The emergence of musical structures in instrumental free play of toddlers

Abstract

The field of children’s free play instrumental musical expression seems to lack a theory on the developmental aspect in toddlerhood. The case studies presented here were part of a larger study aimed at helping to fill that gap. In the present study, five children aged 14‐22 months played freely on a metallophone and a pair of bongos in six sessions over nineteen months. The results exemplify the toddlers’ process of developing the ability to structure well-formed musical ideas, starting with short patterns that gradually grow and using repetition-based structures. The insights can contribute to the fields of early childhood musical development, music education and childcare.