Sense and Synchrony: Infant Communication and Musical Improvisation

Abstract

This paper explores the forms and functions of synchrony in two communicative contexts: jazz musicians’ performances and vocal communication between mothers and infants. We present the view that musical expression is first and foremost a form of communication, involving socially distributed practices that enable a coordination of ideas, intentions and meanings. We report on studies in developmental psychology that have highlighted infants’ early abilities to connect with others. Synchrony is quite possibly the most fundamental of these abilities, enabling flexible and affectionate social encounters. We go on to argue that synchrony grounds meaning and culture within interpersonal processes. Synchrony is, at heart, a semiotic process which can readily do without language.

Embodiment of intersubjective time: relational dynamics as attractors in the temporal coordination of interpersonal behaviors and experiences

“…Finally, coordinating in time leaves traces on embodied dynamics after the interaction itself ( Oullier et al, 2008 ; Hove et al, 2012 ) on top of explicit traces of the partner himself ( Macrae et al, 2008 ; Miles et al, 2010 ). Recurrent interactions and the temporal coordination they entail might enable the stabilization of interactional repertoires as well as the emergence of long-term and large-scale bonding such as those found in cultural practices and habits ( Gratier and Apter-Danon, 2009 ; Gratier and Magnier, 2012 ). Dynamical models of embodied interactions thus might also play a significant role in the understanding of socio-cultural phenomena that are observable at larger timescales ( Aguilera et al, 2013 ; Cao et al, 2013 ).…”

“…The pre-reflective dynamical background of experience should thus be shaped by the interaction process ( Obhi and Hall, 2011 ). Interpersonal coordination dynamics are indeed experienced meaningfully ( Gratier and Apter-Danon, 2009 ; Gratier and Magnier, 2012 ). Their co-regulation can lead to a coordination of personal experiences ( Markey et al, 2010 ; Wiese et al, 2010 ) as well as to experiences of interpersonal connection ( Hove and Risen, 2009 ; Marsh et al, 2009 ; Miles et al, 2009 ; Paladino et al, 2010 ; Ramseyer and Tschacher, 2011 ; Watanabe et al, 2011 ; Vacharkulksemsuk and Fredrickson, 2012 ).…”

Spontaneous preferences and core tastes: embodied musical personality and dynamics of interaction in a pedagogical method of improvisation

“…In the end, since embodiment is constituted in our interactions with the world, our behaviors and our experiences are directly shaped by the dynamics of our interactions with others (De Jaegher et al, 2010 ; Froese et al, 2014 ; Laroche et al, 2014 ). This has been acknowledged in the fields of personality (Kyselo, 2014 ), music experiences (Krueger, 2013 ; Moran, 2014 ), and improvisation (Gratier and Magnier, 2012 ; Schober and Spiro, 2014 ). Interactions with others should therefore play a role in one's embodied musical personality.…”

Vocalizations produced in the second year of life in response to speaking and singing

“…This way of using the singing voice to address young children was termed “songese” by Longhi (2009). These early vocalizations were rapidly noticed as attracting the interest of mothers, thus reinforcing communication between them (Gratier & Magnier, 2012; H. Papousek, 1996; M.…”