The Affects Of Music On Children

9 Pages 2215 Words

similar accounts of the birth given by parents and their children, although the parents claim never to have given their children the details of their birth. Admittedly, two examples of this occurred when a little girl remembered that her parents argued about what her name was going to be in the delivery room. Likewise, a little boy delivered by Caeserian section related that it was “funny” when the wall of the uterus opened and the light came in. (Chamberlain, pp. 5-22) Are these stories fundamentally reliable? Before accepting them, there is essentially, no way to tell. Nonetheless, it is possible to know whether or not the newborn child, or fetus in particular has musical competencies. In order to find out if this theory is factually provable, four questions had to be answered. First, after conception how long does it take until the fetus can actually hear? Second, do musical sounds in the outside world reach the ears of the fetus? Third, if outside sound does reach the fetus, how is the sound affected by the world inside the pregnant women. Fourth, what are the postnatal effects of in utero stimulation?
Regarding the first question, the ear starts to develop only a few weeks after conception. At this stage, the auditory part of the brain does not function at all, that is, before the 26th week, the beginning of the last trimester of pregnancy. (Starr, pp. 831) Addressing the second question, sound does reach the in utero fetus, although it is greatly distorted, by and large, because of the liquid and tissue that surrounds the fetus. The type of music that is less likely to be distorted is classical music, namely, as indicated by Starr is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. (Starr, pp. 839)
In particular, the responses to music before birth? They consist mainly of body movements and rapid changes of heart rate. “Most sounds cause a short lasting he...