Click the links that appy to your child for an ongoing list of musical responses to Rhythm and Tonal Activities. Use this reference as a guide to what to look for in your child’s response. As with language, “Music Babble” is an integral part of the process of development, and there are many observable musical behaviors before a child begins to “deliver” musically. Children of all ages, including infants, may engage in both Pre Music Babble and Music Babble, and as they develop, will engage in both Music Babble and Skilled Music Babble. Check back occasionally as your child develops.

Pre Music Babble  (Click links to expand list.)

Attentive Response—Your child focuses on music activities.

Enthusiastic Response—Your child is excited about music activities.

Knowing Response—Your child appears to understand music activities.

Music Babble

Active Response—Your child engages in music activity with voice or body.

Initiated Response—Your child begins music activity on his own.

Imitative Response—Your child mirrors your musical activity. 

Skilled Music Babble

Dependent Skill—Your child sings or chants with increasing accuracy with support

Independent Skill—Your child sings or chants with increasing accuracy without support

Pre Music Babble 

Attentive Response—Your child focuses on music activities.

Examples:    

Your child attends immediately to the songs and chants.

Your child is very attentive to the songs and chants.

Your child seems to be magically drawn into the music.

Your child responds with a “deer in the headlights” stare.

Your child stops fussing or crying when the music starts.

Your child is distracted from another activity when the music starts.

Your child, while feeding, stops sucking or sucks faster when the music starts, stops, or changes.

Your child seems to attend more to either Rhythm or Tonal Activities.

Your child responds to the music so nonchalantly that it appears that he is not even interested, yet he is content in the “sound environment.”

Your child is engaged with a toy or other activity, not necessarily “paying attention” to the music, yet doesn’t seem to “miss a beat.”

Your child attends to a song or chant for a longer period of time than ever before.

Your child attends to a series of songs and chants for a longer period of time than ever before.

Your child’s attention span for Rhythm and Tonal Activities is longer than yours!

Enthusiastic Response—Your child is excited about music activities.

Examples:    

Your child is delighted by his “aural toys.”

Your child kicks or bounces happily when starting the Rhythm or Tonal Activities.

Your child taps, claps, or waves arms in joy when starting Rhythm or Tonal Activities.

Your child squeals with delight when starting Rhythm or Tonal Activities.

Your child offers a big smile when activities are started both at the computer and away from the computer.

Your child responds as if the song or chant is familiar.

Your child responds as if a song or chant is one of his favorite toys that he is happy to engage with.

Your child signals in some manner that he wants “more,” that he wants you to play an example again, or continue the music activities. 

Your child is as determined to have music activities as to have out-of-reach books.

Your independent child wants “aural toys” while playing.

Your child seems more enthused about either Rhythm or Tonal Activities than the other.

Your child seems to understand the power of the tonal and rhythm activities, whether you do or not!

Knowing Response—Your child appears to understand music activities.

Examples:

Your child responds to the music activity with a knowing smile.

Your child demonstrates a look of deliberate intent with the music.

Your child responds to the music activity as if it is familiar.

Your child looks up when the music changes, even when seemingly playing with something else.

Your child appears to understand more about either Rhythm or Tonal.

Your child displays an awareness of your “routine” with music activities.

Your child displays a knowing grin when you initiate music activities at the computer and away from the computer.

Your child demonstrates what appears to be even greater knowing, by displaying a huge smile when music activities are initiated at the computer and away from the computer.

Your child demonstrates through a particular look or smile, an awareness of the “game” with start-stop activities, Dialogue or Resting Tone Activities.

Your child demonstrates through a particular look or smile, an understanding of the music activity, as if he “gets the joke.”

Your child becomes “possessive” with music activities, communicating not only familiarity with the music, but ownership of the music being heard. 

Your child demonstrates through “grunts” or pointing, awareness of “where his music is”—computer, CD, iPod.

Your child delights in hearing music activities initiated by somebody other than the “music caregiver.”

Your child communicates in some non-verbal manner, “that’s mine,” when somebody other than the “musical caregiver” engages in music activities.

Your child shows awareness of rhythm when hearing it outside of CCS music activities.

Your child shows awareness when hearing a familiar rhythm played on a table, box, or other household object.

 Music Babble 

Active Response—Your child engages in music activity with voice or body.  

Examples:

Your child vocalizes with the music, or vocalizes when the music stops.

Your child makes vocal sounds when you sing, as if to be singing along.

Your child moves subtly when hearing music, or when the music stops.

Your child taps, claps, waves arms, or kicks when hearing music, or when the music stops.

Your child dances or moves the whole body to music.

Your child becomes very active with the initiation of music activities—kicking, bouncing, dancing, or even running.

Your child’s intense efforts to learn to crawl or walk are sometimes interrupted by hearing music activities.

Your child makes vocal sounds while moving in response to music.

Your child makes vocal sounds in a “sing-song” voice.

Your child appears to use a different voice for “singing” than for “talking.”

Your child engages more actively in Rhythm or Tonal than the other.

Your child responds to your attempts to stimulate interactive response with a smile, knowing he is invited to participate.

Your child indicates an understanding of the process of “Music Dialogue,” with a smile when it is “his turn.”

Your child randomly delivers an occasional “BAH” with Rhythm Activities.

Your child randomly “sings” the resting tone with Tonal Activities.

Your child randomly “sings along” with Rhythm Activities on “BAH.”

Your child randomly “sings along” with Tonal Activities on “TOO.”

Initiated Response—Your child begins music activity on his own. 

Examples:

Your child bounces or moves in some manner to cue you to start music activities.

Your child cues you to start music activities by “singing.”

Your child cues you to start music activities by delivering “BAH.”

Your child cues you to start music activities by pointing to the sound source, “grunting,” or in some way, making the desire known.

Your child gives some indication for “more” music activity.

Your child develops a consistent “signal” that means, “let’s do music activities.”

Your child bounces or moves in some manner that suggests that there is a song for this occasion that you are supposed to sing.

Your child initiates music activities through toys that have been used with activities.

Your child engages musically with a toy more than just playing with the toy.

Your child initiates music activity through a “game” that has been used in “Playing Music.”

Your child initiates music activity through something associated with a particular favorite activity.

Your child responds to music with “BAH BAH” as if attending to rhythm.

Your child responds to music with the Resting Tone or “TOO,” as if attending to tonal.

Your child responds with movement associated with Macro/Micro beats.

Your child responds with flowing movement.

Your child changes movement when the style of the music changes.

Your child responds with movement associated with the Resting Tone.

Your child initiates Rhythm Dialogue by tapping “a rhythm” on the table.

Your child “plays music” by himself with a toy that has been used with music activities

Your child “sings” to himself at play or in bed.

Your child chants “BAH BAH” by himself at play or in bed.

Your child initiates both “singing” and movement in response to music.

Your child seems to initiate either Rhythm or Tonal more than the other.

Imitative Response—Your child mirrors your musical activity.  

Examples:

Your child imitates your movement with music or attempts to move with you.

Your child imitates your singing, or attempts to sing with you.

Your child imitates both your singing and movement at the same time.

Your child imitates your “Playing Music” with a toy.

Your child makes an attempt to “take a turn” with toys in dialogue.

Your child makes an attempt to “take a turn” with Rhythm or Tonal Dialogue.

Your child imitates your movement for Resting Tone.

Your child imitates your singing the Resting Tone

You child imitates your singing the Resting Tone and squats at the same time.

Your child imitates your swaying and bouncing movement for Macro/Micro beats.

Your child imitates your “Tonguing” with Macro and Micro beats.

Your child imitates your breathing with Rhythm and Tonal Activities.

Your child imitates your flowing movement with Movement Activities.

Your child imitates Rhythm or Tonal more than the other.

Your child imitates your tapping a rhythm on the table, engaging in dialogue.

Skilled Music Babble

Dependent Skill—Your child sings or chants with increasing accuracy with support

Examples:

Your child chants almost in rhythm, with support from you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child moves to macro/micro beats almost in rhythm, with support from you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child “tongues” Macro and Micro beats almost in rhythm, with you or with Rhythm Activities.

Your child dialogues with you or with Rhythm Activities almost in the same meter and tempo.

Your child sings almost on pitch with support from you or Tonal Activities.

Your child sings the resting tone almost on pitch, with support from you or Tonal Activities.

Your child dialogues with you or with Tonal Activities almost in the same tonality.

Your child responds with natural flowing movement with Rhythm or Tonal activities, with support from you.

Your child responds to your suggestion to do music activities with a label for these activities (for example, “Bah Bah,” or “Songs.”)

Independent Skill—Your child sings or chants with increasing accuracy without support

Examples:

Your child chants almost in rhythm, independent of you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child moves to macro/micro beats almost in rhythm, independent of you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child “tongues” Macro and Micro beats almost in rhythm, independent of you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child carries on a rhythm conversation almost in rhythm, dialoguing with himself or a toy, independent of you or Rhythm Activities.

Your child sings almost on pitch, independent of you or Tonal Activities.

Your child sings the resting tone to a song without support from you or Tonal Activities.

Your child carries on a Tonal conversation almost on pitch, dialoguing with himself or a toy, independent of you or Tonal Activities.

Your child responds with natural flowing movement to music without support from you.