When children sing, clap, and move together, they are doing more than making joyful noise. They are listening, watching, waiting, matching a beat, and adjusting their actions to other people.
A small new study suggests that this kind of shared music-making might give preschoolers a playful opportunity to practice prosocial behavior. The finding is encouraging—but it is preliminary, so parents should think of group singing as enjoyable social practice, not a treatment or guaranteed shortcut to better behavior.
What the new study found
In a September 2026 pilot randomized controlled trial, researchers recruited 46 Brazilian children ages 4–6. Thirty-seven completed the study and were included in the final analysis.
Twenty children participated in ten 45-minute sessions featuring communal songs, rhythm games, and synchronized movement. Seventeen joined matched group-drawing sessions while listening passively to the same music.
Afterward, parents completed standardized questionnaires about their children’s behavior. The music group received significantly higher scores on one measure of prosocial behavior—actions such as helping, sharing, and cooperating. Other measures, including attention, conduct, anxiety, and sleep problems, favored the music group descriptively, but those differences were not statistically significant.
This was a small pilot study, conducted at two university sites and based on parent reports. It cannot establish that communal singing broadly improves children’s mental or behavioral health. Its main contribution is showing that the program was feasible and providing an encouraging result for larger trials to investigate.
What earlier research tells us
A 2010 experiment involving 96 four-year-olds found more spontaneous helping and cooperation after joint music-making than after a carefully matched nonmusical activity. Another experiment found increased sharing after children moved rhythmically together.
However, a later controlled field experiment did not reproduce a prosocial effect. Taken together, the evidence is interesting but mixed. Singing together may create useful moments for coordination and connection, but research has not established a simple cause-and-effect promise.
Sing and Dance Together with Gary and Molly!
Ready for a little musical togetherness? Join Gary Gorilla and Molly the Monkey for a sunny beach adventure in Storybooksong's "In the Summertime!"
Invite your child to sing along, clap to the rhythm, and invent some silly dance moves together. Take turns leading the dance, copying each other's movements, and enjoying the music as a family.
Want to sing along again? Visit our In the Summertime song page for the video and complete lyrics.
Try a family call-and-response circle
No musical training—or even tuneful singing—is required. Try this five-minute game:
1. Make a sound. Clap a short rhythm, sing a silly phrase, or tap two spoons together.
2. Let your child echo it. Start with an easy pattern, then invite your child to lead.
3. Add names and actions. Sing, “Tommy taps two times,” then let the named person choose the next movement.
4. Create one shared ending. Agree on a final clap, jump, whisper, or cheer that everyone performs together.
The goal is not perfect rhythm. It is noticing one another, taking turns, and enjoying a shared beat. The National Association for the Education of Young Children also recommends weaving singing and music into family routines, transitions, and play.
The Good News for Parents
Children do not need formal lessons to experience the social fun of music. A kitchen drum, a hand-clapping game, or a made-up cleanup song can become a small exercise in listening and teamwork. The research is still developing, but the activity is simple, free, and genuinely enjoyable right now.
Sources & Further Reading
Piccolo et al. (2026): First Tones pilot randomized controlled trial
Kirschner and Tomasello (2010): Joint music making and prosocial behavior
Schellenberg et al. (2021): Controlled field experiment finding no prosocial effect
NAEYC: Sing It, Chant It, Play It
American Academy of Pediatrics: The Power of Play
