rule or style, and an increasing advantage of memory and perceptual tasks for those sequences which conform to rule (Sloboda, p. 215)
Works Cited
Sloboda, J.A. (1985) The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music. Oxford Psychology Series No. 5. Clarendon Press, Oxford. pp. 194-215.
Sternberg, Robert J. (2003) Cognitive Psychology. Thomson-Wadsworth. Third edition. pp. 444- 449.
Swanwick, Keith (2001) “Musical Development Theories Revisited”. Music Education Research, Vol.3, No.2.
..., D. (1993). Music and the Mind. MENC, Retrieved August 25, 2003 from MENC, Academic Achievement and Music database.
We are all familiar with the way children interact and play together. Through these interactions, it is clear to see their curiosity, energetic attitude, and friendliness. However there is one important part of their interactions that is overlooked. We often do not think much of kids humming a tune or combining small syllables into a little song, but if we paid close attention, we could see how music is so thoroughly integrated into a child’s life. After reading “Songs in Their Heads: Music and its Meaning in Children’s Lives” by Patricia Shehan Campbell, it became clear to me how children have a concept of music from such a young age, and in a lot of cases, their knowledge of music is not taught to them through school.
Most of the time, music is seen as the extra curricular activity in schools. However, music is an essential aspect of education in the learning of attention, art, and cooperation. Music teachers face the challenge of bringing those crucial principles to their students. In doing so, it is necessary to use learning and cognition theories in order to understand how students' minds work and therefore adapt their teaching style accordingly. Although I recognize, Piaget's theory of schema and representation as well as Vygotsky zone of proximal development, I also believe that learning drives development, and that a growth mindset grounded in Gardner's multiple intelligence theory are essential for students' success.
Parncutt, Richard, and Gary E. McPherson. The Science and Psychology of Music Performance. New York: Oxford, 2002. Print.
Many people do not realize the positive effect that popular music has on children. At a young age one of the breakthroughs for children is music’s benefit for language development. According to the Children’s Music Workshop, the effect of music education on language development can be seen in the brain. Studies have indicated that musical training develops the left side of the brain known to be involved in processing language and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. The relation between both music and language development can also have advantages children. Listening to music can also improve children test scores and IQ levels. Dr. Schellenberg found that a small increase in the IQs of six year olds who were given weekly vocal and piano lessons. This leads to the fact that music is very helpful when it comes to education. Professor Christopher Johnson revealed that students in elementary schools with better music education programs sc...
Cognitive development focuses on the person’s ability to intellect, perceive and process information. (35589) defined the cognitive ability as the process in which people learn, think and use language; it is the progression of their mental capacity from being irrational to rational (35589). Piaget and Vygotsky are two cognitive theorists whom were interested in the cognitive development of a person across their life span and its relation with social and environmental factors. Piaget is the most known cognitive theorist who affected the world of psychology greatly, and was a great influence to many psychologists out there; however his main intention was the innate maturity process and, unlike Vygotsky, he underestimated the role of language and social interaction and his theory wasn’t useful in the teaching field. However, both theorists believed that a person goes through a sequential process during their development. They were also both aware that one gains knowledge through experience and not through passive learning.
Martin, Roy P. “Does Music Education Enhance the Developing Brain and Academic Achievement”. College of Education at the University of Georgia. 17 November 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.
Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Kate Overy, and Ellen Winner. Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain. The Musician's Brain. New York Academy Of Sciences, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
Musical intellectuals can create and reproduce music. Studies shows, that music and mathematics share a connection because they have similar thinking process. A study "showed that when groups of first graders were given music instruction that emphasized sequential skill development and musical games involving rhythm and pitch, after six months, the students scored better in math than students in groups that received traditional music instruction." (Zhan, 2002).Musical intelligence deals with rhythm and u...
Jean Piaget is known as the greatest and most influential biologist in the field of developing theories no one’s research had an impact on cognitive development like his work. Mr. Piaget is a Swiss psychologist, and his main point of research was that children go through four different stages growing up. He got interested in studying the mind of children while working in Binet’s IQ labs in Paris, France. His research also included the organism adapting and behaving in the environment. Piaget’s work showed that when a baby is born a sense of instincts that are known best as “reflexes” and also the baby can easily adapt to different scenarios. An example is with the feeding of the baby when a baby is drinking milk from the mother’s breast it is different from drinking milk from a bottle. Another term that Jean Piaget used in his research is Assimilation which is known as the process by which a person takes materials and information into the brain from the environment or surroundings, and sometimes it may mean t...
The dialectical approach involves interaction among distinct processes, where Vygotsky’s theory that development is a complex dialectical process is also a main theme in Piaget’s approach to cognitive development. A non-reductionist view of consciousness and human intelligence. Vygotsky’s thesis, states that “psychology teaches us at every step that though two types of activity can have the same external manifestation, whether in origin or essence, their nature may differ most profoundly” (as cited in Laurenco, 2012, p. 283), which coincides with Piaget’s “distinction between the external content of a child’s answer on the operational task, and its underlying structure or form” (Laurenco, 2012). The two also share the non-dualist thought, in that, the individual’s physical and social context are not independent, but rather based on relational interactions with others (Laurenco, 2012). Piaget and Vygotsky also both put a strong emphasis on action. As Piaget stated, “To know an object is to act on it” (as cited in Laurenco, 2012, p. 283), which is similar to Vygotsky’s thought that “The word was not the beginning—action was there first” (as cited in Laurenco, 2012, p. 283). Stressing the primary processes of development instead of the outcome is another similarity of
The similarities in the theories, including the development perspective and dialectical approach, are very complex and focus upon the fundamentals of each theory. The differences in each theory make them very unique, including the autonomous and heteronomous approaches for each respective theory. The four cognitive stages of Piaget’s theory, including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations, provide a clear, effective progression of an individual’s development path from infancy to adulthood. This is very unique to Piaget’s theory and is utilized immensely in academic studies of psychology. The fundamental aspects of Vygotsky’s theory, including cultural and historical factors contributing to the individual’s development is also very unique and is regularly utilized in academic studies. Without the research that each theorist conducted and presented, the psychology studies that we know today would not be the same. The work of both respective theorists will continue to be utilized in academia and in psychology for many years to
Music education reinforces creativity and better behavior in children. To play notes on the page is one thing, but to play beyond it, to express the m...
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