babies and classical music

[milk]

How you your babies, born and unborn, and young children, respond to classical music? Can you get them early? Or is it futile to influence their tastes? Have you any stories about your child having a strong reaction to music at a very young age? Did you try?

[amw]

I was born to a cassette recording of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 no. 1 (my mom was listening to music to calm herself down through labour), and was a very quiet newborn who didn't cry much and seemed fascinated by the music instead. It's been all downhill from there unfortunately.

[TheGSMoeller]

How you your babies, born and unborn, and young children, respond to classical music? Can you get them early? Or is it futile to influence their tastes? Have you any stories about your child having a strong reaction to music at a very young age? Did you try?

I've been playing classical music to my son since he was born. He's now 8 and enjoys going to the symphony with me. But he's into all kinds of music, his favorite being anything with a good beat meaning Techno, he loves Enya which he plays at night when its bed time, and he loves video game music.
This is all mostly because of me playing music all the time around him, but I've also allowed him to discover his own likes and dislikes, but he's gravitated more towards what I enjoy.
I played the Baby Einstein videos to him when he was between 1-2 and he loved them, filled with colorful images and the music of Mozart and Beethoven. Even bought him little baby instruments which was fun for him to play his own music.

There is some of my experiences, and I'm sure every parent's is different too. 

[milk]

I've been playing classical music to my son since he was born. He's now 8 and enjoys going to the symphony with me. But he's into all kinds of music, his favorite being anything with a good beat meaning Techno, he loves Enya which he plays at night when its bed time, and he loves video game music.
This is all mostly because of me playing music all the time around him, but I've also allowed him to discover his own likes and dislikes, but he's gravitated more towards what I enjoy.
I played the Baby Einstein videos to him when he was between 1-2 and he loved them, filled with colorful images and the music of Mozart and Beethoven. Even bought him little baby instruments which was fun for him to play his own music.

There is some of my experiences, and I'm sure every parent's is different too.

thank you. I think it's fun for people to share their experiences even if we can come to no conclusion. Except maybe it can't hurt. Well, Xenakis during birth might be traumatic.

[Mirror Image]

I know this woman is a babe, Sarah Chang:



Whoops...wrong thread.

[milk]

Vivaldi's Four Seasons was played obsessively by my mother (even though she doesn't listen to classical music  ) when I was in the womb (and in the first 2 years of my life) and look how I turned out 

I can't judge how you turned out but I wonder what would have happened had it ben Ligeti or Stockhausen.

[milk]

On another note, I have read several times about kids (as in between 4-7) programs using Stockhausen and the kids actually reacting very positively to it, which I think is very cool 

well, this is another topic, but I'm sure there is lots of research into why people react to things the way they do. I wonder if a lot of resistance to forms of music is learned/influenced by propaganda. And really off-topic comment: music has become louder, less tonally rich and structurally complex...anyway...

[Rinaldo]

Reminded me of this..

[vandermolen]

There's some evidence I think of babies responding in the womb to music.

[milk]

Reminded me of this..

[milk]

There's some evidence I think of babies responding in the womb to music.

I'm curious about this. They say the babies can hear and respond to music/sound. Generally, it seems there is not much evidence for any specific result in babies pre or post birth. But they do hear! My baby will certainly get a bit of Bach before arrival.

[Rinaldo]

Baby after Berg: α | ì Æ ñ

[TheGSMoeller]

I know this woman is a babe, Sarah Chang:



Whoops...wrong thread.

Sarah was a baby at one time, and she plays classical music, so very relevant. 

[Mahlerian]

If you play your baby Schoenberg every day, they're sure to grow up thinking others are crazy to say Schoenberg's music has no tunes in it.

Seriously, though, it is good to expose a young child to a wide range of music, because what's familiar is what's loved.

Oh, and as a new uncle, congratulations to a soon-to-be father!

[Mirror Image]

Sarah was a baby at one time, and she plays classical music, so very relevant. 

A good point, Greg.

[Cato]

I recall a biography of Prokofiev where it was mentioned that his mother often played Beethoven's works on the piano almost exclusively during his earliest years.  He seemed to think that her playing was an important influence on his development.

[Rinaldo]

Seriously, though, it is good to expose a young child to a wide range of music, because what's familiar is what's loved.

Depends. I grew up with Penderecki blasting from my father's study and it steered me off 20th century classical music for years, because I thought it's all just as loud & ominous & uncomprehensible, as it was for me back then.

[Mirror Image]

Depends. I grew up with Penderecki blasting from my father's study and it steered me off 20th century classical music for years, because I thought it's all just as loud & ominous & uncomprehensible, as it was for me back then.

Awesome! Your father sounds like someone I'd like to hang out with. Not that wouldn't mind hanging out with you, too, Rinaldo. I'm not a big Penderecki fan of course, but the fact that he's listening to something like that makes me think he'd be open to hearing some Schnittke.

[Rinaldo]

Awesome! Your father sounds like someone I'd like to hang out with. Not that wouldn't mind hanging out with you, too, Rinaldo. I'm not a big Penderecki fan of course, but the fact that he's listening to something like that makes me think he'd be open to hearing some Schnittke.

He's an astrophysicist, so if you're up for a lecture about neutron stars and quasars, I can hook you up! Plus I'm positive he's got a few Schnittke LPs in his vinyl collection.

[milk]

If you play your baby Schoenberg every day, they're sure to grow up thinking others are crazy to say Schoenberg's music has no tunes in it.

Seriously, though, it is good to expose a young child to a wide range of music, because what's familiar is what's loved.

Oh, and as a new uncle, congratulations to a soon-to-be father!

thanks! I'm terrified!