Therèse Ahlers Music Studio

In Lessons of the Music Womb, Norman M. Weinberger  looks at the complex abilities of children and infants to perceive and respond to basic components of music.  In his article it becomes evident that the nervous system and brain can process music well before birth.  As he puts it:  “ In short, the womb appears to be the first concert hall.”

The section on Prenatal Behavior in his article is copied for your convenience.

Prenatal Behavior

Regarding the beginning of hearing, the ear starts to develop only a few weeks after conception. However, the auditory system of the brain really doesn’t function well, if at all, before about the 26^th week, that is at the beginning of the last trimester of pregnancy. ⁵ As to the second question, sound does reach the in utero ear, but it is greatly distorted because liquid and tissue surround the fetus. There is relatively little effect on sounds below about middle C on the piano, but an increasing reduction in sound levels with higher notes. As most instruments have harmonics about this frequency, there is a change in timbre. Those instruments having mainly high notes are affected most, such as the trumpet. On the other hand, melody and rhythm are not much altered. In fact, in utero recordings of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony yielded a clearly identifiable sound image.⁶ Thus, while sounds are greatly altered as they pass from the outside world to the ear of the fetus, there is more than sufficient musical stimulation to be heard in the womb.

What are the responses to music before birth? They consist mainly of body movements and changes in heart rate. Most sounds cause a short-lasting slowing of heart rate, as part of a “What is it?” response. Very loud sounds produce increases in heart rate, often with a startle response.⁷ Not only do sounds produce movement and changes in heart rate, but also there is evidence of pre-natal learning. Perhaps the simplest form of learning is habituation, which is learning to stop paying attention to repeated sounds that become boring. If a novel stimulus is substituted, infants will respond to it, showing they noticed the change. During the last trimester of pregnancy, the fetus is clearly capable of habituating to a repeated stimulus applied to the mother’s abdomen, and also responding again when the stimulus is changed.⁸

More complex learning can also occur before birth. In one study, the abdomen received a gentle vibratory stimulus that did not itself produce fetal responses; this was followed by a loud sound that did provoke movement. After several paired presentations, the subjects responded to the gentle vibration, showing that they anticipated receiving the loud sound.⁹ That this basic type of association can be learned before birth suggests considerable capacity of the fetus to acquire information and remember events.

You can read the full article on Lessons of the Music Womb here