The study is limited to babies who are born at 25 weeks' to 30 weeks' gestation or those weighing from 1 pound 2 ounces to 2 pounds 12 ounces at birth.

All participating newborns will have a $300 digital music player known as a ZZZBox in their isolettes, but only half will actually have music pumped through the speaker for eight hours daily.

If music therapy works, everyone wins.

Babies go home faster. And those who foot the bill save money by reducing intensive-care stays, which cost $1,000 to $2,000 a day.

"It saves health-care dollars,'' said Kathleen Bailey, a registered nurse in Children's neonatal intensive care unit and co-director of the study. "It saves pain and suffering on families.''

The Kulas Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization in Cleveland that supports music programs, is funding the $275,000 study.

The music selected for the study is from the "Baby-Go-To-Sleep Series," developed 17 years ago by songwriter and producer Terry Woodford.

The tunes are familiar childhood classics: London Bridge, Rock-A-Bye Baby, Hush Little Baby and others.