Clapping is often considered to be a most basic response to music, and parents sometimes initiate clapping to get their child actively involved in music. Clapping rhythmically, however, actually requires far greater music skill. The young child may initiate clapping, or imitate parents’ clapping, but clapping does not develop rhythm competence in the young child.
There is a developmental sequence to music learning, and clapping is most appropriate at a much later point in the process. A child needs to be saturated with the various tonalities and meters, engage in music babble, interact musically with loved ones, and move through higher levels of music learning to become rhythmically and tonally competent. It is not until a child becomes rhythmically competent that he actually has the readiness to clap rhythmically.
