Nature Versus Nurture: Great Musicians Edition
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iStock/Thinkstock(EAST LANSING, Mich.) — Are great musicians born with an innate talent or are their skills the result of countless hours of practice? A new study indicates it’s both.
A study by Michigan State University suggests accomplished musicians are genetically programmed to commit to the long hours of practice required to become skilled musicians.
Researchers studied 850 sets of twins and found that accomplished musicians practiced much more than those who didn’t attain the same level of musical expertise.
When they compared identical twins, who share 100 percent of their genes, and fraternal twins, who share 50 percent of their genes, the researchers reached the conclusion that a predisposition to practice more was driven partly by genetics.
Study leader Zach Hambrick, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University, says the findings contradict the popular view that a lack of a natural ability can be overcome with more practice and training.
“Contrary to the view that genetic effects go away as you practice more and more, we found that genes become more important in accounting for differences across people in music performance as they practice,” says Hambrick.
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