The intangible heritage of children’s musical cultures: from “child’s play” to culture-making

In 2003 UNESCO established the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in response to concerns that a range of global cultural expressions were at risk. ICH encompasses skills, knowledge, performances, and representations recognized in and passed on through communities. Consideration of music as ICH is a relatively recent phenomenon with early publications focusing on the preservation of “world musics.” While children are recognized as the next generation of musical culture-bearers, there has been little explicit focus on children’s musical cultures. Children’s contributions to ICH, including their invented song-making, dances, and games, constitute an emerging research domain. This chapter provides (1) a brief historical overview of key contributions to the collection and analysis of children’s musical culture; (2) an argument for recognizing children’s musical cultures as contribution to the store of ICH; and (3) consideration of policy and practice implications for ongoing conservation and sustainability of children’s musical cultures.