Top 10 Best Baby in the Womb Songs, According To Musical Mothers

A lot has been written about playing classical music to your unborn child as a way to enhance learning capacity and cognitive abilities.

Not limiting ourselves to the classical genre, here are ten musical works for both mother and child to be.

WARNING: Never Put Loud Headphones Directly On Your Abdomen

Your unborn child can hear sounds outside of the womb starting around the sixth month.

The Goldberg Variations

by J.S Bach

The Goldberg Variations is an aria (main theme) with thirty variations.

Originally written for harpsichord, The Goldberg Variations is in the standard repertoire for today’s classizcal pianists playing the modern concert grand piano.

It runs the gamut from soft (pp) and lento (slow) to loud (ff), and presto(fast).

It’s nearly 80 minutes in its entirety so you may need a few breaks to get through it.

But don’t worry!

There is a pause at the end of each variation, allowing you and your precious cargo time to come back to this monumental work later.

Have a listen here. And here.

Over The Rainbow

by Keith Jarrett

The genius that is Keith Jarrett can be heard here with tenderness and depth of emotion that is unparalleled.

The anthem for hope, longing, and a better tomorrow is a perfect thing for both mother and child soon to be.

Keith’s piano sound is instantly recognizable, an achievement most pianists never attain. Let you and your child hear this as often as you like.

It never gets old.

Have a listen here.

Naima

by John Coltrane

Trane’s ode to his wife Naima was written in 1959 and released on the landmark recording Giant Steps.

It’s an intimate, soaring melody that is set over two main pedal points, something John was to further explore in his later recordings.

A hauntingly beautiful melody that, wordlessly expresses love, tenderness and strength.

Have a listen here.

Ah Vous dirai-je Maman
Twinkle Twinkle Variations

by Mozart

Clarity, playfulness, invention, humor, form. Words that aptly describe Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s music.

These simple variations on the classic children’s tune are a study in organization, structure and, form.

While I can’t vouch for the science that states playing Mozart to your unborn child enhances their’ cognitive abilities later in life, I can say the work composed when Mozart was 25, shows a musical genius wrapping his gift in a nursery rhyme that starts simple and ends with a final virtuoso display of compositional and piano techniques.

Oh, as with much of Mozart, it’s delightfully playful.

Have a listen here.

Ode To Joy

by Beethoven

The famous refrain from the fourth movement of Beethoven’s ninth symphony is perhaps best listened to once the day is well underway.

Ode To Joy was based on a poem written by Johann C.F Von Schiller in 1785 and set to music in 1824.

Its rousing theme weaves its way through a little over twenty-two minutes in praise of life, joy, beauty, and the triumph of good over evil.

Have a listen here.

BlackBird

by Bobby McFerrin

Best known for his number one smash Don’t Worry Be Happy, Bobby Mcferrin has no shortage of tunes that baby could respond to.

I’ve chosen BlackBird from his 1984 release The Voice.

It was recorded live in Germany and is one of the most creative settings of the Lennon & McCartney standard ever recorded.

The astonishing array of sounds that Mcferrin comes up with along with the large vocal leaps that echo the original arpeggiated guitar figure, show his creative and technical prowess.

On a simpler level, it’s humorous and playful, good qualities to have in any music.

Have a listen here.

Bach Cello Suite No 1 Prelude BWV 1007–1012

by JS Bach

Written between 1717 -1723, the six suites were composed for unaccompanied cello.

They are the holy grails of the instrument’s repertoire and have been called the most profound musical works ever written.

Suite No 1, is the perfect soundtrack to wind down the day with.

Have a listen here. And here.

Gymnopedie 1

by Erik Satie

Gymnopedie 1 , written in 1888, is the most famous of Satie’s works.

The uplifting melody set in waltz-time has been heard in dozens of TV and Film placements including, The BBC’s The World At War, the film My Dinner With Andre, and even sampled by Janet Jackson in her 2001 song Someone to Call My Lover.

A soothing piece of music when you need to relax.

Have a listen here.

Moon River

by Brad Meldhau

Audrey Hepburn first sang Moon River in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Composed by Henry Mancini for the movie, it has become a classic standard of the American Song Book.

This is the Brad Meldhau version from the 2008 release, Live at the Village Vanguard vol 2, The Art of The Trio is a study in clarity, space, and calmness.

Piano, acoustic bass, and drums played by brushes explore the gorgeous timeless melody that is Moon River.

Have a listen here.

Que Sera Sera

by Sly and The Family Stone

Whatever will be, will be!!!

Not quite as Doris Day sang it, the Sly version gets some back-beat and groove going, always a good thing.

From Sly and The Family Stone’s album Fresh, released in 1973, Que Sera Sera should be required listening for both Mom, Dad and child-to-be.

Whatever will be, will be.

True that, as the kids say.

Have a listen here.

Exposing your children to a wide variety of music can only be seen as a good thing.

Just as children absorb language learning with apparent ease, the greater the exposure to the language of music and its myriad of dialects, the greater chances your child will grow up to speak and understand themselves.

*NEVER put headphones directly on your stomach as this can cause hearing damage to your unborn child.

Just play the music through your stereo or Bluetooth speakers. That should do the trick.

Happy listening, Baby.