Music in infant-directed digital video discs: a content analysis

Abstract

A rapidly growing industry creates and markets a vast range of screen media products designed specifically for babies and children under the age of three. Marketing of these products targets parents and is based on both implicit and explicit educational claims. Although the majority of products target literacy and numeracy, music presentations are also available. Thirteen DVDs with titles implying a contribution to young children's musical development and education are the focus of this paper. Using ethnographic content analysis, they were examined in light of their repertoire; representations of the multimodal and interactional nature of young children's musical experiences; the developing intermodal perception of infants and toddlers; and the formal production features used to elicit attention. Observations of young children viewing the DVDs and semi-structured interviews with their mothers allowed data triangulation. DVDs found to provide the most valuable presentations for babies offer a variety of repertoire that includes singing and the use of acoustic instruments; model musical interactions between babies and others; and are temporally synchronous and audio-visually congruent. Producers of infant-directed media must consider the developmental needs of young children if their productions are to play a positive role in the musical lives of young children.

What babies, infants, and toddlers hear on Fox/Disney BabyTV: An exploratory study.

“…If the presence of sound and music assists learning and transferring information necessary for interpretation and behavioral responses (Brooks, 2015), then music is not simply a decorative feature but rather an essential constituent component of infant-directed content. In fact, several investigators advocate that developmentally appropriate soundtracks explicitly manage the passage from 2D animations to 3D real world settings (Barr et al, 2009; Saffran, Loman, & Robertson, 2000).…”

Mama’s Turn: A mother’s musical journey

“…Researchers around the globe recognize the importance of the early childhood years to musical development (Adachi & Trehub, 2012; Andang’o, 2009; Barrett & Tafuri, 2012; Brooks, 2015; Campbell & Wiggins, 2012; Chen-Hafteck & Mang, 2013; Koops, in press; Lee & Lin, 2013; Lum & Dairianathan, 2014; Young & Ilari, 2012; Zentner & Eerola, 2010). In addition to developing abilities in foundational areas of music such as pitch (Reigado, Rocha, & Rodrigues, 2011) and rhythm (Habegger, 2010), researchers have documented young children’s understanding relating to notation (Lee, 2013) and instrument use (Delalande & Cornara, 2010; Marshall & Shibazaki, 2011, 2013).…”

The Enjoyment Cycle: A Phenomenology of Musical Enjoyment of 4- to 7-Year-Olds During Musical Play

“…When one is concerned with justifying a music program under these conditions, enjoyment may not be on one’s priority list. Third, in a related sense, music educators may seek to distance themselves from “edutainment,” the industry creating technologically connected learning materials with the goal of teaching children via entertainment (Brooks, 2015; Okan, 2003). Critics have argued that “the inflated expectation in the learners that the process of learning should always be colourful and fun, and that they can acquire information without work and serious study” (Okan, 2003, p. 9) must be examined.…”