Abstract
This field article introduces The Secret Science of Songs, a research-informed, practice-based framework that reconceptualizes songs as powerful, transdisciplinary tools in early childhood education. Drawing on over 40 years of classroom-based action research alongside established findings in cognitive science and music perception, the framework argues that young children’s engagement with songs is rooted not primarily in performance skill, but in their innate capacity to perceive and process auditory patterns in music and language. These pattern-based experiences constitute a rich aesthetic and cognitive domain through which children construct meaning, long before mastery of melody or verbal precision emerges.
The article advances eight core “pillars” that articulate how pattern recognition, dual modes of perception (listening versus performing), and the distinction between perception and skill reshape our understanding of children’s musical experiences. It challenges prevailing Eurocentric and formalist traditions that position music as a specialized discipline, instead proposing a child-centered, globally relevant perspective in which music functions as an integrated mode of play, communication, and learning. Central to this framework is Song Game, an accessible, cooperative pedagogical model that operationalizes these principles by blending music, language, movement, and social interaction through structured yet creative pattern-making activities.
By emphasizing inclusivity - particularly empowering musically untrained educators - the framework expands the role of songs beyond enrichment into foundational domains such as early literacy, social-emotional development, and creative expression. Ultimately, The Secret Science of Songs positions musical pattern perception as a universal human capacity and a critical, yet underutilized, pathway for holistic early childhood development within STEAM education.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Morehouse, Paul
(2026)
"The Secret Science of Songs. Created by All Children Everywh,"
The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal:
Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 19.
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/vol6/iss1/19
Author/Artist Bio
Paul Morehouse has been performing on the saxophone professionally since 1966 and served in the US Army in Vietnam in 1968-69. From 1988 to 1999, Paul presented his own music education program, Music As A Creative Language as Artist-In-Residence for the California Arts Council. He was Early Childhood Music Specialist for Child Development Consortium, Los Angeles from 1999 – 2011 serving children ranging in age from 5 months to 5 years old. Paul was an adjunct professor of Music Education at California State University, Los Angeles from 2001-2006, for which he wrote his own textbook, Classroom Teacher As Music Leader. Since 1999 Paul has led interactive musical programs for children at community festivals in Los Angeles and Sacramento which includes seven consecutive years at the Sacramento Banana Festival. From 1994-2014, he worked with Bockhorst Productions composing music for over a dozen television documentaries for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Since 2003, Paul has presented teacher-training workshops for the California Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2010 he presented a Research Poster presentation for the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Professional Development Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Since 2013, he has had articles published on the importance of music in early childhood development in both state and national professional journals. Since 2017, Paul has been the editor and contributor for three books written and published by author/lecturer/consultant Anthony D. Parnell, MSW. Paul also holds a current CA Teacher’s Credential for music education. In 2012, he received his Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA for which he authored a 130-page doctoral dissertation, Investigating Young Children’s Music-making Behavior: A Developmental Theory which is published on-line. From 2015 – 2019, Paul served as Treasurer on the board for the Sacramento Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. He is currently director of his preschool music program, EC Music – LIVE! offering early childhood music education at multiple sites throughout Sacramento County. Paul resides in Sacramento, CA with his wife, Marti.