This chapter distinguishes and relates the concepts of musical competence and musical skill from both cognitive and educational perspectives. It traces their use in music psychology, in the theories of Gino Stefani, David Hargreaves, and John Sloboda, and in the Bulgarian normative framework for education. The chapter argues that the two terms should not be collapsed into one another: one names a broader capacity for orientation and understanding, while the other refers more directly to performance and practical execution. On that basis, it shows why musical competence should be understood as the outcome of development, learning, and cultural practice rather than as a merely formal category. The analysis also matters for assessment because it resists reducing development to the verification of isolated techniques.