DNA, Not Practice & Hard Work Determines Musical Talent Study Suggests

Have you ever felt like your compulsion to music was so central to yourself that you were born with it? Science now says you’re not crazy.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have determined that musical proficiency has much more to do with DNA than time spent practicing. You can read about the details of the study in full HERE, but the evidence suggests that any amount of practice does not make someone more talented in the art of music than another – greatly supporting the idea that genes play a role in our predisposition to rhythm.

The research is bound to give solace to any hard-working musician. Personally, I can’t help but think that my mother’s decision to attend the Paul McCartney World Tour on July 26, 1990 (while she was 5 months pregnant with me) shaped my identity. She had to leave mid-way through the concert because I was ‘drumming’ in her stomach – a hobby I would pick up at age 8.

The study is keen to note that practicing music is not worthless – it simply exists to further develop a preconscious gift many of us were blessed with. Let this research be a beacon of hope to anyone unsure of their total ability; the music is already inside you!

“Music so wishes to be heard that it sometimes calls on unlikely characters to give it voice”

– Robert Fripp, King Crimson

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