Children of two with taste for Vivaldi
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Infants playing with a toy keyboard have shown researchers they have a well-defined appreciation of music. The children, aged two and three, did not mind whether the music they listened to was classical or pop, but liked it to be loud and fast.
Infants playing with a toy keyboard have shown researchers they have a well-defined appreciation of music. The children, aged two and three, did not mind whether the music they listened to was classical or pop, but liked it to be loud and fast.
They also showed a preference for well-known music. For instance, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" was more popular than a lesser-known piece by the composer. Dr Alexandra Lamont, a psychology lecturer from Keele University, Staffordshire, is exploring children's early responses to music in a pilot study.
She had found they seemed to be more stimulated by fast, loud music that held their attention. In a study last year as part of the BBC's Child of Our Time series, presented by Lord Winston, she showed babies appeared to distinguish between familiar pieces of music.
The new study used a customised toy keyboard with four large coloured keys. Each key, when pressed, produced a different extract of music. When the children preferred a particular extract, they held the appropriate key down more often and for longer.
Sixty-one per cent of those studied preferred fast and loud music to slow and quiet music, Dr Lamont told the British Association Festival of Science at Leicester University. She said: "This is not affected by musical genres; fast and loud classical music is as popular as fast and loud pop music. the study shows us a sense of what we like and dislike about music is developed very early in life."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments