Some people might seem like they were born with rhythm – and a new study suggests there’s some truth to it.
Scientists have found that newborns can predict musical patterns from just two days old and come into the world ‘already tuned in’ to music.
It could explain why some very young children appear to nod their head to the beat, or simply can’t sit still when they hear a tune.
For the study, a team from the Italian Institute of Technology played J.S. Bach’s piano compositions for an audience of 49 sleeping newborns.
This included 10 original melodies and four shuffled songs with scrambled melodies and pitches.
While the babies listened, the researchers used electroencephalography – electrodes placed on their heads – to measure their brainwaves.
When the babies showed signs of surprise, it meant they expected the song to go one way, but it went another.
Analysis revealed the newborns tended to show signs of surprise when the rhythm unexpectedly changed – indicating the ‘miniature maestros’ had generated musical expectations based on rhythm, the researchers said.
Chané Milner-Joseph, 27, from London, who is a single stay-at-home mum, left social media users in hysterics after sharing a video clip of her daughter Chyla Rae dancing along to her bedtime lullaby
According to the authors, understanding how humans become aware of rhythm can help biologists understand how our auditory systems develop.
However, they found no evidence that the newborns tracked melody – the varying of pitch and the flow of the tune – which suggests this skill comes at an unknown point later in development.
Future studies can investigate how exposure to music during gestation affects acquisition of rhythm and melody.
‘Are newborns ready for Bach?’ they wrote in the journal PLOS Biology.
‘Newborns come into the world already tuned in to rhythm. Our latest research shows that even our tiniest two–day old listeners can anticipate rhythmic patterns, revealing that some key elements of musical perception are wired from birth.
‘But there’s a twist: melodic expectations—our ability to predict the flow of a tune—don’t seem to be present yet.
‘This suggests that melody isn’t innate but gradually learned through exposure. In other words, rhythm may be part of our biological toolkit, while melody is something we grow into.’
The team suggest the rhythmic ability of newborns could be down to the sensory environment they experience while in the womb.
The researchers found that in the shuffled songs, the newborns exhibited signs of neural surprise when the timing of the rhythm changed
This includes auditory stimulations, such as the sound of their mother’s heartbeat, as well as vestibular – balance – stimulations like the pace of their mother’s walking gait.
An alternative possibility is that newborns develop predictive skills through exposure to music while in the womb.
Previous research has already found that by approximately 35 weeks of gestation, foetuses begin to respond to music with changes in heart rate and body movements.
‘Overall, this study provides neurophysical evidence that tracking rhythmic statistical regularities is a capacity present at birth,’ the researchers concluded.
‘Melodic tracking, in contrast, may receive more weight through development with exposure to signals relevant to communication, such as speech and music.’
The internet is awash with videos of babies and toddlers moving and dancing with impressive rhythm.
One clip shows an adorable 11–month–old gild dancing to a bedtime lullaby instead of sleeping.
Another features ‘mini metalhead’ Logie, in Edinburgh, who was filmed headbanging and singing along to heavy metal music on the way to nursery.
The tiny toddler picks out the beat to Uptown Funk with the poise and confidence of a concert-seasoned music aficionado, feeling every beat to the tune with the catchy 1980s funk sound
One video shows a two–and–a–half–month–old performer ‘dancing’ in his cot to a drumbeat, clapping and moving his legs up and down in time with the music.
16–month–old twins have also been captured bopping their heads to rock music in the car, while an adorable little boy called Cassidy was also caught wriggling around in his car seat to Gloria Estefan’s Conga.
A separate study, published last year, revealed that playing classical music to babies inside the womb can stimulate their development.
Study co–author Dr Claudia Lerma, of the National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico, said: ‘Overall, we discovered that exposure to music resulted in more stable and predictable foetal heart rate patterns.
‘We speculate that this momentary effect could stimulate the development of the foetal autonomic nervous system.’
The research team say that classical music could help promote foetal development for expectant parents at home.
