Bourgeois Deviant

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

An "In the Womb" Playlist

Many years ago, I remember reading an interview with Dave Matthews in which he told the interviewer that he grew up in a musical household. More to the point, if music wasn’t being played on an instrument, it was being played on a hi-fi of some sort or another. Again, memory suggests that he made some comment about probably hearing music in the womb.

As you may have gleaned from a much earlier post, Mrs. BD and I are in a family way due in July. Baby Bourgeois Bananas is growing quickly and, according to my wife, quite an active little bugger. Developmentally, a fetus of five months plus can hear. What it hears and how it interprets these sounds is highly speculative. Certainly mommy Deviant’s heartbeat and other bodily functions are constant friends. Heaven help the kid if Ma Deviant has had Mexican. A while back, either National Geographic or PBS or both did a series on pregnancy and birth. It did talk about what the kid can hear. Included in the list of possibles was outside noise. Common sense, right?

A father’s input into his child’s existence is quite removed until, and at times after, birth. So, if the kid can hear now, maybe I can give it something to listen to. I do put my face to my wife’s blossoming belly routinely and talk to the shrimp growing in there, but odes to how much I already love the kid and how excited I am to meet it are more for me than for the child inside. The only thing going on there, really, is probably the kid freaking out at the foul loud bass it hears from one side of the womb or another and, perhaps over time, a growing familiarity to it.

During my 11th grade year, I had a good chemistry teacher. (If she ever reads this, yes. I thought you were a good teacher. However, I still maintain that I never cheated on that quiz and that you were dead wrong in accusing me. I mean, why would I ever cheat off that dumbass Javier anyway? Our answers didn’t even match! You still suck in my book for that.) In one class she talked about how cells are influenced by any number of things in their development. She talked about gestating babies (it was a catholic school and they were, and probably still are even more vehemently, beating the asinine pro-life drum.) and how they could hear, but sound could possibly influence their development. She revealed that she had played her daughter Mozart while still in the womb. I always thought that was a really neat idea.

Last week I had a birthday and got some gifts. One, from my Uncle in Mad-town, was a phat gift certificate to Amazon. I have a wish list, so the possibilities ran five pages long with what I could use it for. However, right then, nothing was grabbing me. Then I remembered Dave Matthews and my high-school chemistry teacher. So, I picked up this sweet pair of Sennheiser headphones to pop on my wife’s belly to play the kid some good music. But what, besides Mozart?

I grew up with the Beatles, so some of their more melodious tunes are sure to make the play list. Generally, I am thinking that fullness of sound and gently undulating melodies are probably preferable. Throwing in some mellow old school DMB is surely possible as is some Arvo Pärt. This is where I solicit the bloggosphere to lend me their suggestions for my baby’s ears. In the future, you can look for periodic updates to the “Bananas Playlist” to see what music is influencing a developing child. Seriously though, any and all suggestions will get their welcomed and fair airing, parental guidance exercised of course.

BTW, I am going to use the hell out of those kick ass headphones myself, too. Make no mistake. Thanks again Uncle Ole!

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6 Comments:

  • Dude, HAPPY FREAKIN' BIRTHDAY first of all... I can't believe I missed telling you on the right day.

    RE: the womb playlist... Mr. MW and I would tell you that while mozart is good, Bach is better -- the music is more... mathematically complicated. Try the Brandenburg Concertos. I'd put those headphones on while I watched Survivor. I'm sure we rotated a few mozart tunes in there.

    And Stevie Wonder. Pleasing to the ear, and vocally complex/interesting.

    LittleMe turned out OK. As I think I've mentioned before she's a huge Carlos Santana fan. I did not play any Santana while she was in utero, so I'm not sure what that's about.

    ;)
    So excited about Bananas. We'll have to get the kiddos together in a few years and have a regular fruit salad.

    Love in an Elevator,
    -Stace

    By Blogger Martha Who?, at Wednesday, February 22, 2006 10:35:00 PM  

  • M Dub - Much love for the recs. In the vein of math music, would Glass/Wilson's Einstein on the Beach? Just trying to tease out the "is-ness" of the activity.

    Bach is a big can do. Wonder fo shizzle. (Yes, I did just "izzle.") Fruit salad will be on the menu.

    And $?, given your Colonel ref, I am itching to glean your true identity. Your recs are well recieved. I will have to do some digging on the fight song. That was never in my lexicon.

    By Blogger Bourgeois Deviant, at Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:46:00 AM  

  • Ay yi yi, forget the "is-ness" and focus on the "izzle-ness" factor.

    RE: Einstein on the Beach. Those are 4 words I haven't thought of in 10 years. Is Glass really mathematical and interesting or is he just f*cking weird? A few months of that on the belly playlist and you'll end up with Banana's "Rain Main" Deviant.

    How about some nice Peter Paul and Mary instead?
    ;)

    By Blogger Martha Who?, at Thursday, February 23, 2006 1:15:00 PM  

  • Well, point taken with Glass being autism enducing. I like it, but that is just part of my "character."

    Also been considering letting bananas get its buddha groove on. I have a two disk series from the world anthology of music of Tibetan monks chanting their asses off symbols clanging and flatulent horns a blaring all the while. This wouldn't be daily fare, mind you. Just on Sundays. Thoughts?

    By Blogger Bourgeois Deviant, at Thursday, February 23, 2006 2:10:00 PM  

  • Sunday Edition: Buddhist Chanting... better than dusting off your old Catholic hymnal, right?
    :)

    On further reflection: A little Glass will round out the rep. You want le bebe to have at least a basic appreciation for its dad.

    -MW

    By Blogger Martha Who?, at Thursday, February 23, 2006 3:14:00 PM  

  • One Word Rammstein
    Du Hast
    Du Hast Nicht

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:21:00 PM  

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