Playing with the beat: A process-oriented approach to studying sensorimotor synchronization in early childhood

This chapter focuses on sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) in early childhood. After a brief review of recent embodied accounts of music cognition, we outline two approaches in SMS research: the more common outcome-oriented approach that measures accuracy of children’s behaviour and the process oriented approach which explores the type and variety of spontaneous rhythmic responses. Building on a body-as-constraint perspective, we argue that the latter approach can provide insights into how a developing child freely chooses to dynamically interact with the beat and thus self-regulate their unique perceptual experience. A new, process-oriented method called Ana’s Game is then described, with illustrative examples.