At Milestones Learning Center, we know that music does more than just create a joyful atmosphere. Research shows that listening to and engaging with music supports language development in children from the earliest ages. A report of the scientific literature from the National Institutes of Health in 2023 concluded, “musical properties, such as rhythm and melody, affect language acquisition in semantic processing and grammar, including syntactic aspects and phonological awareness.” Music plays a central role a child’s comprehension of language from the earliest stages of life. The songs children love to sing and listen to are doing vital work behind the scenes — shaping their brains for language learning.
Music and Language as Communication Systems
Interestingly, language and music as communication systems bear some similarities. They are both systems in which smaller, separate units (phonemes–the units of sound that make up words–and the notes which make up music) are combined into ordered and complex structures (words, sentences, and musical compositions). Both rely on cognitive processes such as sound identification, and memory storage and retrieval.
Listening to Music Strengthens Auditory Processing
Studies show that children who regularly listen to music and engage in musical and rhythmic activities show enhanced auditory 
discrimination — the ability to detect subtle differences in rhythm and pitch. This skill directly supports phonological awareness, which is the basis for recognizing sounds in spoken language and eventually in reading. When children listen to songs with clear rhythms and melodies, they are not just enjoying the songs, they are actually training their brains to understand spoken language.
Science indicates that it is music’s rhythm specifically that predicts infants’ language development. Infants use rhythmic cues to identify word units within speech. Sensitivity to these rhythmic distinctions make infants able to distinguish between different languages as well. Interestingly, infants will prefer languages within the same “rhythm” pattern as their native language (e.g., Italian and Spanish have a rhythm based on the syllable).
Music Expands Comprehension and Vocabulary
Music with lyrics naturally exposes children to new words, sentence structures, and ideas, all packaged in a catchy and memorable form. Repetition of words within a song helps solidify new vocabulary and promotes comprehension as children connect meaning through context. Children’s songs help connect words to experiences which over time increases understanding and expressive language skills (speaking).
Summary
Listening to and engaging with music helps children hear language more clearly, remember it more deeply, and use it more confidently. Nursery rhymes, chants, and favorite melodies are all pathways to literacy and communication.
At Milestones Learning Center, we see this magic every day. Through music, we’re not just teaching songs — we’re helping children find their voices.