What does it mean to say that music is every child’s birthright?
It means that music isn’t something a child has to earn through talent, lessons, or perfect pitch. It isn’t reserved for children who seem naturally “musical,” or for families who already sing and play instruments at home.
Music is a human way of communicating, connecting, moving, remembering, and making sense of the world. Every child deserves the opportunity to experience it.
This idea is at the heart of the Music Together® philosophy: all children are musical.
At Tam Tam, we love this idea because it changes the question from “Is my child musical?” to “How can I give my child opportunities to be musical?”
Musicality Isn’t a Talent You Either Have or Don’t Have
When adults say, “I’m not musical,” they often mean they don’t sing in tune, don’t play an instrument, or never had much musical education themselves.
But young children don’t experience music as a performance.
For a baby, a parent singing a familiar song is music. Clapping along to a beat is music. Bouncing while a song plays is music. Inventing a silly melody about getting dressed is music. A toddler banging two objects together to discover their sounds is music.
These experiences aren’t auditions. They’re exploration.
The Music Together approach recognizes children’s natural capacity for musical learning and emphasizes the importance of rich, playful musical experiences with the adults in their lives.
That’s why we don’t need to wait until a child is “old enough” for music.
Music belongs in childhood from the very beginning.
Music-Making Is About Much More Than Music
There’s another reason this matters: when children make music, they’re doing many things at once.
Consider a simple game of singing, moving, and then freezing when the music stops. It might look like nothing more than a playful activity, but underneath the play, a child is practicing attention, listening, impulse control, and the ability to shift their behavior when something changes.
Music Together’s Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz explains that activities involving singing and movement can give children opportunities to practice aspects of executive function, including attention control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control.
A child has to listen for a musical cue. Remember what comes next. Notice when the pattern changes. Wait for their turn. Coordinate movement with sound. Follow a leader, or sometimes take the lead.
The child may simply think, “This is fun!”
And that’s exactly the point.
Music Together emphasizes that music shouldn’t be reduced to a tool for producing better academic or cognitive outcomes. Music has value in itself: it is a way of knowing, expressing, connecting, and experiencing the world.
The Grown-Up Matters, Too
If all children are musical, does that mean parents need to be musical themselves?
Absolutely not.
One of the most encouraging parts of the Music Together approach is the emphasis on participation rather than performance. Children learn through the musical environment around them, and adults play an important role simply by joining in and modeling musical behavior.
You don’t need a beautiful singing voice.
You don’t need to know how to read music.
You don’t need to play an instrument.
You just need to be willing to sing, move, listen, repeat, and play.
And there may be benefits for the relationship between parent and child, too.
A 2025 randomized study examined whether participating in Music Together could affect parental sensitivity, i.e. the ways parents notice and respond to their children’s cues. Parents who participated in ten weekly Music Together classes showed statistically significant changes in parental sensitivity compared with the control group.
Think about what happens when you make music with a young child: you’re watching and listening constantly.
Did they notice that?
Are they joining in?
Should I slow down?
Are they ready for another turn?
Music creates a natural reason to pay attention to one another.
There Is No “Right” Way to Be Musical
One child may sing constantly. Another may prefer to dance. One may immediately copy a rhythm. Another may spend weeks simply watching before joining in.
One child may love loud, energetic songs; another may gravitate toward quiet lullabies.
All of these can be expressions of musicality.
The goal isn’t to make every child respond to music in exactly the same way. It’s to give every child the freedom and opportunity to develop their own musical voice.
That’s what we mean when we say music is every child’s birthright: every child deserves access to musical experiences without having to prove that they’re talented enough to participate.
How Can Parents Make Music With Their Children?
You don’t need to create a special music curriculum at home. Start with what’s already happening.
Sing while you’re getting dressed.
Make up a song about washing hands.
Dance together in the kitchen.
Clap the rhythm of your child’s name.
Put on a favorite song and move together.
Sing the same lullaby every night.
Let your child experiment with sounds.
And most importantly, join them.
Music Together’s research-informed approach emphasizes that what happens beyond the classroom matters, too. Children benefit from opportunities to make music with the important adults in their lives throughout the week.
The ordinary moments are enough.
Because the goal isn’t to raise every child to become a professional musician.
It’s to help children discover something they already possess: their own musicality.
Every Child Deserves a Place in the Music
At Tam Tam, we believe every child deserves a place in the music.
Not because every child needs to become a musician, but because every child is already musical.
Music can help children connect with their caregivers, explore their bodies and voices, develop emerging skills, express themselves, and experience the simple joy of making something together.
So the next time you hear yourself thinking, “My child isn’t musical,” try replacing it with a different question:
“I wonder what kind of music is already inside my child?”
Then sing, listen, move, and find out together.
Learn More About Music and Early Childhood Development
For more research-informed perspectives, explore Music Together’s articles on music-making and executive function and music-making and sensitive-response parenting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Children and Music
Is every child musical?
Yes. The Music Together philosophy begins with the belief that all children are musical and have the capacity to develop their musicality through active music-making.
Do parents need to be musical to make music with their child?
Not at all. Children don’t need parents who can sing perfectly or play an instrument. What matters most is participating, playing, and making music together.
What are the benefits of music for young children?
Making music gives children opportunities to listen, remember patterns, move, take turns, respond to cues, and practice emerging skills related to attention and executive function.