Lullaby
In addition, infants' preference for rhythm shares a strong connection with what they hear when they are bounced, and even their own body movements.
One study found lullabies to be the most successful type of music or sound for relieving stress and improving the overall psychological health of pregnant women.
[21] Studies conducted by Dr. Jeffery Perlman, chief of newborn medicine at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital's Komansky Center for Children's Health, find that gentle music therapy not only slows down the heart rate of prematurely delivered infants but also helps them feed and sleep better.
A study published in May 2013 in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics under the aegis of the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City found that the type of music matters.
[22] Additional research by Jayne M. Standley has demonstrated that the physiological responses of prematurely delivered infants undergoing intensive care can be regulated by listening to gentle lullabies through headphones.
In addition to slowing heart and respiration rates, lullabies have been associated with increased oxygen saturation levels and the possible prevention of potentially life-threatening episodes of apnea and bradycardia.
Lullabies can serve as a low-risk source of stimulation and reinforcement for increasing nipple sucking (feeding) rates, providing infants with the nutrition they require for growth and development.
[24] More recent research has shown that lullabies sung live can have beneficial effects on physiological functioning and development in premature infants.
In short, live lullabies sung by music therapists induce relaxation, rest, comfort, and optimal growth and development.
[25] "Hush, Little Baby" has been observed cross-culturally and is known to have a natural capacity for soothing and energizing infants, as well as nurturing caregiving bonds.
Music therapists have called these tunes "lullaments", that which sustain the spirit, support psychological structure, and enable resilience during times of vulnerability to the effects of adversity.
Lullaments are music-contextualized expressions of attachment and detachment, sadness/tears and happiness/laughter, privilege and loss, nurturance and grief, deterioration, stasis and moving forward.
[26]: 217 In one Taiwanese study of Kangaroo Care, a technique practiced on newborn infants in which a mother holds her child tightly against her chest, it was demonstrated that infant–mother dyads who listened to their choice of lullaby were associated with more quiet sleep states and less occurrence of crying by the infant and were also associated with significantly lower maternal anxiety, than those dyads who did not listen to lullabies.
The therapeutic effect of lullabies can thus have a strong impact on calming anxieties and nurturing bonds, which is especially important with premature and fragile infants.
The English composer Nicholas Maw's orchestral nocturne, The World in the Evening, is subtitled "lullaby for large orchestra".
"Dorme neném" (Sleep Little Baby) is sung all over the country and includes a reference to "Cuca", a folk character very feared by children.
This lullaby was written for the queen of Travancore to sing to her son young prince Swathi Thirunal, who later became the king and a famous musician (composed many Keerthanas in a Raga Dheerasankarabharanam commonly known as Sankarabharanam).
Sa Ugoy ng Duyan is a popular Filipino lullaby song composed by Lucio San Pedro with lyrics by Levi Celerio in 1948.
The lullabies usually include pastoral scenes of villages, bamboo bridges, rice fields, farming, and meals made by a mother.
[35] The song was written in 1948 by the Danish writer and poet Harald H. Lund with music composed by writer-musician Mogens Jermiin Nissen (1906–72).
"Mues sang få Hansemand" ("Mother's Song to Little Hans") – This lullaby originated from south Jutland and is very old (year of composition is unknown).
"Jeg vil tælle stjernerne" ("I Will Count the Stars") – This lullaby was written in 1951 by the Danish poet and writer Halfdan Rasmussen (1915–2002).
Rasmussen had written numerous rhymes and jingles, some of which are still being used in Danish beginner classes in public schools (e.g. the picture book "Halfdans ABC").
"Der Mond ist aufgegangen" ("The moon has risen"), "Es kam ein Herr zum Schlößli" ("A knight came to the castle"), "Guten Abend, gute Nacht" ("Good evening, good night"), "Weißt du, wie viel Sternlein stehen" ("Do you know how many stars there are?")
Most cradle-songs use ringatószavak, 'rocking words' that are meaningless, archaic, or come from baby talk, as well as many terms of endearment such as baba, bogárka, csibe, angyal, kedves, rózsabimbó, 'baby, beetle, chick, angel, dear, rosebud', some of which they share with love songs.
Aludj, baba, aludjál, Tündérekről álmodjál; Dunán ringó kis ladikban Velük szépen játszódjál!
Nincs itthun[note 1] a mamája: Elment a vásárba, Cukrot hoz a kosárba; Ha jó lesz az Annuska, Megkapja holnapra.
They include songs which express emotions other than affection for the child – notably "Griogal Cridhe", which commemorates the beheading of Gregor Roy MacGregor by his father-in-law, Campbell of Glenlyon and brother-in-law in 1570 and "Hishie Ba" which may refer to a gang assault.
[45] The lullaby also gives an insight into the Gododdin a Celtic culture of northern England and southern Scotland, as well as linguistic evidence for features of the extinct Cumbric language.
Although the earliest prints date from around 1800, new arrangements of the lullaby have been performed and recorded by artists from around the world as well as featuring in Hollywood films (Empire of the Sun), anime (Black Butler) and computer games (The Maid of Sker).
