For most of us, music is a crucial part of out daily lives. Some have strict preferences and others, like me, listen to whatever their mood dictates. A lot of studies have shown the power of music to reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels quite dramatically and we can all agree that listening to our favorite tracks makes us more relaxed.
Music is also known to have a massive impact on babies' brains. Some experts recommend playing Mozart to babies even before they are born, as it encourages brain development and can even make them more intelligent.
Back in the day, before Edison invented recorded sound, all music was live. Now we have the convenience to listen anywhere to anything we like, but is it the same?
When we listen to recorded music, we actually hear very little of the original performance. It's so edited and tweaked that the band may not have even played the whole thing together. A lot of what we hear is the work of technicians rather than musicians. Every sound is perfected until they obtain the very best version, and though we might be happy to hear a 'perfect song', we don't realize that the soul of the music is lost. Human heart rates go up and down, and when instruments are played together, magic happens! Recorded music may give you availability and convenience, even perfection; but it won't give you magic.
Our son has been very lucky to hear live music quite early in his life, thanks to a bunch of amazing people running 'Music for Miniatures' in the South West of England: http://www.musicforminiatures.co.uk/.
Parents and carers can enjoy performances by brilliant artists, while babies can move about and make all sorts of noise without disturbing anyone.
This is Vinny at 10 months having a great time!
(I am sorry about the portrait videos! I was so excited, I didn't know what I was doing..)
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!
Corina