“Before a child learns to talk, they sing. Before they learn to write, they draw. As soon as they can stand, they dance,” says Phylicia Rashad, an American actress, singer, and theatre director.
Music resides in our hearts and souls from the very beginning as a fundamental form of human expression. And research studies indicate that music develops children’s cognitive, motor, language, and social skills.
“When a baby listens to classical music in its mother’s womb, for example, he or she will grow up loving music and looking up to this special type of music. Who knows – this baby might even become a famous singer,” said Mireille Banoub, Choirmaster at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s Children’s choir.
Banoub, a vocal coach and soprano herself, has dedicated her life to music and to passing it on to younger generations. She believes schools are the best places to discover young talent. “Schools have a great role to play in discovering young talents, not only in singing but in all kinds of art,” she said.
“There are now famous Egyptian international stars like Farah Al-Dibani, Fatma Saeed, and Nesma Mahgoub, who are all graduates of the Deutsche Schule der Borromäerinnen Alexandria (DSBA). This school instills the importance of music in all its students, and the choir, music, and singing are all part and parcel of its curriculum.”
“We need more schools in all the governorates that act in the same way,” Banoub said.
Parents and teachers have a great role to play in children’s early lives by discovering their talents in music, art, acting, and crafts. Many of today’s famous singers were discovered by their music teachers, who recognised their special talents. Instead of neglecting this talent as sometimes happens, children talented in singing can foster this talent by joining choirs and developing their skills.
Malak Ahmed Fouad, a ten-year-old singer, said that “I started singing when I was four years old. I used to love memorising songs, especially commercials on TV and the songs of singer Amr Diab. My parents also encouraged me to join the Alexandria Sporting Club choir.”
Malak remembers that her music teacher at school was the one who believed in her and told her she had a beautiful voice, encouraging her to cultivate her talent. He even suggested that she join the children’s choir at the Alexandria Opera House.
She joined the Sporting Club choir and her school choir, always excelling among peers of her own age. She also encouraged her friends and younger sister to pursue singing and to join her in the choirs, also cultivating a deep love for singing in all those around her.
Malak loves listening to the songs of the Lebanese singer Fayrouz, the music of 20th-century Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish, and the songs of Amr Diab. “I am thankful to the choir which introduced me to this type of beautiful music. I love the classics,” the fifth-grade student added.
“Singing can also greatly develop language skills in children. You will probably find young singers are efficient in mastering more than one language,” added Banoub.
However, she worries that society sometimes views singing, especially in public schools, as a taboo, believing that many parents have misconceptions about the profession.
“In the golden era of Egyptian song, people used to honour singers, believing deeply in their voices, personalities, and characters. They took them as role models. But nowadays, things are different, and so are the famous singers whose lives are sparingly reported on in social media,” she added.
“Parents can be an obstacle to developing their children’s talents, not appreciating them enough and not fostering them sufficiently, perhaps focusing more on studies and sports and leaving out much that has an artistic touch,” Banoub said, who is also a music teacher and choirmaster at the French Institution Sainte Jeanne-Antide in Alexandria.
“Music is freely accessible nowadays, as one can learn everything one needs from the Internet. But children need more than just the tools to learn. They need people to believe in them. They need to see in the eyes of their parents and teachers that they are fully supported and encouraged to do what they love,” she said.
Teachers have a great role to play in developing a child’s awareness of the importance of music. “In any class I step into, all the students must have a role to play. A music lesson is not just a break or an hour in the playground. On the contrary, we learn different forms of expression in an entertaining and exciting way,” said Yasmine Zaki, a musician and head of music at the Forsan School in Alexandria.
Zaki divides her classes into two halves, one for instruments and the other for singing. “We rotate these roles every week so that everyone can have a chance to do everything,” she said.
“One of the happiest moments is when we succeed in launching a choir and having a party with all the students for events such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day,” Zaki said.
Zaki was raised in a house full of artistic talents, but the person who changed how she saw music was her piano teacher, who gave her the boost she needed to recognise her own talent.
“He used to come every Sunday morning and stay with us until the afternoon. Sunday was a sacred musical day for us. My parents were keen that we should never miss a lesson for around ten years,” she added.
Zaki grew up loving music and wanted to spread this passion among others. She wrote her first musical composition when she was just 13 years old and is also the founder of a band called Betifour, which has toured across Egypt.
Being the founder of a band led her to learn different types of music and even sound engineering, and she has her own studio at home. Music is in her soul, and for this reason she learns everything related to it.
Combining music and movement helps to develop muscle strength and coordination, making musicians full of positive energy, she added, seeing this as being reflected in their overall psychological and social well-being.
“My daughter was always shy and constantly had stage fright. She had a self-esteem issue that prevented her from doing presentations in class in front of her classmates. But when Mariam started playing the piano and even singing, all these issues became a thing of the past,” said Hania Ahmed, the mother of Mariam, a young musician.
Over a six-month period, Mariam’s personality developed dramatically. After she joined the school’s piano group and saw girls performing on stage, she was encouraged to do the same. As a result, she gained confidence in herself.
“Music changed her personality for the better,” her mother concluded.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 October, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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