Music calls up a host of emotions, making us laugh, cry, or feel exhilarated. We can use it to set a mood or tell a story. It’s also a great way to stimulate your baby. From a newborn’s earliest days, classical music can help spark the development of skills that will last a lifetime, such as mathematical ability and spatial sense. It helps babies refine listening skills and recognize patterns in human speech.

Music even helps babies tune into the nuances of language. When we talk, we tend to drop our voices and slow down at the end of a sentence, just as notes tend to slow down and pitch falls at the end of a musical phrase.

When we listen to music, we don’t just hear it—we also think about it, feel it, and move to it. Introducing babies to music not only helps develop their minds but also plants the seeds for a lifelong love of it.