Photo by Danielle Fasolino.
The first thing I ordered when we found out we were going to have a baby? Music for the nursery! I had decided against using a noise machine with our first baby, for various reasons. (Here’s an article from Science News about the potential dangers of using a white noise machine too often and too loudly.) Baby J sleeps all night long to silence–and sometimes the noise of a fan to keep air moving in his room. (His room is on the hot side of the house during the afternoons.) We use music when we have company staying until after his bedtime to block out the noise of conversation. And we often enjoy soft music during the day as he’s playing, sometimes lullabies and sometimes his Spanish music. I’ve curated a collection of the best music for your baby that I’ve been able to find so far. I also discuss the idea that classical music is what makes your baby smarter.
We are Christians, so much of this music is Scripture-based.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy[or childhood] you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” II Timothy 3: 14-15
Our desire is that our little baby would also know the Scriptures from infancy! And we encourage other parents to think carefully about the influences that surround your child, even in babyhood.
Best Music for Your Baby
Scripture-Based, Christian Lullabies
The Hidden in My Heart series (Volumes One through Three) contain our favorite lullaby music and are the first we ever bought, for ourselves and for friends. The songs are not exact Scripture but are based on Scripture and are very soothing and peaceful. The first album, pictured at left, is subtitled, “A lullaby journey through Scripture,” and focuses on beautiful promises from Scripture. (“Be Still and Know”/ “Seek Ye First” / “I Can Do All Things” / “The Lord is My Shepherd”, etc.) They are perfect for calming a restless and overtired baby while helping block out the sounds that keep stirring her out of the edges of dreamland. Some of the music is simply instrumental, which is wonderful for sending babies to sleep.
Also, after I ended up in the hospital nine days postpartum, I found this music personally very calming and helpful for turning my eyes toward God instead of my circumstances or my tendency to panic.
A similarly calming album is Quietly: A Piano Album. It is very peaceful piano music for your baby or yourself.
A word for word lullaby album is Seeds Family Worship’s When You Lie Down. (We love this one!)
Word for Word Scripture Songs
One of Baby J’s first gifts from his grandparents was music from Seeds Family Worship. Since then, Seeds music has become our favorite English music in the car or around the house. David and I have memorized many Scripture verses effortlessly by singing along with the music. We normally prefer to memorize Scripture in ESV, NASB, or KJV. But the NIV used in most of the albums preserves the meaning and is often much easier to adapt to music than a closer word-for-word translation. Above, I mentioned their lullaby CD. Other favorites are Seeds of Faith and Seeds of Purpose, although it’s really hard to choose a favorite.
One of the very best songs from this whole collection (in my opinion, of course!) is Track 10 from Seeds of Faith: Hebrews 11:1, 6. It’s so beautifully arranged and easy to memorize. Listen to it on their website in full here.
A friend of mine recently recommended a CD of the psalms by the Psalter Project called The Good Life. Listen to samples here on Amazon. (Thanks, Melody!)
Just for Fun
When Baby J gets bored and fussy around the house, sometimes changing up the music helps. One of the best albums we’ve found for cheering him up is actually a movie soundtrack! Of course, he has never seen the movie Ratatouille, since he’s just 10 months old, but he loves the music. (And our smart home allows us to play it any time–I just have to ask Alexa
I used to be a bluegrass musician, so of course we listen to some bluegrass around here. I recommend starting out with a CD like Nickel Creek’s first one if you’re not used to bluegrass, maybe trying some Alison Krauss, and then jumping into the wonderful world of Bill Monroe or the more modern Blue Highway (here’s their lovely gospel CD and here are my favorites of their secular CDs, Still Climbing Mountains and Sounds of Home.) Like the acoustics of bluegrass but the feeling of Southern gospel? Try listening to the Isaacs with your baby.
Classical Music for Your Baby
Most of us have probably heard of the Mozart effect, the theory that listening to classical music in the womb and as a small baby made your child smarter. This theory has been mostly debunked. But I find that classical music can be fun and dramatic (Tchaikovsky) or incredibly soothing (Chopin or Brahms). Just about any kind of true music (vocal/instrumental) will be helpful for your child. Many kinds of music can expand her horizons, whether bluegrass, classical, gospel, folk, or movie soundtracks! If anything, music in another language will do more for your baby’s brain by stimulating her language receptors than just listening to classical music alone.
Hymns
There’s nothing quite like the truth you hear affirmed in old hymns, and newer artists have turned back to those old tunes and lyrics and reworked them for younger ears. My favorites among this set for creating a peaceful environment in our home are:
Jadon Lavik’s Roots Run Deep
Chris Rice’s Peace Like a River
Selah’s Greatest Hymns
the hymns from Audrey Assad’s Inheritance (she has one of the most beautiful versions of “Abide with Me” that I’ve ever heard)
As I said before, all of these are mixed with J’s bilingual resources.
Do you have a list of your favorite music for your baby?
Share your suggestions in the comments!
[…] by bouncing in place, grooving to the music. If you have trouble singing by yourself, here’s some music to sing along with that might get you […]