Tonal synchrony in mother-infant interaction based on harmonic and pentatonic series.
This study reports the occurrence of 'tonal synchrony' as a new dimension of early mother-infant interaction synchrony. The findings are based on a tonal and temporal analysis of vocal interactions between 15 mothers and their 3-month-old infants during 5 min of free-play in a laboratory setting. In total, 558 vocal exchanges were identified and analysed, of which 84% reflected harmonic or pentatonic series. Another 10% of the exchanges contained absolute and/or relative pitch and/or interval imitations. The total durations of dyads being in tonal synchrony were normally distributed (M=3.71, SD=2.44). Vocalisations based on harmonic series appeared organised around the major triad, containing significantly more simple frequency ratios (octave, fifth and third) than complex ones (non-major triad tones). Tonal synchrony and its characteristics are discussed in relation to infant-directed speech, communicative musicality, pre-reflective communication and its impact on the quality of early mother-infant interaction and child's development.
Van Puyvelde
Martine
M
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. mvpuyvel@vub.ac.be
Vanfleteren
Pol
P
Loots
Gerrit
G
Deschuyffeleer
Sara
S
Vinck
Bart
B
Jacquet
Wolfgang
W
Verhelst
Werner
W
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D010988:Play and Playthings