While I looked for some new music for my six month old, I stumbled upon a link that talked about western classical music for babies, toddlers, and even for expecting mothers. After listening to a few pieces I wondered why it didn’t appear in any of my google searches for music any earlier!
I had been listening to Garbhasanskar, Gayatri mantra and other instrumental and classical music during and after my pregnancy, and regularly making my son listen to it, especially at bed time, but this music was completely refreshing and surprisingly my baby seemed to be enjoying it too.
And still does. I now have Mozart for babies and toddlers – for wake up time, play time, bed time. You also get compositions that are specifically for children by legendary composers like Bach and Beethoven and many others who incidentally also composed their first concertos and symphonies when they were just kids!
It is a common perception that classical music is monotonous and unexciting. But classical music has a complex structure of notes that allows for better spatial reasoning and memory recall. For instance, it makes the mind more agile and alert while doing complex activities like playing chess or solving jigsaw puzzles or even solving math and analytical problems.
It also helps in enhancing memory recall. If you play classical music pieces while the child is doing a specific activity, especially those that involve a sequence of events, they will recall the activity vividly when the music is played again.
Western classical music also has the ability to help the children identify with different emotions. You can start by playing relevant pieces while reading aloud to your child. Pick pieces that are relevant to the emotion of the story (the resources at the bottom of this article will guide you with that).
While many experiments that harp on the benefits of listening to these legendary composers have been conducted by many institutions globally, they have produced mixed outcomes and opinions, with results tilting in their favour. One of them being the Mozart Effect, a term copyrighted by Don Campbell and coined by Alfred A Tomatis who conducted experiements that prove that music by Mozart stimulates the mind in more ways than one and has a transformational impact in raising intelligence levels in children – spacial and temporal reasoning, motor skills, and even improved health and overall well-being.
However, no one can deny how soothing the music is on frayed nerves, how therapeutic and meditative are its virtues! Try giving your tiny tot a keyboard or a flute or any other instrument while you make him listen to one of the classical creations. See how they bob their heads or tap their feet while they pick up the notes! Having said that, always ensure that you play all genres of music to them – this makes classical music just another form of music, something normal yet rich and powerful! It also helps them to understand and appreciate all other forms of music as well.
Resources for listening to sample music:
http://www.childrensgroup.com/product.php?mode=cat&cid=mozart_eng
http://www.makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_mmf_music_library/hey-kids-meet-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart.htm
http://www.classicsforkids.com/
Artwork courtesy: Kruti Kothari. She can be reached at kruti.kothari5@gmail.com
Vaishali Shroff is a freelance writer and editor and runs a reading club for children in Pune. Her work has been published in over 10 titles of the Chicken Soup India Series and her children’s stories can be read at smories.