Wolfgang Amadeus Babysitter

So... as I look forward to the birth of my first child, I contemplate the steps that I will take to introduce him/her to the world of art and beauty and music. Of course..... music. The advantage of being a music teacher is that I don't have to go out of my way to buy any "Baby Mozart" CDs... I just have to make playlists out of my formidable collection. Easy enough.

But a thought crossed my mind: People scurry to the store to buy the "Baby Mozart" CDs when they find out that they're due for a little diapered package. That in and of itself is cool. You'd think that this kind of thing would mean that we'd have whole generations of kids by now who were little Mozart lovers. But the thing is... there isn't. Well, not that there aren't kids learning about Mozart... there are. But I think the whole "Baby Mozart" thing is kind of a sham. People think that they just pipe some Eine Kleine Nachtmusik into the baby's room for a few hours a day and *PRESTO* - the kid turns into Jesus Einstein. It doesn't quite work that way. I think music has to be a regular part of the home environment. If the parents aren't tuned in (pun intended) it won't make much of a difference.

I don't know, I guess I'm just a little miffed that people believe that music (especially classical music) is "good for making you smarter"... but they completely miss the emotional and spiritual power that is possible. I know that one of the biggest arguments for school music programs is that musical training has been linked with higher test scores. Of course, it depends on what kind of music you're talking about. After all, reading makes you smarter as long as you read something that stretches your mind. ANd music for IQ's sake... well that's like getting married to increase your household income.

So am I going to play Mozart for my kid? Yeah... I am. But not because I want my kid to be smarter than everyone else's kid. I'm going to do it because Mozart is awesome, and because one of the first things I want to instill in my child is the one thing that has driven every meaningful development in my life: the ability to percieve beauty.