The paper describes the development of musical abilities of children of early and preschool age. Numerous music pedagogues and psychologists have researched this area. The paper presents different cognitive models of a child's musical development. A special contribution to the development of this field is represented by the theory of music learning by the American music pedagogue Edwin Gordon. With his theoretical assumptions, Gordon contributes to the understanding of the child's musical development and the way of learning music, emphasizing that the child's musical abilities stabilize and reach their maximum in the child's ninth year. Accordingly, it is important to develop musical abilities from a child's early age, both in an educational institution and in the child's family environment. It is extremely important that children in educational institutions are exposed to music and other musical content from an early age. In the development of children's musical abilities, an important role is played by musical competence and the creativity of educators who, in accordance with the guidelines of the integrated curriculum for early and preschool education, should integrate musical activities in working with children into everyday educational practice. When implementing different types and forms of musical activities, they should first of all be appropriate for the child's developmental age. Musical activities in institutions for early and preschool education contribute not only to the development of children's musical abilities and musicality, but also to their overall development and the child's well-being. In conclusion, it is necessary to point out the importance of understanding the child's musical development and the development of the child's musical abilities, and emphasize the importance of the musical competence and creativity of the educator as a moderator in educational work.