V. RELATION BETWEEN MUSICAL TALENT AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
It is somewhat difficult to compare musical talent with general intelligence, within a group of individuals, by test, because the tests which have been devised are to an extent dependent on intelligence for their execution. In order to perform them, it is necessary to follow somewhat complicated directions, and to do this requires the exercise of intelligence. Seashore’s tests cannot be reliably carried out with persons whose general intelligence level falls below about nine years.
Within the range of intellect which is sufficient for understanding and carrying out the directions, musical sensitivity as regards pitch, intensity, time, and consonance shows no reliable correlation with general intelligence. This is what we should expect from test results, on the basis of the relationships shown previously between ability in music and ability in school work on the whole. For instance, Schussler found that of pupils classified by his criterion (grades received in singing) as “unmusical,” 41 per cent reached the grade norms in school work. Of those classified as “semi-musical,” 57 per cent reached the norms. Of the “musical,” 79 per cent reached the normal status. The average standing in marks of the “musical” fell 15 per cent above that of the “unmusical,” while the “semi-musical” showed an average rating 6.6 per cent higher than the “unmusical.”
When we consider that school marks in singing, as in drawing, are given not only for musical capacity, but for a heterogeneity of factors, including effort, attendance, ability to comprehend directions, and so forth, we should at once expect from these figures that by actual test, musical ability would be likely to show marked independence of general intelligence. Nearly half of the distinctly “unmusical” children reached or exceeded the grade norms, in general school work. This is not far from what is true of children taken at random, regardless of musical talent. That a disproportionately large number of pupils who did very good work in music reached or exceeded the typical performance in school work on the whole, might be expected from the extent to which school marks in music are probably given for general superiority of the organism, as suggested above.
The present findings from actual tests of sensitivity, above the minimum of intellect required for carrying out test directions, are that correlations closely approach zero as regards musical sensitivity and general intelligence. Therefore, educators may expect to find a number of pupils, who fail in nothing but music, and others who succeed in nothing but music. As Witmer has said, in discussing the specialization of musical gifts, “Were society so organized that success in life in every sphere of activity were dependent upon a good enough ear to turn a tune, many persons who are now doing useful work in the world, would have to be relegated to the class of imbeciles.”
In view of the facts, the wisdom seems doubtful of requiring all teachers in the elementary schools to qualify in singing before being certified, as is now done in some places. There will be a goodly number of students, in the normal schools, who are fitted by original endowment to become excellent teachers, except that they will never be able to sing. In the case of a gift so specialized, it seems advisable to have a special teacher wherever possible, rather than to disqualify from teaching persons who cannot sing, but are otherwise well fitted to educate the young.
Tests show that musical talent is specialized, but this is not to say that eminence in music can be attained by the stupid. The achievement of eminence in any endeavor calls for a grasp of life situations and a farsighted fidelity to sustained effort, which are functions of general intelligence. Also, for eminence in a musical career the intellectual functions which have to do with composition and interpretation are doubtless indispensable. A survey of the general intelligence of eminent musicians would probably reveal a median well above the average; and this would probably hold true even for singers.