The natural musicality so often present in children's singing can begin to fade as the focus of a lesson shifts to the process of reading and writing conventional notation symbols. Approaching the study of music from a linguistic perspective preserves the pace and flow that is inherent in spoken language and song. SongWorks teaching practices offer a pedagogical sequence based on the natural groupings of sounds within spoken language. A series of lessons on the American folk song "Rocky Mountain" illustrates examples of linguistic pathways to preserving musicality in conventional notation.