Your Baby and the Language of Music
Bonding With Baby Through Music
From
before birth, even in the womb, your baby is surrounded by sounds. Voices
and the rhythm of speech become familiar sounds, but not the only sounds
that baby hears. He or she also has a first experience with the vibrations
and rhythms of the music in his or her environment. After the grand
entrance of birth, we mothers are very conscious of speaking to baby all
day long and reading stories regularly from infancy, but are we conscious
enough of providing music in the home environment? After all, studies
have shown many parallels between the acquisition of language skills and
the development of a "musical ear." The Suzuki method of music
education, developed in Japan and now used successfully throughout the
world, is based on what Dr. Suzuki called the "Mother Tongue Method",
meaning that all children learn to speak the language which surrounds
them. In the same way, they learn to imitate the sounds of the music
that becomes part of their environment from birth. Sing to your baby
all of the same songs that mothers have sung for generations, and choose
some CDs or tapes of folk songs, energetic and lyrical classical music,
jazz, and whatever else touches your fancy. Make playing music a
part of your daily routine and invest in relatively good equipment so
that the quality of the sound is pleasant. Look into music education
classes for infants that will be a weekly activity you can both enjoy. Musical
ability should be nurtured from birth not to produce small prodigies but
to provide another language full of possibilities for self-expression
and fulfillment. Besides that, it's just fun! What better
way to bond with your baby than to have music as a common activity. Here's
hoping that you enjoy your musical experiences together.
