Babies, toddlers and young children exhibit behaviors that are  considered to reflect innate musical ability: singing 
and making up songs, moving to music, and being
 generally lit up by it; uninhibited about trying 
musical things, and absorbing music through 
play. But when the child is “old enough” for
 formal lessons, all this gets left behind. Lessons 
are ALL about how to do certain things in 
certain ways, and NOTHING about the child’s
natural musical impulses. The perception is 
that the teacher’s role is to show, explain,
critique, correct mistakes, assign practicing.
 No more self-initiated, unguided exploration,
no interest in finding out what the child
 might do on her own.

Suppose the teacher were to adapt a more open-ended approach based on exploration and discovery, tailored to the learner’s needs, interests and readiness, with the goal of helping him discover and develop his particular musical aptitude.

Might more musical babies grow up to be musical adults?

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