In the US state of Georgia, Governor Zell Miller in 1998 decreed that all new mothers be given classical music CDs, while in the state of Florida, all day care centres have to play symphonies under law. Many research works have concluded that music can help improve a child’s IQ and improve health. This so-called ‘Mozart Effect’, as it is called in the scientific world, has been a subject of debate within the scientific community, but that has not deterred musicians from working on projects that primarily target babies as the listener.

So, when one comes across an album called ‘Baby Sitar’, brought out in India under the Silk Road Communications label, one is bound to take notice, particularly as it is derived out of Indian and Western classical music and lullabies at the initiative of two Frenchmen – Denis Teste and Jean Paul Le Goff.

“It is well-known that babies to-be-born can hear external sounds and melodies from the womb of their mother. And many studies have revealed the important role of music in the development of a new-born baby’s creative faculties and positive emotional souvenirs. The emotional memory is the foundation for the positive development of intelligence and imagination,” Teste, who learnt Sitar from Kushal Das and has been influenced by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, says quoting the album’s inner flap. The tunes in the album are claimed to have been rendered only using sounds within the range of frequencies accessible to a baby’s delicate ears. The album has nine tracks, which create an atmosphere of relaxation through sounds of instruments like sitar, esraj, guitar, tanpura (all played by Teste) and piano, bass, synthesiser played by Goff.

So what made the duo bring out an album targeted only at babies? “Newborn  babies have a limited sight. Their main senses are smell and hearing. Their reactions to sound and voices are obvious, be it the sound of the heart beating or the mother’s voice. Music makes them confident and helps them to sleep,” Teste says. While he admits that there has not been any specific research on the subject, the French sitarist refers to information from musico-therapists “and our own experience as fathers playing music next to babies” as the basis of the concept. 

“We discussed the concept of the album with many parents, and decided to create a specific mood in every track, playing very simple phases and making sounds like whisper, feeling the emotion of a parent looking at his baby,” he says.

Sitar was obviously the instrument of choice because of Teste’s love for the instrument, but he does not forget to add, “The harmonic richness of the sitar’s - or veena’s - bridges (djovaris) is a very important element that makes the effect of that kind of instruments. You know what effect a group of well-tuned tanpuras has on people, so imagine on babies!” The recommended hearing age – three months before birth to two years after – is based on no scientific data except that the development of the baby in uterus and during the first two years of its life is mainly focused on hearing sounds first and then learning the language.

Originally published in France, Teste and Goff thought out the project purely for their love for music – and babies! “If I had thought about how to market my music, I would not have targeted the tiny baby music market!”  Teste says. To keep the frequency of the sounds within the limits suitable for babies, he says, the bass frequency and the tanpura frequency range were adjusted and the double bass and tanpura sounds were a ‘little more overmixed’.

The album has become quite popular in France, with older children asking for it when they go to sleep and some kindergartens using it to calm down the young children. “In India, we hear that the initial market response has been tremendous and we are very pleased because it comes as a complete surprise!” he adds.