Is musical ability genetic?

[jonheal]

Oh, I'm in complete agreement with you on the aspect of developing musical talent versus complacent talent

And the diluting of abilities - ditto with my dad, though I feel what I inherited from my mother created greater balance. My dad is a little too left-brain dominant.

The main thing I inherited from my dad was a bit of the Autism spectrum. One of my sons got it full force. Yippee for genes!!

[txh003]

Within my extended family tree, there is a very high percentage of trained musicians and singers. However, we all have different strengths, whether innate or learned, and challenges.

In my opinion, one of the primary struggles of being effective in the world of music is for a person to find his or her space, especially in an environment where there tends to be a belief that everyone falls into two categories: Producer or Singer/Rapper. To further complicate matters, under the said situation, a Producer often means a combination of a songwriter, producer, arranger, all-in-one musician, recording engineer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer, etc., which is a tall order to fulfill.

[Gorgon]

I read an article recently that tasmanian devils have been suffering from a rare contagious cancer and somehow over a period of time this has 'slightly' been reduced due to some genetic mutation having been bred through latter years. A random genetic mutation, but favourable, so bred down the line.

That's great news. I saw a documentary a few years ago and heard about that cancer. It would suck if that wiped out a whole species, especially as fascinating as those little devils.

I don't think musical ability affects survival, therefore it won't be bred for and is more likely to be a nurtured aspect if bred down the line at all.

IMO. I don't know

You could be wrong there. Musical ability is something that can be used socially, and the human species depends heavily on social skills and abilities. So technically it could actually help you survive. Ask any medieval minstrel.

[avasopht]

Musical ability itself may not help survival, but the cognitive ability that enables musical perceptiveness and expression is.

[guitfnky]

So technically it could actually help you survive. Ask any medieval minstrel.

how? none of them survived.

[Gorgon]

So technically it could actually help you survive. Ask any medieval minstrel.

how? none of them survived.

Within a normal lifespan

[jam-s]

I don't think musical ability affects survival, therefore it won't be bred for and is more likely to be a nurtured aspect if bred down the line at all.

Au contraire. The better singer/guitarist gets more chicks, thus higher chance for offspring, thus evolutionary advantage.

[HepCat]

I only read l think the first 2 pages, but here's my take:

Good music is about
- Perspiration (i.e. learning, for which you need to want to learn, i.e. need some sort of predisposition, could this be genetic?)
- Inspiration (varies between "some" to *all* of what is needed) (zero genetics)
- The eye of the beholder (part nature, part nurture)

By the above, l'd say it's possible for genetics to have nothing to do with it, as well as something to do with it. It's like aesthetic appreciation of the colour Red. Red could mean a lot of things to a lot of ppl for a lot of reasons ranging from nature to nurture to inspiration.

One thing's certain: it's not definitively about genetics - nobody is born doomed to be anaesthetic. That's the whole point about the human species being higher, we r innate aesthetic.

[gak]

Dollars, or sense?

If dollars, it's about knowing a target audience and applying whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. Sense? That's more nebulous. Some have had tremendous success bucking the system and more things than I can remember.

Personal success is completely different. And it's something only the individual can confirm.

Then again stem cell/gene therapy are greatly popular right now