Many a child has entertained loved ones with the likes of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Yankee Doodle,” “You Are My Sunshine,” and numerous holiday songs.  Learning words to songs does not necessarily demonstrate music learning.  Children also learn to recite poems in a foreign language, or swear words in their mother tongue, yet don’t understand what they are saying.  Musical comprehension demands more than knowing the words, and more than just imitating the tune.  Music is layered.  Meter provides the foundation upon which there is rhythm, upon which there is tonality, upon which there is melody, upon which there are lyrics.  Competence with each layer is essential to music learning. 

Most often, the singing of familiar songs is driven by the words.  A child might “recite” the words in a “sing-song” voice, with or without rhythm.  Or, sing the words, approximating the melody, yet with the rhythm of the words more than a sense of rhythm.  Could this be “Music Babble?”  Perhaps, but it is more likely a demonstration of language dominance with an attempt to imitate the music—as is often with “Happy Birthday,” (even by some of the restaurant wait staffs!)  If a child sings the words, melody, and rhythm accurately, is that musical competence?  Perhaps, but it is more likely a good imitation, like the precise recitation of a poem in a foreign language, without comprehension.  If the child who sings the familiar songs well can also demonstrate competence in various meters, tonalities, movement, and the combination of musical layers, then, indeed, that child’s performance of the familiar songs is a demonstration of music skill. 

There are many reasons to teach the words of favorite songs to your child—parent/child interaction, language development, family traditions, and sheer joy.  The difference between children’s “performance” of songs being utterly charming and being musically competent is simply in parents knowing the difference.