Pronunciation ChallengeDoes Playing Classical Music Make Your Baby Smarter?

Well, hello there, VoiceTubers! Another day, another pronunciation challenge. My name is Adam, and it is my pleasure to guide you through today’s topic about the mystery of classical music. Before we get started, I’d like to share a little about myself since this is my very first pronunciation challenge episode. Originally from the state of Virginia in the US, I have been living in Taiwan for almost four years now. Wow! I’ve been in the field of education for a few years now too, working in South America, Africa, Europe and now here in Taiwan. Yay! One reason I fell in love with Taiwan is because it’s so easy to escape into the mountains and nature when needed. I’d say that’s where a lot of my inspiration comes from, especially when I’m painting or YouBiking around Taipei. Anyway, I really look forward to this new adventure and getting to know more about you guys! Please, feel free to share your favorite locations in Taiwan, hiking spots, in the comments. Or any questions you may have for me!

Now back to our topic: Can music that dates back centuries actually make our babies smarter? Isn’t that a bit of a wild thought, that simply playing a song loud enough for your baby to hear, can have positive effects and thus maybe leading to your child becoming a genius? Hmm, but meanwhile, let’s break down this sentence to get a closer look.


This trend is known as the “Mozart effect” and has sparked a lucrative industry with thousands of CDs being sold to parents with the promise of making their babies smarter.

Pronunciation tips:
Mozart MOH-Tsart
has sparked
effect [ɪˋfɛkt]
promise [ˋprɑmɪs] : make a promise


Okay, let’s dive deeper into these three words. Number one: lucrative.

lucrative: adj. [ˋlukrətɪv] ˈluːkrətɪv

You could describe anything as lucrative that has the ability of making money. *ka-ching* For example a business, an industry or an activity could be profitable, and thus lucrative. Money!

Example: It became evident that selling socks in this part of town was not as lucrative as we had hoped.
Evident [ˋɛvədənt] here means “clear” or “obvious”. It’s obvious that selling socks wasn’t going to be as profitable as we thought it would be.


spark: v. [spɑrk] spɑːk

Using spark as a verb means to begin something and can often describe a sudden start. These can be, but are not limited to, feelings or events that develop over time.

Example: The mayor’s decision to relocate the historical statue sparked weeklong riots in the city.

So, if the mayor chose not to have the statue relocated, people would have not started the riots.

Mozart: n. [ˋmozɑrt] MOH-Tsart

The reason we’re looking at this is because Mozart has become a household name. One of the most influential composers of the classical era, and probably of all time. Mozart was a child prodigy, meaning he was able to display certain skills as a child that usually only adults can perform. Actually, his full name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But it’s okay if we just say Mozart.

Okay, that’s it from my end for today. I personally enjoy listening to classical music, and movie soundtracks. So if you ask me, I definitely support the idea of introducing this genre of music to your little one from the get-go. See for yourselves, maybe our next generation will be full of Einsteins and DaVincis once this trend starts rolling. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to practice today’s sentence. Cheers!

^ ^

Thank you, Adam. Have a good one, everyone.

78