I am picking up this thread from about 13 months ago... So I finally get to add to this b/c I'm a new, first time dad, as of almost a month ago. As you either know, or can imagine, there's tons of writing and products out there that play on the idea of Classical music being good and calming for baby. I personally think it's a load of hooey and a marketing technique they use b/c in the real world, people associate classical music with intelligence and culture.
Someone gave us a baby Einstein CD (a series of toys, music, and video for infants), and it was crap - 40 minutes of classic lullabies played on a general MIDI preset box. My theory goes like this: when baby is in utero, he/she is swimming in fluid. All of the outside sounds get translated to swirling bass, and it's LOUD in there; think about what it sounds like when you're under water. I was looking for the best music to mimic that environment To that end, the thing that just astounds me is that my son loves and is calmed by dubby techno (lucky for me!). When he starts to cry, I play rhythm & sound, maurizio, or deepchord over and over. More up tempo Gez Varley, Ifach label, or Rob Hood tracks work too. The trick is turning it up, not to any ludicrous level, but loud enough to feel the bass kick. Cutting back on the highs helps too. Hopefully, his taste in music will continue along this path :) -Gil
