Playing classical music to infants is to be commended and encouraged.
The Mozart effect is the term for the belief exposure to orchestral music can stimulate IQ, improve health and lead to many other benefits.
A practice, common in the US, of providing parents of newborn children with classical music CDs extends even further in Florida, where all state-funded pre-school centres are required to play classical music by law.
One of Scotland's national companies, Scottish Opera, has been running Baby O, a multi-sensory learning session for 6-18 month olds for three years. The latest initiative from another, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), goes a step further, inviting infants up to two years old to a fully participative performance, involving two violins and a cello, not to mention a raccoon and a tree.
It seems almost churlish to point out the evidence for the Mozart effect is thin and disputed. Our instincts tell us early exposure to stimulation, listening and appreciating patterns is likely to be beneficial. More to the point, babies evidently enjoy it.
Music is for all and the RSNO is to be congratulated on taking that truism to its ultimate conclusion.
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