Song is internationally and historically recognised as a means of soothing and calming troubled spirits. The image of savage animals tamed by music appears in the folklore of many countries and was used by Mozart in his opera, The Magic Flute.
The most universal example of this soothing power can be seen in the lullaby, a song sung to induce infants and children to sleep.
Anthropologists have noticed that a mother comforting a restless baby will instinctively tend to hold it against her left shoulder, where it can hear her heart, and to rock or sway to the rhythm of a normal heartbeat. This usually has a calming effect, possibly because it recalls the familiar environment of the womb.
Lullabies can range from simple wordless crooning to conscious creation of secure and restful images, conveyed poetically. It is possible that such images add to the soothing effect of the tunes, though children old enough to understand them are often just as fond of lullabies made up of nonsense rhymes.
Composers such as Brahms and Gershwin have written lullabies for piano and even orchestral accompaniment. The pulse or beat of this form, however, is invariably based on the human heartbeat, and may be the only element truly appreciated by infants.
Listen to GershwinΓÇÖs Summertime in the AcademyΓÇÖs Concert Hall.
