SENSORIMOTOR STAGE:​​
Age 0-1 Reacts to sounds; seeks out, fixes attention on sound source; gross body movements
Age 1-2 Spontaneous music making; vocal play, “babbling songs”
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE:​​
Age 2-3 Begins to reproduce phrases of songs heard
Age 3-4 Conceives general contour (plan) of a melody; absolute pitch may develop if child begins to learn an instrument
Age 4-5 Can discriminate register of pitches; can tap back simple rhythms
Age 5-6 Understands basic dynamics (louder/softer); can discriminate “same” from “different” in easy tonal or rhythmic patterns
Age 6-7 Improved singing in tune; tonal music perceived better than atonal
CONCRETE OPERATIONS STAGE:
Age 7-8 Appreciates consonance vs. dissonance
Age 8-9 Rhythmic performance tasks improved
Age 9-10 Rhythmic perceptions improves; melodic memory improves; two-part melodies perceived; sense of cadence
Age 10-11 Harmonic sense of becoming established; develops some appreciation for the “finer points of music”
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FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE:
Age 11-12 Increase in cognition appreciation of music and in emotional response to music
Adapted From Shuter-Dyson & Gabriel (1981)​