Babies are born with experience of a steady beat ... they have had many months in an environment surrounded by their mother's heartbeat, breathing rate and steady walking.
And once babies are born, what do parents do?
They rock, pat and bounce their babies! No one has told them to do this, they just know instinctively that their baby will be comforted, amused or calmed by these movements to a steady beat. And of course it isn't just parents ... grandparents (no suprises there) and siblings know too!
Bouncing songs are at the heart of the baby music repertoire - many of us will remember Horsey Horsey or Ride a Cock Horse to Bambury Cross, I am sure! I have recently discovered the delightful From Wibbleton to Wobbleton which can be a simple bounce throughout or a hilarious game in which Wibbleton involves a bounce to the right and Wobbleton a bounce to the left!
From Wibbleton to Wobbleton is fifteen miles!
From Wobbleton to Wibbleton is fifteen miles!
From Wibbleton to Wobbleton,
from Wobbleton to Wibbleton,
From Wibbleton to Wobbleton is fifteen miles!
And what do babies and toddlers do?
They move to the beat - sometimes in short bursts, sometimes in their own time (seemingly unconnected to what they are listening to). Sometimes with their limbs and sometimes with their torso! Don't be fooled when people tell you that your baby has a great sense of rhythm ... it is the pulse they are connecting with, not the rhythm (of course they may also have a good sense of rhythm... but that is another story!)
So ...
if ...
a connection to pulse is something that babies are born with
and..
parents/carers instinctively respond to babies with movements to a steady beat
could this mean that...
we are all musical
? ? ? ? ?
I certainly think so!
If you would like to know more about Katie's classes for parents and babies, please contact Katie!
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