Lullaby

Etymology#

The term ’lullaby’ derives from the Middle English lullen (“to lull”) and by e (in the sense of “near”). It was first recorded circa 1560. A folk etymology derives lullaby from “Lilith-Abi” (Hebrew for “Lilith, begone”). In the Jewish tradition, Lilith was a demon who was believed to steal children’s souls in the night. To guard against Lilith, Jewish mothers would hang four amulets on nursery walls with the inscription “Lilith – abei” “Lilith – begone” .

Characteristics#

Lullabies tend to share exaggerated melodic tendencies, including simple pitch contours, large pitch ranges, and higher pitch. These clarify and convey heightened emotions, usually of love or affection. When there is harmony, infants almost always prefer consonant intervals over dissonant intervals. Furthermore, if there is a sequence of dissonant intervals in a song, an infant will usually lose interest, and it becomes very difficult to regain their attention. To reflect this, most lullabies contain primarily consonant intervals. Tonally, most lullabies are simple, often alternating tonic and dominant harmonies. In addition to pitch tendencies, lullabies share structural similarities. The most frequent tendencies are intermittent repetitions and long pauses between sections. This dilutes the rate of material and appeals to infants’ slower capacity for processing music. Rhythmically, there are shared patterns. Lullabies are usually in triple meter or time, giving them a “characteristic swinging or rocking motion.” This mimics the movement a baby experiences in the womb as a mother moves. In addition, infants’ preference for rhythm shares a strong connection with what they hear when they are bounced, and even their own body movements. The tempos of lullabies tend to be generally slow, and the utterances are short. Again, this appeals to infants’ more limited ability to process information. Lullabies are often used for their soothing nature, even for non-infants. One study found lullabies to be the most successful type of music or sound for relieving stress and improving the overall psychological health of pregnant women. These characteristics tend to be consistent across cultures. It was found that adults of various cultural backgrounds could recognize and identify lullabies without knowing the cultural context of the song. Infants have shown a strong preferences for songs with these qualities.

Cross-cultural prevalence#

Lullabies are often used to pass down or strengthen the cultural roles and practices. In an observation of the setting of lullabies in Albanian culture, lullabies tended to be paired with the rocking of the child in a cradle. This is reflected in the swinging rhythmicity of the music. In addition to serving as a cultural symbol of the infant’s familial status, the cradle’s presence during the singing of lullabies helps the infant associate lullabies with falling asleep and waking up. Kogan and Gintsburg, in a study of the mainly preliterate, non-media-exposed people on the island of Socotra, found that lullabies in this culture shared many of the features of lullabies in the western and oriental tradition: the repetition of ’nonsense syllables,’ the creation of a warm affective space, and the allusions to ancient customs and beliefs. On the other hand, these lullabies lacked the ‘counting elements’ found in other traditions, and defined safety as a spiritual space, while danger was conceptualised as both physical and spiritual.

Therapeutic value#

Studies conducted by Dr. Jeffery Perlman, chief of newborn medicine at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital’s Komansky Center for Children’s Health, find that gentle music therapy not only slows down the heart rate of prematurely delivered infants but also helps them feed and sleep better. This helps them gain weight and speeds their recovery. A study published in May 2013 in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics under the aegis of the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City found that the type of music matters. Therapeutically designed “live” music – and lullabies sung in person – can influence cardiac and respiratory function. Another study published in February 2011 in Arts in Psychotherapy by Jayne M. Standley of the National Institute for Infant and Child Medical Music Therapy at Florida State University suggests that babies who receive this kind of therapy leave the hospital sooner. Additional research by Jayne M. Standley has demonstrated that the physiological responses of prematurely delivered infants undergoing intensive care can be regulated by listening to gentle lullabies through headphones. In addition to slowing heart and respiration rates, lullabies have been associated with increased oxygen saturation levels and the possible prevention of potentially life-threatening episodes of apnea and bradycardia. Gentle music can also provide stimulation for premature infants to behave in ways that boost their development and keep them alive. Lullabies can serve as a low-risk source of stimulation and reinforcement for increasing nipple sucking (feeding) rates, providing infants with the nutrition they require for growth and development. Lullabies are thus associated with encouraging the rapid development of the neurological system and with a shorter length of hospitalization. More recent research has shown that lullabies sung live can have beneficial effects on physiological functioning and development in premature infants. The live element of a slow, repetitive entrained rhythm can regulate sucking behavior. Infants have a natural tendency to entrain to the sounds that surround them. Beat perception begins during fetal development in the womb and infants are born with an innate musical preference. The element of live breathing sounds can regulate infant heart rate, quiet-alert states, and sleep. Live lullabies can also enhance parent-child bonding, thus decreasing parental stress associated with the intensive care. In short, live lullabies sung by music therapists induce relaxation, rest, comfort, and optimal growth and development. “Hush, Little Baby” has been observed cross-culturally and is known to have a natural capacity for soothing and energizing infants, as well as nurturing caregiving bonds. Many lullabies, regardless of the meaning of their words, possess a peaceful hypnotic quality. Others are mournful or dark, like a lament. The Gaelic lullaby “Ba, Ba, Mo Leanabh Beag” was written in 1848 during the potato famine, which caused much hardship in the Scottish Highlands. The song mentions soft potatoes, the mother’s situation, and her fears for her child. In the 1920s, poet Federico García Lorca studied Spanish lullabies and noted the “poetic character” and “depth of sadness” of many of them. Lorca’s theory was that a large part of the function of the lullaby is to help a mother vocalize her worries and concerns. In short, they also serve as therapy for the mother. Many Christmas carols are designed as lullabies for the infant Jesus, the most famous of them being “Silent Night”.

Mother–infant interaction#

Infants exhibit a natural preference for infant-directed over non-infant-directed lullabies and their own mothers’ voice over that of another female. Much research has been generated on the role of lullabies in nurturing caregiving bonds between mother and child. Mothers who sing lullabies to their infants engage in a bonding activity that actually alters the underlying neural structure of the infant brain such that the infant becomes “tuned” into music and its association with parental affiliation.

In classical music#

Lullabies written by established classical composers are often given the form-name berceuse, which is French for lullaby, or cradle song. The most famous lullaby is the one by Johannes Brahms (“Wiegenlied”, 1868). While there has been no confirmation, there are many strong arguments that Brahms suffered from a sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. It is speculated (based on lullabies’ utility as a sleep aid) that this was part of his inspiration for composing “Wiegenlied.” Chopin’s “Berceuse” is a composition for solo piano. Other famous examples of the genre include Maurice Ravel’s Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré for violin and piano; the Berceuse élégiaque by Ferruccio Busoni; the “Berceuse” from the opera Jocelyn by Benjamin Godard; the “Berceuse” by Igor Stravinsky which is featured in the Firebird ballet, and Lullaby for String Quartet by George Gershwin. The English composer Nicholas Maw’s orchestral nocturne, The World in the Evening, is subtitled “lullaby for large orchestra”. German composer’s Paul Graener last movement of his suite From The Realm of Pan is entitled “Pan sings the world a lullaby”.

Brazil#

“Dorme neném” (Sleep Little Baby) is sung all over the country and includes a reference to “Cuca”, a folk character very feared by children.

Colombia#

“Duérmete niño, duérmete ya, que si no viene el coco y te comerá” (Go to sleep child, go to sleep now, otherwise the boogie man will come and eat you) is a cradle song sung by parents to advise children to go to sleep soon.

India#

In Hindi and in many Indian languages, the lullaby is called “Lori”. Mostly, lullabies are sung in folk languages. Lullabies have been also an integral part of Indian cinema. Many lullabies were written and composed in the fifties, such as: * “Aaja Ri Aa Nindiya Tu Aa” – Do Bigha Zamin (1953 film) * “Main Gaoon Tu Chhup Ho Jaa” – Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957 film) * “So Jaa Re Lalna Jhulao Tohe Palna” – Pardesi (1957 film) In the Malayalam language, there is a rich collection of traditional lullabies, known as “tharaattu Pattu”. One of the most famous is “Omanathinkal Kidavo”, written and composed by poet lyricist Iravi Varman Thampi who is widely known as Irayimman Thampi. This lullaby was written in the year 1813 for the queen of Travancore to sing to her son young prince Swathi Thirunal, who later became the king and a famous musician (composed many Keerthanas in a Raga Dheerasankarabharanam commonly known as Sankarabharanam). In the Marathi language, a lullaby is called a angai geet. Soothing words and music helps baby calm down and help them sleep. In the Odia language, a lullaby is called a Nanabaya gita. A book in the same name by Nanda Kishore bal that was published in two volumes in 1934 is a major compilation of the known lullabies in the language. In the Tamil language, a lullaby is called a thaalattu (thal means “tongue”). A melodious sound is created by frequent movement of the tongue at the beginning of the song. In the 9th century CE, Kulasekhara Alvar composed the lullaby titled “Mannu pugazh Kosalai than” (meaning “To famous Kausalya…”) in honour of Rama. In Telugu language, a lullaby is called a “Jola” or “Jola pata”. A famous Telugu lullaby is “jo achuthaa nanda jo jo mukunda”.

Philippines#

In the Philippines, the song is known as the oyayi. The province of Batangas has a very specialized form of lullaby known as the huluna. Though only composed of simple words, it is notable for being very difficult to sing, due to the lengthy melismas. Like many traditional songs from Spain, it is full of fioriture yet unlike many of the western type songs, it has no time signature. Sa Ugoy ng Duyan is a popular Filipino lullaby song composed by Lucio San Pedro with lyrics by Levi Celerio in 1948.

Kurdistan#

In Kurdish lullaby is called Laylaye or Lawk is a prominent piece of art in Kurdish society, and mostly women and mothers sing this, which usually means the oppression and genocide of the Kurds, or a reason away from someone or homeland.

Vietnam#

In Vietnamese, lullabies are called “bài hát ru”. One famous Vietnamese lullaby is the song, “Ầu ơ ví dầu”. Vietnamese lullabies are hard to sing because of their extended melismas. The lullabies usually include pastoral scenes of villages, bamboo bridges, rice fields, farming, and meals made by a mother. They usually have a melancholy tone.

China#

• The “Northeastern Cradle Song” is from northern China.
• Cantonese cradle song “Yuet Kwong Kwong” (月光光), literally Moonlight, prevails in Guangdong.

Indonesia#

“Nina Bobo” is from Indonesia.

Japan#

The “Edo Lullaby”, “Itsuki Lullaby”, “Chūgoku Region Lullaby”, “Shimabara Lullaby” and “Takeda Lullaby” are from Japan.

Bangladesh#

In Bangladesh, the lullaby is termed “Ghum-Parrani-Gaan” (song to make sleep). Examples of Bangla lullabies are “Ghum-Parrani Maashi, Pishi” and “Baash baganer mathar upor”.

Iran#

“Laay laay, laay, laay, gol-e laaleh” () is one of the most famous and oldest Persian lullabies which comes from the Gorgan region in North-Eastern Iran.