Vienna study: Babies show rhythmic dance moves to music from twelve months

Differences emerged primarily between the age groups. While the youngest infants at three months of age did not yet show clear synchronization with the rhythm, this ability increased with age. In the twelve-month-old babies, the rhythmic adaptation of movements to the music was most pronounced.

Significance for parents and early childhood education

The study addresses an existing research gap, as Nguyen explained to the APA: "Es gibt schon viele Studien zu Säuglingen und Musik, die sich mit der auditorischen Seite beschäftigt haben. Hingegen gibt es wenige, bei denen man sich die rhythmische Bewegung angeschaut hat." The new study was published in the journal "eLife".

The study has direct practical significance for parents and educational professionals. Co-study leader Stefanie Höhl from the University of Vienna emphasized in a press release: "Für Eltern, pädagogische Fachkräfte und die frühe Förderung bedeutet das, dass gemeinsames Singen, rhythmisches Wiegen und wiederholte musikalische Routinen bereits im ersten Lebensjahr wertvolle Erfahrungen sein können – auch dann, wenn Babys noch nicht sichtbar im Takt mitgehen."

Outlook on further studies

Nguyen also announced further research. "Ganz oft ist es ja so, dass man zusammen Musik macht oder vorsingt – in einem nächsten Schritt sind wir daran interessiert, wie sich die Gehirnaktivitäten dabei verhalten und ob sie sich vielleicht sogar synchronisieren", Nguyen continued. This is intended to investigate whether and how making music together aligns the neural activity of parents and children with each other.

The Vienna study joins a growing field of research on early childhood development. That babies already respond to music auditorily at a very early age was already known. The new data now show for the first time systematically that this processing is also reflected in targeted rhythmic body movements from the first year of life.

Context of early childhood research

For the authors, the finding is a plea to deliberately incorporate musical experiences into everyday life with infants. Repeated singing, rocking in time, or listening to familiar children's songs could therefore support movement and rhythm perception from an early age.