This article summarizes currently available brain research concerning relationships between singing and language development. Although this is a new field of investigation, there are findings that are applicable to general music teaching classroom. These findings are presented along with suggestions about how to apply them to teaching music.
Bialystok, E., Majumder, S., & Martin, M. ( 2003). Developing phonological awareness: Is there a bilingual advantage? Applied Psycholinguistics, 24(1), 27-44.
2.
Jentschke, S., & Koelsch, S. ( 2009). Musical training modulates the development of syntax processing in children. Neuroimage, 47, 735-744.
3.
Mang, E. ( 2006). The effects of age, gender and language on children’s singing competency. British Journal of Music Education, 23(2), 161-174.
4.
Mithen, S. ( 2006). The singing Neanderthals. New York : Oxford University Press.
5.
Oller, D.K., Eilers, R.E., Urbano, R., & Cobo-Lewis, A.B. (1997). Development of precursors to speech in infants exposed to two languages. Journal of Child Language, 24, 407-425.
6.
Patel, A.D. ( 2008). Music, language and the brain. New York: Oxford University Press.
7.
Peretz, I., Gagnon, L., Hébert, S., & Macoir, J. ( 2004). Singing in the brain: Insights from cognitive neuropsychology . Music Perception, 21(3), 373-390.
8.
Peretz, I., & Zatorre, R. ( 2005). Brain organization for music processing. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 89-114.
9.
Trollinger, V. ( 2003). Relationships between pitch-matching accuracy, speech fundamental frequency, speech range, age, and gender in American English-speaking preschool children. Journal of Research in Music Education , 51(1), 78-94.
10.
Trollinger, V. ( 2004). Preschool children’s pitch-matching accuracy in relation to participation in Cantonese-immersion preschools. Journal of Research in Music Education, 52(3), 218-233.