Youth Music Engagement in Diverse Contexts

Musical activities are a major part of the life and culture of young people over the course of their development. Even prior to birth, the fetus is able to hear and respond to music (e.g., Hepper, 1991; Lecanuet, 1996; Trevarthen, 1999-2000). The nonverbal communication that occurs in early infancy between caregiver and infant contains musical parameters that express emotions, needs, and mental states (Papousek, 1996), and this form of communication exists in every culture (Trehub, Schellenberg, & Hill, 1997). Musical enculturation is experienced by all young people to some extent through exposure to informal learning practices and music making from an early age. Young children progress through a series of phases in their early musical development without any formal instruction. These phases consist of “babbling songs” based on experimentation with pitch and contour, approximate imitations of songs heard in their environment, followed by careful listening and copying of songs (Hargreaves, 1986). This practice of learning by listening and copying also has a long tradition in folk and traditional music, and is the most often used method in the self-education of popular musicians and many others who engage in informal music making.