The main aim of our research is to ask questions and pioneer new research paradigms that help to clarify how we can jointly use speech, music and our body to learn our native language(s), to communicate and connect with others and master difficulties in speech and language acquisition. Rhythm is a key concept in this endeavor: rhythm is inherent in the gestures that we use to communicate, whether with speech, music or our body. It structures time and helps our brain predict important moments in our own and others’ actions. Therefore, rhythm is the glue that holds together the different research projects in the Montreal speech music lab: whether we look at singing with infants, conversations with 4-year-olds, speech processing and production while walking, rhythmic capacities of children with speech and language disorders, or the role of music in stuttering. The projects, several of which are first proof-of-concept studies, employ a vast array of methods combining controlled laboratory experiments with ecological exploration: acoustic research on speech and song, motion capture of gait combined with mobile neuroimaging (fNIRS), auditory(-motor) rhythmic cueing combined with brain physiology (EEG), naturalistic at-home audio recordings with young children (LENA), auditory-motor synchronization assessments for speech and music in children and adults, serious games rhythm training (Rhythmworkers) and group singing for people who stutter. Our findings help appreciate cultural heritage and community practice such as group singing or singing traditions with children and can inform speech-language therapy and education for designing musical tools that use rhythm and movement to support language acquisition, communication and social interaction.