Scientists at Geneva University are probing the effect of music on brain development in infants that are born prematurely and housed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  To do so, they partnered with an award-winning composer to create soundscapes based on instruments that the babies liked most—namely the harp, snake flute, and bells. 

Photo credit: STEPHANE SIZONENKO

What types of music do babies like?

Stroll

Written by Carly Campbell with Talya Klein, Keith Lewis, and Leah 
Wilks
Sung by Leah Wilks with Carly Campbell and Kristen Stinnett

The Bed's Song

Experimenting with granular synthesis using environmental samples I recorded in a coffee shop that I then manipulated in Borderlands on an iPad. Added minimal drums with Patterning, a heavily bitcrushed and modulated synth with Animoog, some AU:FX effects, mixed and recorded in AUM, and did final EQ in mixdown in Auria Pro. Everything done in the coffee shop from sampling to upload.

Grains of Diesel

This is the sound of the phylum-level bacterial microbe changes in the guts of three lemur babies as their diets progressed from birth through nursing, introductory solid foods, regular solid foods, and two phases of weaning. The stable adult phylum-level profile of the mother of this set of triplets provides the background hum as the babies' profiles ring out four times for each timeframe beginning with birth. There is an initial consonance and sparsity of tones that shifts to a more dense and dissonant relationship when solid foods are introduced. The profiles settle back to a level consonance by the final weaning. For clarity listen through headphones.

Lemur Microbe Data Pallette

This was recorded with a Yamaha keyboard in Garage Band.  It needs more work on tone, dynamics and timing if it would be played on a piano.

Prelude Op. 34 No. 17 by Dimitri Shostakovich

Wion

Editor Vs Creator Master

Played and recorded live on my iPad in AUM.

Pad: Yonac Magellan 2 -> Klevgrand Modley
Bass Arp: Yonac Magellan 2 
Drums: Lumbeat Funk Drummer

Used Rozeta Particles sequencer for the pad. Bass was played live.

Dissolve Anything

Played and recorded live. 

Bass 1: Meeblip Triode
Pluck: Ensoniq ESQ-1
Bass Drum: MFB 522 Bass
Hats: MFB 522 OH/HH/CY
Snare: Moog DFAM
Pad: Oberheim Matrix 6R  -> overdrive through Uraltone Micro Mixer
Bass 2: Dreadbox Nyx
Drone: Dreadbox Antiphon

Sequenced by Pioneer TORAIZ Squid.
Vintage Reverb from Behringer X18 mixer

Common Rattle

Soundscape artist with cadre of cohorts performing electronic music jams and Nested Soundscapes

Lemur Microbe Data Pallette

dejacusse

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