Beyond Words Ep. 23 | Music, Voice, and Meaning: From Infant Speech to Social Signals with Greg Bryant, PhD

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In this episode of Beyond Words, Greg Bryant, PhD, joins host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, to explore how the human voice carries meaning through prosody, musicality, and nonverbal vocalizations.

Together, they examine how infant-directed speech uses exaggerated pitch, rhythm, and timing to capture attention and support early learning, and how these same acoustic patterns overlap with features found in music. Dr. Bryant connects infant communication, emotional vocal expression, and music within an evolutionary framework, highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding, coordination, and shared understanding.

🎙️ Topics include:

• How listeners interpret emotion, intention
• Social context from vocal cues alone
• Cross-cultural research
• Highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding
• Prosody, pragmatics, and culturally responsive care