As your heart beats while your
baby is in the womb, the rhythmic sound soothes your baby. From the beginning,
we are musical creatures with an innate sense of rhythm that has been
identified in babies as young as two days old.
Music, and the environment it
creates, is more than simply enjoyable to a developing infant. Music can
enhance a baby's development by providing the building blocks to language.
Researchers have discovered that a two day old infant already has a sense of
rhythm.
Beat induction, or an innate
sense of rhythm, has been found in young infants. This is the ability to clap
your hands to a beat and tap your toe to the rhythm of the music playing. We
are born with this ability, but are unable to perform due to a lack of muscle
coordination and strength.
Think about what soothes a
crying infant. Gentle rocking and singing is often the first thing a mother
tries when her baby is unable to settle down. If you play a particular type of
music while rocking your baby, the infant will associate this music with your
calming presence. The next time your baby hears similar music, they may be
soothed without rocking.
Music is powerful. Babies have
the ability to differentiate between consonant and less popular dissonant
music. Consonant music follows the major scale and is more pleasurable to most
listeners. Dissonant music plays more minor chords and most people find it less
enjoyable.
While language is formed in the
left hemisphere of the brain, listening to music engages both sides of the
brain. Music helps the brain build strong neural pathways between the two
hemispheres, making learning language easier.
As
you try different types of music for your baby, consider the music that you
love. The music that makes you feel happy, content or soothes you may be the
same for your growing baby. It doesn't really matter if it's Bach, country
music or popular tunes on the radio, if the music playing keeps your baby
happy, keep playing it.
