Top 10 Social Music Activities for Kids

Think back to your early childhood, middle school, and high school years. Was music a large part of your life? If you're like many people, your answer is probably yes. Music is the one thing that impacts everybody — from infants and toddlers to adolescents and adults — making it a vital part of the human experience. 

If you're wondering what to do with your child over the weekends or during summer, involving them in social music activities is a great idea. In addition to the social benefits, these activities can improve communication and listening skills and aid in gross motor skills and language development. 

Here, we’ll explore fun examples of social music activities that will engage your little virtuoso. 

Why is music important for children in social development?

Music helps children develop skills and behaviors that facilitate better social interactions and relationships. It can foster communication skills, collaboration, and emotional development, allowing children to relate better to one another. 

Here’s why it’s a great idea to encourage your child to learn an instrument, listen to music, or participate in musical activities.

Communication skills

In early childhood development, music acts as a guide for spoken language. It helps children learn and practice making different sounds, paving the way for language development and communication. 

Music also promotes the development of verbal and nonverbal communication skills by stimulating the parts of the brain responsible for communication. 

Its structure and rhythm facilitate auditory stimulation, allowing the brain to process information. So singing together or participating in call-and-response activities can improve language skills and expressive abilities.

To enhance your child's communication skills further, you can encourage them to engage in music activities with peers or in front of family and friends. This can improve their self-esteem and confidence, reducing their risk of "freezing up" when communicating with many people or presenting before crowds. 

Teamwork and cooperation

If you've watched or been a part of any musical event, you already know how crucial teamwork and cooperation are — they’re the keys to a successful performance. 

By engaging in group music activities, like playing in orchestras and bands, kids can gain valuable teamwork skills, as they must work cooperatively to make music. They learn to listen to others, communicate effectively and politely, and resolve conflicts. These are all skills they can transfer to their everyday lives. 

Empathy

Music can make you feel happy, sad, nostalgic, and everything in between. It's a creative outlet that helps people express their feelings. It evokes emotions because you can feel others' emotions as your own, which teaches empathy. 

And it affects children in the same way it affects adults. Skeptical? Just play your favorite happy song and ask your child how it makes them feel. It's more than likely they'll feel the same way you do. 

Music can be a powerful gateway for children to explore and empathize with different emotional states, enhancing their social development. 

10 fun and exciting social music activities for kids to try

Odds are, you've already invested tremendously in your kids' fun, whether through toys, play dates, or phones and tablets. Adding music activities to the list is a great idea, as it helps them have fun and presents many cognitive and social benefits. That said, here are some exciting and engaging activities for you to try.

1. Group sing-along

Nothing beats singing your favorite songs with your friends at the top of your lungs, right? This can be a fun activity for preschoolers or kids in the 3–8 year range too. 

The beauty of group sing-alongs is that there's no need for vocal perfection. Kids can get together to sing for fun and express their emotions, regardless of perceived vocal talent. This activity can encourage cooperation and build a sense of community among participants. 

For an exciting and successful sing-along, choose age-appropriate fun music everyone knows so they can actively participate. Also, encourage movement or dancing to heighten the fun. 

2. Musical chairs

Want to teach 4–8-year-olds about timing and awareness, all while promoting physical activity? Musical chairs is one of the best movement activities. 

It's a music game where children walk around a circle of chairs while music plays in the background. When the music stops, everyone must find a chair, and anyone left standing is eliminated. You remove one chair from the circle with every elimination, so there's always one less chair than the number of children in the game. 

This activity's enjoyable and competitive nature keeps kids engaged through the game. It's worth considering if you're looking for ways to enhance your child's focus in a fun way. 

3. Percussion circle

A percussion circle is an interesting activity, as it's not only fun but can also expose your child to different musical instruments. Typically, you ask kids to sit in a circle with different percussion instruments (drums, triangles, tambourines, etc.) and take turns playing and passing them around. 

The activity can enhance fine motor skills, listening skills, patience, turn-taking, and teamwork, and it’s great for kids in the 5–12 age range. 

4. Dance party

You can never go wrong with a dance party, regardless of your child's age. A dance party is an event where kids dance freely to fun movement songs. It allows them to express themselves physically and promotes social interactions by providing a fun and dynamic environment. 

If you can't arrange a dance party with other kids, try other dance activities like the tissue dance or classical music dancing with silk scarves. For the tissue dance, you place a tissue on your child's head, put on their favorite playlist, and challenge them to dance without letting the tissue fall — it's fun and can help with balance. 

Dancing to classical music with silk scarves is precisely what it sounds like. You give your child a silk scarf, put on some classical music, and ask them to move and sway to the rhythms of the music, using the scarf as a dance prop. 

5. Make your own instrument

Numerous popular songs — like "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" by The Beatles and U2's "I Will Follow" — are a testament to the power of everyday items in music. The Beatles incorporate the sound of a spade shoveling gravel into their song, while U2 uses the sound of bottles being smashed. 

If you're looking for a budget-friendly activity for 3–8-year-olds, encourage them to create musical instruments from everyday household items and use them to make music together. This can foster creativity and collaboration, as the kids will have to think outside the box and share ideas and materials. 

6. Call and response songs

Want to improve kids' attention and listening skills? Teach them fun call-and-response songs. These are songs that involve you or a teacher singing a line and kids responding with other lines. They're especially useful in elementary school and among kids in the 4-12 age group. 

Singing call-and-response songs encourages listening skill development, active participation, and quick thinking. As such, they can boost classroom engagement and help children's cognitive development. 

7. Storytelling with music

Musicals and animations are favorites for most kids because they often tell stories with music. Can you imagine the excitement of creating their own musical stories? 

For this activity, you ask kids to create a story together and add musical elements using instruments or their voices to elevate the narrative. It's fun for kids aged 6–13 and can enhance their creativity and collaboration skills, as they must work together to develop an interesting story. 

8. Karaoke challenge

If you have a shy child in the 5–12 age group, a karaoke challenge may be exactly what you need to help them build their confidence. Set up a karaoke station where kids sing their favorite songs or play musical instruments in front of their peers. 

You can encourage your child to participate by enrolling them in online music lessons to help develop their skills. They're less likely to be scared to play their instrument or sing in front of others if they have some confidence in their musical skills. 

9. Orchestra role play

This activity involves children pretending to be different members of an orchestra, each playing their part on a real or homemade instrument. 

It can be especially helpful for kids aged 6–10, as it teaches the importance of individual roles, collective harmony, and working together to achieve a common goal. Kids in this age group need to learn to work together, as collaboration is a big part of elementary and middle school. 

If your child enjoys this activity, you might want to consider enrolling them in music classes to let them continue exploring their musical passions. But be sure to consider which instrument your child loves to play when choosing their lessons. 

For example, if your child often takes on the role of the orchestra’s violin player, sign them up for kids' violin lessons to improve their playing skills. 

10. Songwriting workshops

Music education activities like songwriting workshops are suitable for kids in the 8–13 age range, as they often love to create and can understand the instructions. 

Songwriting workshops are classes that guide kids on how to write their own songs. They teach aspects like song structures, lyrics, rhythm, and melody. Instructors can use simple instruments or kid-friendly music software like MusiQuest. 

Group songwriting workshops can enhance children's creative expression and literacy skills while encouraging teamwork. Sharing their creations with peers can also nurture a sense of accomplishment and belonging.

Unlock your child's musical talent and potential with Trala

Social music activities for kids are great for child development, as they help improve communication skills and foster collaboration, self-expression, and empathy. As you've seen from this post, there are numerous creative activities you can get your child involved in to enhance both their musical and social skills. 

Trala can help you unlock your child's musical potential, allowing them to have even more fun during social music activities and further explore their interest in music. 

Trala connects you with professional music teachers who can guide your child throughout their musical journey and offers interactive tools to enhance their practice sessions. 

Start with Trala today to empower your child through musical and social development.