Music to Be Born By

Mickey Hart, The World (Rykodisc/Mickey Hart Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009UA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #96,839 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

  #14 in	Music > Indie Music > New Age > World Dance
  #46 in	Music > Indie Music > New Age > Environmental
  #67 in	Music > Indie Music > Rock > Jambands

Track Listings

1. Music To Be Born By

Editorial Reviews

From the Label

A valuable tool for that most important of events, this album provides a soothing, rhythmic soundscape for the birthing environment and beyond.

Originally created for the birth of Mickey Hart's son Taro in 1983, this 70-minute soundscape was intended to transform the coldness of a hospital delivery room into a warm, rhythmic environment which would aid concentration and breathing and shut out external noise during the process of labor and birthing. Hart recorded Taro's heartbeat in utero, then overdubbed that organic rhythm with subtle bass harmonics, drums, and wooden shakuhachi flute in a simple musical pattern repeated with slight variations throughout the recording. Hart and his wife found it greatly calming during Taro's delivery, and friends began to request it for the deliveries of their own children. Consequently, Hart decided to release the recording on CD as well as cassette for the general public, as an idiosyncratic title in THE WORLD series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars trance-inducing, but not for everyone, June 24, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music to Be Born By (Audio CD)

I really like this cd; my wife hates it. At first listen, it might sound like a tape loop that Hart lazily repeats for an hour or so. On closer listening, you hear the slight differences between one measure and another. The basic beat is a recording of Hart's son while he was still in the womb, so it's regular, but not mechanical.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Life Saver!!!, January 23, 2001

By	Hannah Bear "wordsindeed" (New England, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music to Be Born By (Audio CD)

We got this album before our son was born, and I practiced deep relaxation with it, planning to bring it to the hospital to play during labor. While we decided not to haul the CD player in with all the rest of our things, we did take it with us in the car after he was born, and it turned out to be a real life saver!

Whenever our son had trouble sleeping, we found that taking him for a drive always helped. So we would put him in the car, and put on Music To Be Born By, and go for a drive while he slept, and we also got a chance to relax and recuperate. It's very meditative, like trance music, and after a while you don't hear it so much as feel it relax you as it relaxes the baby and puts him to sleep. And whenever he was fussy, we would put it on and he would stop crying and settle right down, like magic.

It works like a charm - I can't tell you how many times we were grateful we had bought this CD! We recommend it to every new parent!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soundtrack to Life, October 3, 2003

By	Jim Vaughn (Michigan, USA, Earth.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music to Be Born By (Audio CD)

I recommend this music for anyone who is birthing a child. Both of our children where born to this music. We played it during both pregnancies and both births. Our children love this! We used to play it to get them calm for sleep every night when they were babies. Taro's pulse warms our hearts and home. It is wholly familiar to the spirit of a child. This music will help you create a loving place in which to grow your family. I thank Taro, Micky and Mary Halloway-Hart for sharing such a wonderful piece of artwork with us all. It is deeply personal. It can allow you to relax your mind so that you can hear the life within you! Enjoy!