Music for the unborn child

Abstract

Our modern culture with its emphasis on the tactile and visual senses is endangering the loss of aural capabilities. Research over the last 50 years shows that the aural sense is most important for the acculturation of the human species. The ear begins its development as early as the 22nd day of gestation and the unborn child has the capability of storing information ‘heard’ as early as in the first trimester of pregnancy. Music can play an important role in bonding, and the preference for a particular type of music can be instilled in the unborn child. Programmes for parents-to-be such as Dr Lorna Zemke's Lovenotes at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, can prove to be important not only for the development of a contented child and its curiosity for the world around it but also for the future of classical music.