This book is based on a PhD thesis that investigated
infants' preferences and long-term memory for two
contrasting two complex pieces of music (Prelude and
Forlane) from the
suite Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel (1875-
1937).
A group of 8.5-month-old infants was randomly
assigned to one of four experiments conducted on the
Headturn Preference Procedure. The first three
experiments examined infants' preferences for the
Prelude and the Forlane in piano and orchestral
timbres, and the fourth one aimed at infants' long-
term memory for complex music. For this experiment,
thirty infants were exposed to either the Prelude or
the Forlane three times a day for ten consecutive
days. Two weeks following the exposure, infants were
tested on the HPP. Contrary to the belief that
infants are ill equipped to process complex music,
this study found that infants could discriminate,
encode and recall the two Ravel pieces for at
least two weeks. Implications for early childhood
music education and for future studies are outlined
at the end of the book.