After a long struggle Brynne and David have finally made it to the day of their fifth wedding anniversary; they married at the beginning of their graduate school year. After a few nasty fights, and many moments of wondering why they ever married, they have finally made it. Now this couple feels read'y to try for the one thing they have desired, a family. However, these newlyweds want a child who is both smart and athletic. Also, they want a child who will have an appreciation for music. Today, it is unbelievable the choices that Brynne and David have in how they will make a family. They have the option of buying an egg or a sperm from someone with all of the desired qualities for which they are looking. Or the newlyweds can try to genetically alter one of their eggs or sperm in order to get the desired results. Or finally, they can just simply try managing the original way and hope for the best. However, all but one of these methods would cost the couple dearly, while guaranteeing virtually nothing. Surprisingly, the best method of getting the child of their dreams might be to simply have sex and then make sure that from the time the baby starts to form in Brynne until it is about five years old that the child is surrounded by classical music. So how then is it possible that an eight thousand-dollar or more operation cannot guarantee its results any better than the conscientious use of a three hundred-dollar collection of music? The answer is simple, connections.

When born, a baby has approximately one hundred billion neurons, which will produce 1,000 trillion synapses even before the child starts to wear diapers. The first three months are going to be the months that these connections will be established and begin being used in concert. According to research, between three and twelve months, babies display a burst in skills, which parallel huge increases in the number of synaptic connections in their brains. In the visual system, the density of synapses peaks at three months, providing for the development of depth perception. Also, the cerebellum, responsible for the coordination of motor control, has developed enough for a baby to discover its toes. Researchers believe that by playing classical music during the first three to twelve months baby’s synapses will connect better. Researchers have proven that if a child hears music in the mother's womb, which is later played while the child is lying in a crib in the nursery, then that child will be calmer than children who did not experience music played for them in the womb. The logical reason for this is that babies who listened to music in the womb were able to associate the music in the nursery with music played while they were in the womb; such association demonstrates heightened synaptic connection. If babies are able to listen to classical music, this will in turn help them to develop better spatial reasoning and memory abilities. For example a mother of a child who was born with brain damage bought her child a piano when he was two. For a while the child just beat on the piano. However, soon the child connected the notes on his piano with the notes of “Twinkle Twinkle little star,” and with a little help from his mother, soon this child was able to play the whole song by himself. From that point forward, that child connected with music so much that now, as an adult, he can play over seven thousand songs from memory.

According to research done by several universities, if parents start to involve their children in learning how to play a musical instrument between the ages of three to four, this will help them to develop better reasoning and memory skills than those children who listen to little or no classical music, and who play no music instrument at early ages. This is based on a study by Gordon Shaw, a physicist at the University of California, Irvine; he “discovered that a group of 3- and 4-year-olds who took piano lessons for eight months tested higher on spatial reasoning ability than preschoolers who didn't take the lessons” (Hill). Beyond helping to develop their brains more fully giving those babies better reasoning and spatial capabilities, music also helped in the development of their motor skills. For example, in Colorado, a child was born with water on the brain, which severely affected the child's motor skills. However, by going to see a music therapist, the child has improved exponentially. Before seeing the therapist, the child, at two years old, could not climb up and over a floor mat no taller than two inches. This child can now walk around and climb over most small things, thanks to the therapist's use of a combination of classical music and getting the child interested in playing the guitar.

How then, does classical music do all of these seemingly wonderful things for very young children? There are several possible explanations. One is that classical music calms the mind, which in turn calms the body. Classical music is also found pleasurable to the child's mind. Therefore, if the child is calm and happy or content, this gives the mind more time to focus on simply developing by not being disturbed with undue stress or anxiety. Another reason why classical music might help children to develop better is that music, especially classical music, is another language that the mind knows. Therefore, it is possible by developing the child's language skills that this will in turn develop the child's reasoning skills. This, in turn, would then help to develop the child’s spatial skills.

However, a word of caution must be given. According to a recent study, researchers found no connection to classical music and a child's development. While its true that many people believe that by playing classical music this will some how connect more synapses before it is too late to do so, some neurologists contend that there is no particular period, for which synapses can develop. They propose this happens off and on during a person's entire lifetime. Other researchers believe that most of the more advanced actions that baby display are simply hardwired into babies. Music would then have no bearing on those the child's development. Yet, these same researchers who did the study acknowledge that children who have more stimulation tend to do better than those children who have little or none. Despite these somewhat conflicting opinions, it is obvious that no harm will come to young children who listen to classical music.

If Brynne and David played classical music for their child through all of its early stages of life, they will greatly increase the chances of their child being smart and equipped with highly developed motor skills. If parents or soon-to-be-parents are interested in having a child who is smart and athletic, there is nothing wrong with spending a lot of money on genetic operations, which have the potential to cause those future parents a lot of moral hardships. However, if soon-to-be-parents make sure that the child whom they bring into this world has a safe, comfortable, low stress environment which is filled with classical music and things that intrigue and encourage a child to think, then there is really no reason that that child cannot grow up to be a smart, athletic, and witty person who will be a lively mover and shaker. Connective music, simply amazing.