Customer Reviews

Build Your Baby's Brain 1

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I almost didn't buy this CD because of Gwendolyn Freed's terrible review. Kids don't care if the entire piece is presented, nor do they have snobbish opinions as to the quality of the orchestra. My kids love this CD. My 3 yr old pretends to conduct and my 8 month old gets a kick out of the whole experience. This in turn creates enjoyment for the whole family. All I care about is instilling a love for all kinds of music in my children. They listen to blues, jazz, classical, all different kinds of rock. They can refine or "snobberize" their tastes later. For now, the important thing is exposure; this CD is wonderful for serving that purpose!!!

This CD was given to me in the hospital when I had my second child courtesy of former governor Zell Miller of Georgia. When I heard about the program of handing them out in the hospital I wondered how good it would really be. But, my newborn as well as my 3 year old loved it. They are now 5 and 2 and we still listen to it. Any time my oldest hears one of the songs being played somewhere else he stops and recognizes it. He says, "Hey Mommy, that's the song on our CD!!" Pretty impressive that a 5 year old boy can recognize classical music! I listen to this more than any other CD I actually paid money for! Thank you, Zell!!

This CD was a sweet, daffy idea from the office of our former governor of Georgia, Zell Miller. And copies are still being handed out to every new parent in Georgia (including me), courtesy of Zell's successor. As a freebie, it's great, but if you're going to spend money, may I suggest that there are better choices? Anything by Elgar, Vaughan-Williams, or Mozart seems to entertain and soothe my two-month-old. Incidentally, he also enjoys Scottish folk music (although I have yet to expose him to bagpipes...). Basically, the jury's still out on whether classical music will make him more intelligent. But any exposure to music will certainly enrich his life, and any classical music will serve to introduce you and your baby to its beauty.
Alas, however, this is one of the worst compilations I think I have ever heard, so if you would prefer a compilation, why not spend a few minutes checking around on Amazon for another?

We were presented with this CD at the hospital when my son was born - under former Georgia governor Zell Miller's program for newborns. My son is 14 months old now and listens to it several times a day. I made a copy to put in the car and one day we were driving along and he was getting very upset and began screaming, since we were trapped in traffic and I was unable to pull over immediately I turned on the music in hopes of "drowning him out" and to my amazement in less than a minute he had calmed down and even waving his arms in time to the music. I don't know yet if it will improve his SAT scores (we have a few years yet to worry about that!) but I do know that he enjoys it and has an early exposure to classical music and hopefully a later appreciation, but for now it helps us relax and enjoy each others company! I would recommend it HIGHLY for any parent and/or child and the sooner you play it the better! It's well worth the $!

I'm not sure what people were expecting when they purchased this. For one thing it tells you exactly what is on the CD. Its not a mystery!! If you buy it on amazon it has listed every title on it so I"m not sure about the people who said they were dissapointed because they already own those titles. Obviously you should glance at the list of titles on this CD if you have a large classical collection already. However if you don't already have a classical collection this is by far excellent .I'll be honest and admit I listen to one of the volumes daily regardless of who is in the room. It's marketed for babies but it is really for anyone. There are SO many classical pieces out there. What they have done is to take the best of the best and also the ones that are known to appeal to babies. For some reason many reviewers thing they just took a random sampling of classical music. In reality they have put together those that appeal most to children. I can tell you that my 1 year old daughter actually dances to these. She really likes them a lot. I consider the whole collection a must have for any household.

This is the finest and most enjoyable collection of classical music I have ever found on a single CD. Whoever was in charge of compiling the songs for this CD must have really had an amazing taste in music as well as a thorough understanding of the kinds of musical quality which really put the human mind at ease.

I personally don't have any children. If I did, they would be hearing this CD from the time I bring them home from the hospital. It's not because it "builds their brains". I'm for one am not certain that any particular kind of music, no matter how good it is, will actually make a baby smarter than if they had not heard it. If child psychologists out there say I'm wrong, then I probably am. But whether it builds or not, it certainly relaxes. It certainly eases the stress. If you're buying this for your child, don't think that it will necessarily cause your child to get potty trained faster than your neighbor's kid; or that your kid won't grow up to become manager of McDonald's. (Can you imagine him coming back twenty years later? "If only you would have played me some Bach when I was a baby, I'd be making six figures! Well, I hope you're happy!")

Speaking of Bach, he's all over the place on this CD. There's also some good Mozart along with other classical greats, including "Fur Elise" and Pachelbel's "Canon in D." Buy this CD. If you don't like it, then classical music probably isn't for you.

I am sorry for the previous review who said that intelligence is hereditary. If that is true, all mankind would have been doomed from the start.

Intelligence is not hereditary, but rather a result of stimulation during infancy and birth. Sure, it isn't a guarantee that your child *will* become a genius if you attempt to educate them from birth, but there is no doubt that real educational stimulation of a young mind is a powerful indicator that the child will be more advanced than the average child.

Music is not just notes played. Music--real music--is everything. Though the music of today will fade, classical music will always be around because it is classic. It fits no matter what era you place it in. There is always a home for it. The artists are timeless just as the beautiful melodies are.

I certainly believe that babies who listen to music will become more familiar with and more easily understand music and instruments. Therefore, they will be quicker of mind. It is just a fact that people who play instruments are usually of higher intelligence.

I don't think that people are destined to be stupid or geniuses. I believe it is a question of environment. I feel I'm a great mother but I haven't done everything I could have been doing to help my son's mind expand as an infant. Now that he is a toddler (18 months) I am teaching him to read and exposing him to the magic of classical music in hopes that it will help mold him and set him apart from the rest.

Minds are trainable. You just have to work at it. This CD compiled of beautiful pieces composed by instrumental geniuses will help you do just that.

I thought the classical pieces in "Build Your Baby's Brain" was going to be played in a different way specially designed to "build" my baby's brain. The result is quite disappointing. The music is only slightly rearranged from its original classical version and I have almost all those pieces in my Classical CD collections. It is definitely not recommanded for those who already have lots of classical music collections.

There is a love/hate relationship among classical music lovers concerning the "highlight" CDs. One could argue that Mozart did not intend to have his music put sliced up and marketed to infants, but you could also argue that he did what had to be done to pay the bills. Regardless, some points must be made:

** Don't stop here! ** Get complete pieces by Mozart. ** Get works by other composers such as Liszt, Beethoven, Bach, or even Stavinsky. ** Don't get classical CDs just for your baby, get them for yourself, too! ** The reason your baby enjoys classical music is because it is GREAT MUSIC! ** Your baby has not been conditioned to think classical music is boring or difficult. ** You should be equally open minded. ** You are an adult and can do what you want. ** There is an entire world of truly remarkable classical music waiting for you!

Happy Listening!

I love my child, but the first time I heard this CD, It immediately went from her recorder to mine. I take it practically everywhere I go. I know it's technically "Her" CD, but the selections are so soothing; and you need that type of comfort when stuck in traffic. Honestly, we both enjoy it - and I'm glad someone thought enough to give it as a gift.