Despite a global interest in the musical experiences of young children, the everyday musical lives of young New Zealanders remain unexamined. Using data collected through the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study, we explore the early musical experiences of approximately 6,800 infants and toddlers. Data collected from the primary caregivers and their partners pre-birth, when the children were 9 months old, and 2 years old are used to explore five areas: parental singing; active musical play; music listening; involvement in music groups; and participation in wider cultural events. Musical engagement is analysed with respect to various child, parental and family characteristics, including parental education, socio-economic status, and parental knowledge of and appreciation for the arts. The results provide a holistic description of the musical environments of young children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Babysong Project arose out of the Baby Room Project and its aims included supporting baby room practitioners to develop ‘communicative musicality’ (Malloch & Trevarthen 2009), extending research knowledge about baby room practices and helping practitioners to explore opportunities to question and adapt their own ways of working with babies in their care. Six years on, we reflect on the project and consider the significance and sustainability of what might have been achieved. We also probe whether there are further areas for development. We conclude that while there were many positive outcomes, we recognise the challenges of sustaining and nurturing the confidence of practitioners and the desirability of addressing the organisational aspects of the initiative to promote the embedding of practice. There is a real necessity for such projects, often involving radical challenges to previously held attitudes and practices, to be funded over longer periods of time. We also acknowledge the rich, untapped potential of using song to connect with families and carers.

In conversation with playwright and theatre journalist Rina Vergano, multidisciplinary artist and musician Roxana Vilk unpicks her own experience of diaspora and the ways in which her cultural, familial and political roots have informed her artistic practice and inspired her current project about the power of lullabies.

Through micro-genetic analysis of early singing, I describe and explain the complexity of song as an elementary cultural expression. For educators, it is important to understand the key role of song with and by young children as a means to convey feelings and musico-linguistic rules. Song consists of melody and lyrics, both of which are connected by metrical rules to form a Gestalt. A song sung by 18-month-old Lynn exemplifies that she produces the melody with ease, but shows difficulty forming the words. By following rules, she forms and expresses feelings of belonging to those who shared their singing with her previously.

Living within state care can have detrimental effects on children’s development, as substantial research has proposed. Recognising how music-making may support children’s social, emotional and personal development, many cultural organisations have begun developing music projects that work specifically with care-experienced children. Although evaluation has detailed the various benefits these projects may have, there has been little research into the approaches employed by the facilitators who deliver these projects. With this in mind, this article examines a community music project that focused on foster family music-making. It explores the facilitators’ social pedagogical approach to music-making and the benefits participants report they have gained from the project, both to themselves and the children in their care.