Frank A. Russo is Professor of Psychology at Ryerson University and an affiliate scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Beatriz Ilari is Associate Professor of Music Education and Chair of Music Teaching and Learning at the University of Southern California.

Annabel J. Cohen is Professor of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island specializing in music cognition and is the initiator/director of the AIRS project.

Introduction: Singing, development, interdisciplinarity, and the biopsychosocial framework (Frank A. Russo, Beatriz Ilari and Annabel J. Cohen) / Part I: Musical, historical and scientific foundations of singing development / 1. Historical, musical, and scientific foundations for studies of singing: Introduction to Part I (Beatriz Ilari and Frank A. Russo) / 2. From canonical babbling to early singing and its relation to the beginnings of speech (Stefanie Stadler Elmer) / 3. An evolutionary perspective on the human capacity for singing (Nicholas Bannan) / 4. Salomon Henschen and the Search for a Brain Center for Singing (Amy B. Graziano, Eric C. Born, and Julene K. Johnson) / 5. The mechanics and acoustics of the singing voice: registers, resonances and the source-filter interaction (Joe Wolfe, Maëva Garnier, Nathalie Henrich Bernardoni and John Smith) / 6. Brain mechanisms underlying singing (Annabel J. Cohen, Daniel Levitin, and Boris Kleber) / 7. Singing and speech as comparable phenomena: a dynamical approach (Beatriz Raposo de Medeiros) / 8. Linguistic tone and melody in the singing of sub-Saharan Africa (Thomas M. Pooley) / 9. The effects on hormones and age on the voice (Jennifer P. Rodney and Robert T. Sataloff) / 10. An empirical evaluation of note segmentation of automatic pitch-extraction methods for the singing voice (Johanna Devaney) / 11. Annotating multimodal data of singing and speaking (Coralie Vincent) / Part II: The relation between the perception and production of singing / 12. Perception, vocal production and the development of singing: Introduction to Part II (Beatriz Ilari) / 13. The role and functions of infant-directed singing in early development (Simone Falk and Christine D. Tsang) / 14. Home musical environment and singing development in infancy (Eugenia Costa-Giomi and Lucia Bennett) / 15. An Exploration of the Relationships Between Perception, Production, Cognition and Environment in the Development of Singing in Children (Christine D. Tsang and Laurel J. Trainor) / 16. Vocal Communication in Birds and Humans - Beyond Song and Speech (Leslie S. Phillmore and Christine D. Tsang) / 17. Singing and the child who is deaf: Focusing on the individual (Maria Yennari, Lyn Schraer-Joiner, and Georgiann Toole) / Part III: Multimodal (audio, visual, and motor) aspects of singing development / 18. Multimodal Aspects of Singing Development: Introduction to Part III (Frank A. Russo) / 19. Infant-directed singing from a dynamic multimodal perspective: Evolutionary origins, cross-cultural variation, and relation to infant-directed speech (Sandra E. Trehub and Frank A. Russo) / 20. Before singing: The role of reflexivity during vocal interactions with caregivers in diaper change daily routine (Anna Rita Addessi) / 21. Motor system involvement in the perception of singing (Frank A. Russo) / Part IV: Assessing multiple singing skills / 22. Measuring the development of singing ability and the mental testing tradition: Introduction to Part IV (Annabel J. Cohen) / 23. A meta-analytic perspective on the development of singing in children (Christina L. Svec) / 24. Construction and validation of the Seattle Singing Accuracy Protocol (SSAP): An automated online measure of singing accuracy (Peter Q. Pfordresher and Steven M. Demorest) / 25. Solo or Doubled Singing: Ecological Validity and Effects in Two Response Modes (Bryan E. Nichols) / 26. Correlations among music aptitude, singing voice development, and singing accuracy achievement in young children (Catherine M. Tu, Texas A & M University-Kingsville) / 27. Performance of Canadians on the automated AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills: music training and age (Annabel J. Cohen, Bing Yi Pan, Eric da Silva, and Kyle Dutton) / 28. Analyzing singing abilities and language skills during the elementary school years (Michael Forrester) / 29. "What is Your Favorite Song?": Musical Preferences and Taste in School-Aged Children Over Five Years (Eun Cho, Assal Habibi and Beatriz Ilari) / 30. How musical culture is reflected in the choice of favorite songs of Estonian children (Marju Raju, Laura Välja and Jaan Ross) / 31. Tone-language and musical experience: Pitch accuracy and key choice in the AIRS Test Battery of Singing Skills (ATBSS) (Annabel J. Cohen, Jingyuan Sun, Esther Mang, Bing-Yi Pan and Lee Fui Lim) / 32. Effects of group vocal training in older adults: Pitch accuracy and vocal improvisation (Jennifer Bugos, Chloe Kantoris, and Joel Pagán) / Conclusion: Interdisciplinary research in singing development: The way forward (Annabel J. Cohen, Beatriz Ilari, and Frank A. Russo)

The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing, Volume I: Development introduces the many voices necessary to better understand the act of singing-a complex human behaviour that emerges without deliberate training. Presenting research from the social sciences and humanities alongside that of the natural sciences and medicine alike, this companion explores the relationship between hearing sensitivity and vocal production, in turn identifying how singing is integrated with sensory and cognitive systems while investigating the ways we test and measure singing ability and development. Contributors consider the development of singing within the context of the entire lifespan, focusing on its cognitive, social, and emotional significance in four parts:
Musical, historical and scientific foundations
Perception and production
Multimodality
Assessment
In 2009, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded a seven-year major collaborative research initiative known as Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). Together, global researchers from a broad range of disciplines addressed three challenging questions: How does singing develop in every human being? How should singing be taught and used to teach? How does singing impact wellbeing? Across three volumes, The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing consolidates the findings of each of these three questions, defining the current state of theory and research in the field. Volume I: Development tackles the first of these three questions, tracking development from infancy through childhood to adult years.