As a parent you may have now heard of "Mozart Effect". Study after study has shown that playing music for your baby both in the womb and outside it has a world of benefits. Music engages both brain hemispheres of a baby’s brain at once giving it a real work out.

Playing music for infants can:

• Improve fine and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills are used to pick up a stick and beat a drum, and gross to bounce back and forth and dance to the beat.
• Improves vocal ability, listening skills, and rhythm. A baby that listens and attempts to sing along is learning more than just a song.
• Improves memory and spatial reasoning. Studies show that music engages the same neurological pathways as memory applications and multiple step reasoning problems.
• Have positive physical effects on weight gain, heart beat and oxygen absorption. Music is especially good for premature babies.
• Improve a baby’s mood and make them more apt to learning or rest depending on the music.
• Be used to establish educational and everyday routines.

Most studies push classical music as being the ideal music for babies as it has a complex structure, and while that's all fine and dandy no one wants to listen to such music. You can play any music you like for your baby though child appropriate lyrics are recommended as any word a baby hears, it learns even if it doesn’t say them yet. If you wouldn’t want your baby to say it, don’t play it.

You can incorporate music into your baby’s life by playing them music while playing, on car rides, and even as a soothing lullaby at night. You can also sing to your baby and as he or she ages have him or her sing with you as well. Song can be an excellent learning tool all throughout life and especially when teaching letters and words. If you want your child to later play a musical instrument, it is also best to begin lessons early. You may peak interest in infancy by purchasing or even making musical instrument baby toys. These toys usually also help with fine and gross motor skills and reasoning to make them play music. Even an old coffee can turned up side down with a spoon for banging makes some sort of music.