A–Z Glossary

Vocal prosody

Prosody is the rhythm, pitch, stress, and intonation of speech or singing that helps listeners interpret emotion and conversational structure.

← Back to A–Z Glossary

Search results for: Vocal prosody

Calm Voice and Repetitive Sounds for Soothing

Calm Voice and Repetitive Sounds for Soothing

Why Predictable Sound Can Feel Settling Infants are developing the capacity to regulate arousal: the shift between alertness, distress, drowsiness, and sleep. In early life, this regulation is largely co-regulated, meaning that the baby relies on an adult’s responsive presence, touch, movement, feeding, and voice. A calm vocal pattern may contribute because it is socially […]

Talking to baby activities

Talking to baby activities

Why talking with a baby matters Babies begin learning about communication long before they say recognizable words. During an interaction, they process prosody, the rhythm and pitch patterns of speech, as well as pauses, repetition, volume, and emotional tone. They also integrate auditory information with visual and social cues, such as a caregiver’s gaze, facial […]

Singing and communication activities

Singing and communication activities

Why singing communicates before words Communication begins before a baby uses recognizable words. Infants exchange information through gaze, facial expression, body movement, crying, cooing, babbling, and changes in arousal. Singing naturally organizes many of these signals into a predictable social event. The caregiver’s voice carries prosody, meaning the rhythm, pitch, stress, and intonation that help […]