Everything is a Song: Inspiring Musical Creativity In Your Child

You don't have to be a musician to make music with your kid. You don't have to have a good voice, know how to read notes, or have any experience at all. You just have to be willing to be a little silly.

Music is everywhere once you start looking for it. The spoons in your kitchen drawer, the birds outside the window, the sound of rain on the roof — all of it can become a rhythm, a song, a game. You don't need instruments or a lesson plan. You just need to notice.

Here's one of my favorite tricks: piggyback on a melody you already know. You don't have to write anything from scratch. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" becomes "Mommy helps you wash your face, wash your face, wash your face — mommy helps you wash your face until it's nice and clean." Suddenly, getting ready in the morning has a soundtrack. Tying shoes, feeding the dog, putting on a coat — any of it can become a song.

The most important thing? Don't be embarrassed. Enter your child's world. Follow their lead. If they're pretending to be a frog, sing about frogs. If they're fixated on their new pajamas, make up a pajama song. Any prompt will do. Kids don't care if it rhymes perfectly or sounds polished — they care that you showed up and played with them. And that's really what music is, at its heart: Play.