Music to unborn ears

Have you ever hit a fine piece of glass, accidentally of course, and heard "chinggg" as you cringe in alarm looking apologetically at your hosts across the table and hope, hope, hope, that the glass doesn't break?

Oh that wonderful feeling when the glass stops vibrating and behold it's still in one piece! When you were younger, did you ever twang a plastic ruler and hear, giggling probably, the resulting sound dying out?

We hear through vibrations and what we hear affects us. When you're driving are you affected by the music blaring out from your car radio and drive faster with fast music and slower with relaxing stuff?

Believe it or not, babies in the womb are affected too. By about the fifth month little ears will be fully formed and are capable of hearing soon after that. Babies will respond to pulsating sound around the fourth month of pregnancy.

Even before that, though, a baby can "hear" emotionally. As the mother-to-be listens to soothing music, the enzyme mixture produced by her emotional response will cross the placenta and the baby will feel similar emotions.

So even before a baby is born, lullabies will soothe it. In fact, a baby will respond to a mother's emotions and learn from the experience. The baby will learn to recognise pieces of music as its memory develops in the womb. When these are played before as well as after birth the baby will respond. It is well known that Yehudi Menuhin believed his violin playing abilities were greatly improved by his mother singing and playing music when he was in her womb.

Can we take this a stage further, though? Can a foetus learn words and language in the womb? If, for example, the foetus heard several languages before birth, would it be a better linguist? And what about mathematics? If an expectant mother says her three times table each day, will the baby be a better mathematician? In other words, can we improve learning and performance when the child is yet unborn?

Research indicates that much of the groundwork for language learning takes place in the womb. The unborn baby will recognise its mother's voice long before other voices. So if someone speaks in French and the mother is used to speaking Maltese and English, the baby will respond mainly to the mother's native tongue.

Babies in the womb, in fact, are learning different phonic sounds, differences in pitch and intonation and are capable of distinguishing one set of sounds and phonics from another - French from Maltese, for example.

A mother's voice is the most important voice in the world. Talking, reading and singing to an unborn baby will provide essential stimuli. The baby will relate to these sounds and feel the mother's emotions.

Sound - voices and music - stimulates learning and lays a better foundation for language learning and speaking.

Mr Wilson is deputy headmaster at St Edward's College. For feedback please send an e-mail to dirofstudies@ stedwards.edu.mt or visit www.stedwards.edu.mt