I magine your parents deciding to kickstart your life with Baroque music by playing J. S. Bach sonatas for your first 48 hours after birth. Earlier this year, Italian and Hungarian researchers did just that, outfitting 49 sleeping newborn babies with tiny headphones through which Bach’s music was played. By measuring the brain waves of each infant through electroencephalography, these scientists revealed a striking discovery: Human newborns innately understand rhythm. Like miniature maestros emerging from the womb, infants are hard-wired to perceive the beat in music and, even more startling, to anticipate changes that arrive with shifting rhythmic patterns. This intrinsic sense may well stem from exposure in the womb to the mother’s heartbeat, breathing patterns, and walking habits.
It’s heartening to know that we have rhythmic awareness built into our brains and bodies from the get-go, since we’re more reliant on rhythm for surviving (and thriving) in life than we often recognize. Every living organism has rhythm central to its existence. And, in our human state of being, circadian rhythms are vital for managing everything from our wake-sleep cycle and body temperature to digestion, respiration, heart rate, and hormone cycles.
Beyond biology, our interpersonal relationships develop certain rhythms as we learn to give and receive or draw close and pull away. Religiously speaking, too, most traditions structure life and meaning around rhythmic cycles that are based on the created order, sacred texts, or calendars that prompt daily, weekly, or seasonal rituals.
