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Becoming musically enculturated: Effects of music classes for

infants on brain and behavior

Article  in  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · April 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06462.x · Source: PubMed

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 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. ISSN 0077-8923

A N N A L S O F T H E N E W Y O R K A C A D E M Y O F SC I E N C E S
Issue: The Neurosciences and Music IV: Learning and Memory

Becoming musically enculturated: effects of music classes

for infants on brain and behavior
Laurel J. Trainor,1,2 Céline Marie,1 David Gerry,1 Elaine Whiskin,1 and Andrea Unrau1
1
McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. 2 Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Address for correspondence: Laurel J. Trainor, Director, McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, Department of
Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada. [email protected]

Musical enculturation is a complex, multifaceted process that includes the development of perceptual processing
specialized for the pitch and rhythmic structures of the musical system in the culture, understanding of esthetic
and expressive norms, and learning the pragmatic uses of music in different social situations. Here, we summarize
the results of a study in which 6-month-old Western infants were randomly assigned to 6 months of either an
active participatory music class or a class in which they experienced music passively while playing. Active music
participation resulted in earlier enculturation to Western tonal pitch structure, larger and/or earlier brain responses
to musical tones, and a more positive social trajectory. Furthermore, the data suggest that early exposure to cultural
norms of musical expression leads to early preferences for those norms. We conclude that musical enculturation
begins in infancy and that active participatory music making in a positive social setting accelerates enculturation.

Keywords: enculturation; music acquisition; brain development; EEG; learning; infancy; tonality; esthetics

Introduction Enculturation takes place on many levels. Musi-

cal systems differ structurally in how they organize
Music is a cornerstone of human culture, found in pitch space, the musical scales they use, whether
everyday life in all societies and used to mark impor- and how they define harmony, and what rhyth-
tant occasions such as weddings and funerals. The mic and metrical structures they employ. In this re-
ability of music to engender a common emotion and gard, many studies indicate that even Western adults
engage people in cooperative social behavior likely with no formal musical training have become en-
explains why music is ubiquitous in religious rituals, culturated listeners through everyday exposure to
sporting events, cooperative work engagement, and Western music.12–20 Musical systems also differ in
interactions between caregivers and infants.1–9 Part terms of how musical esthetics and expressivity are
of the power of music lies in the fact that it is gener- conveyed; for example, timbral voice qualities con-
ative; that is, it does not consist of a fixed set of vocal sidered pleasing in one culture may be aversive in
signals, but rather a structural framework in which another. Performance group structures also differ,
an unlimited number of musical compositions are from a predominance of solo to antiphonal to cho-
possible. Furthermore, although there are biologi- rus styles.21 Finally, there are cultural rules as to
cal constraints that shape the space of possible mu- who performs what music when, including songs
sical structures,10,11 the particular structures used for males or females or children and special songs
vary from musical system to musical system, and for religious leaders.22
even within a musical system, these structures evolve The vast majority of developmental research on
from generation to generation. Thus, for young in- musical enculturation concerns infants and chil-
fants, learning to become full participants in their dren learning Western tonal and rhythmic struc-
culture necessarily involves becoming sensitive to, ture.11,23–32 In this regard, Hannon and her col-
and specialized for, the particular musical system of leagues have shown that young Western infants are
that culture.

doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06462.x
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 
c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences. 129
The origins of musical enculturation in infancy Trainor et al.

able to process both simple and complex metrical for 6 months in one of two types of weekly hour-
structures found in music around the world, but be- long music classes for infants and parents. A to-
come specialized for the simple metrical structures tal of 38 infants completed the musical training,
predominant in Western music by 12 months of as defined by attending at least 75% of the classes.
age.23,24,33 Similarly, in contrast to Western adults, After this participation, we measured their sensi-
young infants are not yet sensitive to Western tonal tivity to Western tonality, their esthetic preferences,
pitch structure, processing equally well wrong notes their brain responses to musical sounds, and their
that go outside the key of a melody and wrong social development. We also measured brain re-
notes that are consistent with the key and im- sponses and social development at the beginning
plied harmony of a melody.34 Interestingly, stud- of the classes. We did not expect to see sensitivity to
ies in preschool children suggest that music lessons Western tonality or esthetic preferences at 6 months
accelerate musical acquisition as measured both of age, so these were only measured at 12 months.
behaviorally35 and with brain imaging techniques The classes took place at Ontario Early Years Cen-
such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoen- ters, which are government-sponsored drop-in cen-
cephalography (MEG), and functional magnetic ters for preschool children and their families. In the
resonance imaging (fMRI).36–38 Little work has been active classes, a Suzuki-philosophy approach was
done in the infancy period. However, one study used in which the teacher engaged parents and in-
suggests that metrical specialization can be slowed fants in a curriculum that focused on movement,
by exposure to foreign musical systems around singing, playing percussion instruments, and build-
12 months of age.33 There is also evidence that par- ing a repertoire of lullabies and action songs.42 The
ticipation in Kindermusik classes for infants and classes emphasized musical expression, listening in
parents can accelerate specialization for Western order to play a percussion instrument or sing at the
meters in seven-month-old infants.39 In the pitch correct time, repetition of the repertoire, and en-
domain, one study indicates that controlled listen- couraging parents to develop an awareness of their
ing to melodies in either marimba or guitar tim- infants’ responses. Parents were encouraged to play
bre at four months of age strengthens brain re- a CD at home that included the songs learned in
sponses to the exposed timbre,40 but it remains an class. In the “passive classes,” parents and infants
open question as to whether musical training in in- listened to a rotation of CDs from the Baby Einstein
fancy can accelerate enculturation to Western tonal- (The Walt Disney Co., Burbank, CA) series while
ity and Western esthetic values related to musical the teacher encouraged play and interaction at art,
expression. book, ball, block, and stacking cup play stations.
These CDs consist of synthesized classical music,
Experiment on the effects of active
rendered without musical expression, but nonethe-
musical experience in infancy on
less, as the name indicates, marketed as a tool to
enculturation to Western music
help make your baby more intelligent. Parents were
Gerry, Unrau, and Trainor investigated the ef- encouraged to take home a different Baby Einstein
fects of music classes for infants and parents on CD each week to listen to at home. Thus, the pas-
enculturation to Western music.41 Their findings sive classes were matched as much as possible to the
on enculturation to Western tonality and the so- active classes in terms of amount of musical stim-
cial implications of this enculturation are summa- ulation, motivation, and social interaction. Details
rized below. In the present paper, we also present concerning the classes can be found in Gerry et al.41
new data from this large project on the effects The classes took place at two different centers, one
of these classes on esthetic responses and brain in a lower socioeconomic status (SES) area and the
development. other in a middle-class SES area, such that each cen-
ter had one active and one passive class. Teachers of
Study background
the classes were blind as to the content and hypothe-
We hypothesized that musical enculturation takes ses of the tests given to infants, and experimenters
place through social interaction and participation conducting the tests were blind as to whether each
in music making. To test this idea, we randomly infant was in the group participating in passive or
assigned infants at 6 months of age to participate active classes.

130 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.
Trainor et al. The origins of musical enculturation in infancy

Enculturation to Western tonality estingly, a higher proportion of parents completed

the active compared to passive training classes with
As reported by Gerry and colleagues,41 sensitivity
their infants, measured by attending at least 75%
to Western tonality was measured by examining
of the classes. Furthermore, no infants in the active
infants’ preferences for two versions of a sonatina
group, but four in the passive group, had to be elim-
by Thomas Atwood (1765–1838). The tonal ver-
inated for fussing during the preference procedure
sion was presented in G major as written by At-
or producing anomalous data. For details see Gerry
wood. The atonal version had additional acciden-
et al.41 Analysis of the preference data indicated that
tals added, such that it alternated between G major
the groups differed significantly and that those in
and G-flat major every beat and therefore had no
the active classes group showed a preference for the
feeling of a tonal center. This modification main-
tonal version, whereas those in the passive classes
tained the rhythm, phrasing, and melodic contours
and no-training groups showed no significant
of the original piece as well as the amount of sensory
preferences.41
consonance (every chord maintained its identity, for
These results clearly show that some sensitivity
example as major or minor, because the manipula-
to Western tonality is possible by 12 months of age.
tion simply transposed the whole chord down by a
Furthermore, they indicate that active musical par-
semitone or not).
ticipation involving social interaction between in-
Infants’ preferences for these two versions were
fants, their parents, and others in the group pro-
measured in a head-turn preference procedure in
motes earlier enculturation to the pitch structure of
which the experimenter sat across from the infant,
music.
who sat on his or her parent’s lap. The parent and
the experimenter wore headphones and listened to
Esthetic enculturation to Western classical
masking music so that they were unaware of what
music
the infant was hearing and could not influence the
results. The experimenter signaled to the computer Enculturation to stylistic norms of expressive
through a button box to begin a trial when the infant performance is an important aspect of musical
was facing forward. The computer initiated a trial development, but one that has been little studied.
by flashing a light on one side of the infant, illumi- There are many aspects of esthetics, and infant
nating an interesting toy. When the infant looked at listeners have limited attention spans in which to
the toy, the light remained on and one of the two be tested, so this first study could only scratch
versions of the sonatina began playing. The light the surface of this question. We decided to test
remained on and the music played until the infant whether infants in the active and passive classes
looked away, signaling the end of the trial. The next groups would show differential responding to
trial was identical except that it occurred on the op- musically expressive versus synthesized versions of
posite side of the infant and involved the other ver- a classical Western piece from the Romantic period,
sion of the sonatina. Which version was played on in which there is a large scope for expression during
the first trial and which version was played on which performance. Two versions of the opening section
side were counterbalanced across infants. Trials of of Chopin’s Waltz in A-flat, op. 69, No. 1, were used
the two versions alternated until 20 trials had been in this experiment (Fig. 1A). The first version was
completed. In this way, the infant controlled how played in an expressive manner on acoustic piano
long they listened to each version. The dependent by Dinu Lipatti, considered to be one of the world’s
measure of infants’ tonality preference was the pro- greatest interpreters of Chopin. The second version
portion of the total time listening (listening times was synthesized using Cakewalk in Midi Chorus
to tonal plus atonal versions) spent listening to the timbre, with no timbral or dynamic variation, no
tonal version. expressive timing, and no velocity contour. Due to
The final sample consisted of 20 infants in the dynamic variation within the Lipatti performance,
active classes group and 10 in the passive classes dynamics in both versions were normalized in order
group. An additional 20 infants were tested in a to obtain dynamic uniformity. Average tempo was
no-training age-matched control group in order to matched between the two versions. These stimuli
verify the results in the passive classes group. Inter- can be heard in the supporting information at

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences. 131
The origins of musical enculturation in infancy Trainor et al.

Figure 1. Relationship between esthetic preferences and SES vulnerability. (A) The opening of the Chopin Waltz in A-flat, op. 69,
No. 1, from the Romantic period of the Western classical music repertoire. Two versions of the waltz were used, one performed by
Dinu Lipatti on acoustic piano and the other synthesized with no dynamic variation and no expressive timing. The two versions can
be heard in the supporting information at http://www.psychology.mcmaster.ca/ljt/estheticstimuli.htm. (B) Correlations between
SES vulnerability and degree of each individual infant’s preference for the Lipatti compared to the synthesized version. SES
vulnerability is a composite score based on the area where the infant resides. It can be seen that lower SES vulnerability is associated
with greater preference for the Dinu Lipatti version, consistent with greater exposure to acoustic classical music in higher-SES
homes.

http://www.psychology.mcmaster.ca/ljt/estheticsti- Lipatti plus synthesized version) as the dependent

muli.htm. measure revealed no significant difference between
Infants’ preferences for the two versions were the groups (P > 0.55). Furthermore, a single-group
tested in the preferential-looking paradigm de- t-test revealed that there was no significant pref-
scribed in the last section. Each infant completed erence for either version (not significantly different
20 trials. The sample had 20 infants from the ac- from 0.5, representing the expected value for chance
tive classes and 14 from the passive classes group. performance, P > 0.30; mean proportion = 0.52,
Of these, two infants did not complete the testing SD = 0.10). Thus, no evidence was found for an
due to fussing or crying and two were eliminated effect of active versus passive musical experience on
as outliers (total looking time more than 2 SD from esthetic preferences for two highly contrastive ver-
the mean), leaving a final sample of 20 infants from sions of a Chopin waltz at 12 months of age. This
the active classes and 10 from the passive classes. A is perhaps not surprising as neither class type was
t-test with proportion listening time to the Lipatti exposed to expressive exemplars of this type from
version (time listening to Lipatti/time listening to the Western classical corpus within the classes.

132 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.
Trainor et al. The origins of musical enculturation in infancy

We conducted a further analysis based on SES (deviants), the pitch was changed by one semitone
vulnerability. A neighborhood social index (NSI) is (C#5 , 554 Hz), although responses to these trials are
available for the Hamilton, Ontario area.43,44 It rates not reported (see below). The piano tones were 300
each area on nine subscales, with a total score of 0, msec in duration with stimulus-onset asynchronies
representing lowest vulnerability, and 9 the highest of 400 msec and infants were recorded for up to 20
vulnerability for young children. This score takes min, as long as they did not fuss. Recordings were
into account the percentage of unemployed resi- made at 6 months of age at the onset of the music
dents, low-income families, income derived from classes and again at 12 months of age, at the end of
government transfer payments, residents without the classes.
high-school diplomas, recent immigrants, residents EEG was recorded at a sampling rate of 1,000
who do not speak English or French, residents who Hz from a 124-channel HydroCel GSN net (Elec-
do not own their own home, resident mobility, and trical Geodesics, Eugene, OR) referenced to the ver-
single-parent families (all compared to national av- tex. The impedance of all electrodes was below 50
erages). From the home address of each participat- K during the recording. EEG data were bandpass
ing family, we obtained the SES vulnerability score filtered between 2 and 18 Hz (roll-off = 12 dB/
for each infant. Classifying infants as low or high octave) using EEprobe software. The sampling rate
vulnerability according to the NSI scores resulted was modified to 200 Hz in order to run the Ar-
in 10/20 infants in the active classes and 4/10 in- tifact Blocking program in Matlab.45,46 Recordings
fants in the passive classes being classified as residing were rereferenced off-line using an average refer-
in high-vulnerability neighborhoods. Interestingly, ence and then segmented into 500-msec epochs (–
NSI scores were negatively correlated with prefer- 100 to 400 msec relative to stimulus onset) to create
ence for the expressive Lipatti version (r = –0.48, event-related potential (ERP) waveforms. Standard
n = 30, P = 0.008; Fig. 1B), and this correlation re- and deviant trials were averaged separately for each
mained significant for each group separately. Thus, electrode for each infant at each age (6, 12 months).
infants from higher-SES neighborhoods tended to Standard trials immediately following deviant trials
prefer the expressive Lipatti version. were excluded from the average. To increase signal-
While it is difficult to determine causality from to-noise ratios, groups of electrodes were averaged
correlational data, this result is consistent with together to form 10 scalp regions covering left and
higher-SES families exposing infants to more acous- right frontal, central, parietal, occipital, and tempo-
tic classical music in their homes compared to ral regions (FL, FR, CL, CR, PL, PR, OL, OR, TL,
lower-SES families. If this interpretation is correct, it TR), following He et al.47 As the amplitude of the
indicates that enculturation to esthetic norms of ex- ERPs was almost flat at parietal regions, as expected
pression in musical performances begins early in from the scalp distribution of ERPs in response to
development through exposure to exemplars from sound,48 these regions (PL and PR) were eliminated
the musical culture. from further analysis. Unfortunately, the deviant
waveforms were too noisy (there were too few tri-
Effects of musical enculturation on brain
als) to analyze. The initial sample contained 24 in-
development
fants who completed testing at both 6 months and
Musical training has been shown to affect brain 12 months. An additional three infants (two from
development in preschool children,36–38 but pre- the active and one from the passive classes) had to be
vious studies have not examined this question in eliminated because their data contained too few tri-
infants. To determine whether participation in the als to analyze and/or their data contained too much
active classes set infants on a different trajectory movement artifact at one of the test sessions (6,
of brain development compared to participation 12 months), leaving a final sample of 14 infants from
in the passive classes, we measured EEG while in- the active classes group and seven infants from the
fants listened to a repeating standard piano tone (C5 , passive classes group.
523 Hz) through a speaker (custom-built Westsun As can be seen in Figure 2A, the ERPs to stan-
Jason Sound, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) at 70 dards were dominated by a large positivity peak-
dB(A) over a noise floor of 29 dB(A) measured at the ing around 175 msec at 6 months and 155 msec at
location of the infant’s head. On 10% of repetitions 12 months after stimulus onset. This is consistent

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences. 133
The origins of musical enculturation in infancy Trainor et al.

Figure 2. Comparison of ERP responses to a piano tone between infants in the active and passive classes groups. (A) Grand
average ERP waveforms to standard piano tones comparing the results for infants in the active and passive classes groups at
6 months (upper) and 12 months (lower) of age. The y-axis represents the onset of the piano tone stimulus. Scalp regions at which
the two groups differed significantly between 100 and 150 msec and between 150 and 200 msec after stimulus onset are shown.
The electrodes included in the eight scalp regions used for analysis (following He et al.47 ) are shown to the right, with illustrations
of infants in the 124-channel HydroCel GSN nets. (B) Topographic head maps for the active and passive classes groups at 6 and
12 months of age every 20 msec, illustrating the time course of the positivity across age and group.

134 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

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Trainor et al. The origins of musical enculturation in infancy

with the previous ERP reports of infants’ responses to groups, the differences between the groups can
to piano tones (as reviewed by Trainor49 ). Topo- be attributed to differences related to the training
graphic voltage maps were calculated every 20 msec they received. Furthermore, although the sample
so that the evolution of the amplitude and the spa- size is relatively small, the fact that there were no
tial distribution of this component could be seen differences at 6 months but robust differences at
across age and type of training (Fig. 2B). The pre- 12 months again suggests that the ERP differences
cise peak of the positivity was sometimes difficult were due to the differences in the music classes that
to measure in individual infants at 6 and 12 months the groups received. Although we cannot determine
of age. Therefore, in order to analyze the differ- precisely which aspect of the active musical classes
ences between the active classes and passive classes led to advanced brain development for musical pro-
groups, we computed mean amplitudes in two time cessing, good candidates include active participa-
windows, 100–150 msec and 150–200 msec after tion in music making, involvement of the parent
stimulus onset for each infant for each age for each in musical interaction with their infant, modeling
region as the dependent measure. Because the num- of good singing by the teacher, routine and repeti-
ber of infants was different in the two groups (14 and tion of musical materials, and encouraging infants
7), the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U -test was to attend to the music in a social setting.
used rather than an analysis of variance (ANOVA)
Social consequences of musical
approach.
enculturation
At 6 months of age, before the training, the ERPs
elicited by the piano tones were not significantly dif- Because making music with other people leads
ferent between the active and passive classes groups to entrainment, social cooperation, and prosocial
in either the 100–150 msec or 150–200 msec time behavior in older children and adults,1–7,9 Gerry
windows at any region (Fig. 2A). After 6 months et al.41 hypothesized that infants in the active classes
of training, when infants were 12 months of age, might show advanced social development compared
infants in the active classes group showed a larger to infants in the passive classes. They administered
positivity between 100 and 150 msec compared to several subscales of the Infant Behavior Question-
infants in the passive classes group in the left frontal naire (IBQ)50,51 and indeed found that although
(1.99 ␮V vs. 1.28 ␮V; P = 0.05) and left central infants in the active and passive classes showed
(1.88 ␮V vs. 1.10 ␮V; P = 0.05) regions, and a no significant differences at 6 months of age, at
larger negativity in the right occipital (–1.87 ␮V vs. 12 months, after 6 months of classes, those in the
–0.96 ␮V; P = 0.007) and right temporal (–1.85 ␮V active classes showed less distress to limitations, less
vs. –0.40 ␮V; P = 0.001) regions. Between 150 and distress when confronted with novel stimuli, more
200 msec, infants in the active classes group showed smiling and laughter, and easier soothability com-
a larger negativity compared to infants in the passive pared to those in the passive classes.
classes group in the right temporal region (–1.46 ␮V The IBQ is a parent report measure, so it is not
vs. –0.25 ␮V; P = 0.006). clear from these results whether the infants in the
These results revealed no differences between ERP two groups were actually different, whether they
responses to piano tones between the active and pas- were perceived to be different by their parents, or
sive classes groups before training began, but signif- both. In a sense, it does not matter which inter-
icantly different responses after 6 months of music pretation is correct because it is clear that parents
classes. Although the latency difference is not pos- in the active classes developed better social interac-
sible to examine statistically, the plots in Figure 2 tions with their infants and rated their infants more
indicate that the large positive component might positively compared to parents in the passive group.
be both larger and earlier in the active classes With social interaction, positive feelings on the part
group compared to passive classes group after the of the parent are likely to result in positive inter-
6 months of musical training. This difference in- actions with the infant, which likely lead to better
dicates that tone processing was more advanced outcomes for the infant. Reciprocally, more positive
for those in the active classes in that responses responses from infants likely lead to more positive
were faster and/or involved more synchronous neu- responses from the parent, which again feed back to
ral firing. Because infants were randomly assigned better outcomes for the infant. The important result

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences. 135
The origins of musical enculturation in infancy Trainor et al.

is that the active classes led to more positive parent– of live, expressive singing as modeled by the teacher
infant social interaction compared to the passive and parents, the high degree of repetition that en-
classes. abled parents to learn the songs and feel comfortable
singing them at home with their infants, the more
Conclusions
formal class routine that may have directed infants’
Many different musical systems are used around attention to important features of the music, and
the world with unique pitch and rhythmic struc- the encouragement for parents to observe their in-
tures, devices for expressive performance, and rules fants’ behaviors and progress over the course of the
of pragmatic use. Enculturation involves the devel- classes. In any case, the results clearly indicate that
opment of perceptual processing that is specialized infants can benefit from participatory early musi-
for the particular pitch and rhythmic structures of cal classes and that musical enculturation begins in
the musical system used in the culture, familiarity early infancy.
with esthetic and expressive norms, and learning
Acknowledgments
what music is used pragmatically in different so-
cial situations. Here, we explored the beginnings This research was supported by grants from the
of some of these processes in Western infants by Grammy Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of
comparing the effects of 6 months of music classes Health Research (CIHR), and the Natural Sci-
beginning at 6 months of age that either empha- ences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
sized active musical participation or passive expo- (NSERC). We thank summer NSERC students Kris-
sure to synthesized music. The results indicate that ten Tonus, Adrienne Cheung, and Kathleen Lee for
active participation leads to earlier enculturation to help with data reduction and analysis, and Heather
tonal pitch structure. Furthermore, we found sug- Huck, Grace Liao, Nazanin Rajabi, and Lily Zhou
gestive evidence that exposure to Western classical for help testing the participants.
music leads to earlier sensitivity to esthetic norms
Supporting information
for musical expression in this genre. Intriguingly,
the social context of the musical experience appears Additional supporting information may be found
to be crucial, such that infants in the active classes, in the online version of this article:
in which parents and infants participated in active
The stimuli used to test infants’ understanding of
music making together, showed more positive so-
norms of expression in Western classical music from
cial developmental trajectories compared to infants
the Romantic period. Dynamics in both versions
in the passive classes. Finally, the results indicate
below were normalized and average tempo was
that differences between these two groups can also
matched in order to obtain uniformity across the
be measured at the brain level, with larger and/or
stimuli.
earlier ERP responses to musical sounds in the active
Sound example 1. Chopin’s Waltz in A-flat, op.
classes group compared to passive classes group evi-
69, no. 1, as played by Dinu Lipatti, considered
dent after but not before participation in the classes.
to be one of the world’s greatest interpreters of
Previous studies in older children have indicated
Chopin.
that musical lessons are associated with more ad-
Sound example 2. Chopin’s Waltz in A-flat, op.
vanced brain responses,36–38 but the present study
69, no. 1, as synthesized using Cakewalk midi chorus
is the first to show effects of musical training on
timbre, with no timbral or dynamic variation, no
sound processing in the brain during the first year
expressive timing, and no velocity contour.
after birth.
In this initial study, there were a number of differ- Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for
ences between the active classes and passive classes, the content or functionality of any supporting ma-
so we cannot be sure as to which features of the ac- terials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other
tive classes were most crucial for promoting musical than missing material) should be directed to the
enculturation. The most obvious candidate is active corresponding author for the article.
music making in a social context involving infants
Conflicts of interest
and parents. Other features of the active classes may
have contributed as well, however, such as the use The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

136 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1252 (2012) 129–138 

c 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.
Trainor et al. The origins of musical enculturation in infancy

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