The question: `From where, and by what mechanisms, does an individual's musical ability originate?' is a subject of major interest both to music psychologists, and musicians, heightened by the recent research into prenatal perception of sound. The Origins and Development of Musical Competence brings together authoritative reviews on central issues, beginning with prenatal auditory experience, through infancy and early childhood. The chapters chart the developmental process with reference to the child's changing environment: from the uterus, through the intense and semi-exclusive mother-baby bond, to the wider contexts provided by the family, school, and society at large, making this the most up-to-date integration of music and developmental psychology.