New Study Shows Professional Musicians Have Higher IQs Than Non-Musicians
October 8th, 2008
When I was in high school, I remember my band director telling me that he had done a study on band students at our school and he found that students that were involved in a band program had higher GPAs then other organizations within the high school.
I have often thought that to be a professional musician or a highly skilled jazz musician that it takes much more brainpower than the average profession – one that simply memorizes facts and applies them within their daily work. There are some professions, of course, that must constantly exhibit a high level of creativity such as surgeons, trial attorneys, and scientists dealing with research and development, just to name a few.
But the reality is, many jobs these days do not require a high level of “thinking” when it comes to simply completing the job at hand. In other words, a roofer simply lays the roof without a high level of thought. Even a profession such as nursing, often comes down to routine tasks done over and over again.
With that being said, there has been some research done recently that substantiates the fact that trained musicians really do think differently than the rest of the population. A study at Vanderbilt University found that professionally trained musicians use a creative technique called divergent thinking. It also found that musicians use both the left and right sides of their frontal cortex more heavily than the average person.
This research was done by a group of Vanderbilt psychologists. One of the psychologists put it this way:
“We were interested in how individuals who are naturally creative look at problems that are best solved by thinking ‘out of the box. We studied musicians because creative thinking is part of their daily experience, and we found that there were qualitative differences in the types of answers they gave to problems and in their associated brain activity.”
Previous studies of creativity have focused on divergent thinking – i.e. the ability to come up with new solutions to open-ended, multifaceted problems. Highly creative individuals often display more divergent thinking than their less creative counterparts.
The researchers also found that, overall, the musicians had higher IQ scores than the non-musicians, supporting recent studies that intensive musical training is associated with an elevated IQ score. (my band director was right!)
This article was sent to me via a subscriber to pdfjazzmusic.com. Click here to read the entire article.
it really is a fascinating read.
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Does this include lead trumpet players and Drummers?
hmmmm…I think, but I was wondering if it included female vocalists. (i.e. chick singers)
I would guess (only my opinion) that jazz musicians would be more creative than other musicians. Hope I don´t make enemies. I do not think the usual female singer has enough knowledge of music to be creative. Only based on my experience. Its a mistake to assume that all singers are not musicians. And I think creativity can only happen if you are a well trained musician. Lots of woodshedding.
When I was in the USAF (523rd AF Band), the SAC higher-ups wanted to do something that would place “respect” in the proper areas. They did a study, the result of which was, that the usable and used intelligence by people in the bands was higher that that of the officer corps. (Those of us in the field already suspected as much.)
I agree completely, (well, i am a jazz and flamenco musician), but i very often meet musicians, in the jazz and other musics scenes, who are very iliterated, like they do not know anything about the world, apart from their instruments and the money they should get for a gig…i am not sure if you can be creative or intelligent that way, and some of they play incredibly well…but they are so terribly uninformed!
I find that some musicians are “brainy” aand I firmly believe that your IQ depends upon the instrument/s you play and the level of love for music you have.Franz Listz once said that three things are necessary to perform well and pointed to his head, then his heart and then the tips of his fingers which meant that we must have intellect, sympathy and skill in technics.
Well, yes, I would agree that being a serious musician probably requires an intelligence quotient at least above 100 or so. Mine is about 140 as measured on the WISC Revised. I am in fact, 76 years old and still employed as a Special Education Counselor in the local school district. My Bachelors of Music Degree was earned at UNT, Denton, Texas, in the College of Music in Jazz Studies. My Masters of Education is in Counseling as is my Ph.D. Jobs for graduates in Jazz, years ago, were nil so I opted for education. I have worn many hats during my life such as full time local musician, salesman for Vestal and 3M, Clinical Counselor for unwed mothers, Private School Headmaster, Security Company CEO, College and University teacher, Restaurant owner and manager, and piano tuner. I am not one to sit at a desk for very long as you can see. My wife is also a graduate of the College of Music but is fully involved in Education and has been for many, many years. She refuses to sit down at the piano anymore…breaks her nails.
I recently bought a viola and learned the basics…then a cello and learned the basics…I used to play the double bass in high school and college. I play keyboard now and my combo was very active in the ’60′s and ’70′s. Hope this verifies the need for abilities above the average for musicians.
Eddie
I am a retired comedian, singer and I play guitar. I have wored wit a load od drummers
whoe conception of time was a prison sentence.
I am a retired comedian, singer and I play guitar. I have worked with a load of drummers
whose conception of time was a prison sentence.
Well, hell yeah! Ah knows ah’m smater than the average guy out theyah!
But seriously, if I AM smarter, I thought it was due to all that Mozart I’ve listened to over these many years!!!
REALLY seriously, in reality, I agree that a good jazz musician, who is always ‘composing’ on the spot, just HAS to be a very intelligent person. Just consider the ‘chain’;read (or have memorized)the change; decide which note or notes fit(s) the chord (or doesn’t directly – if one’s playing ‘outside’); then that decision has got to be instantly ‘translated’ into multiple forms of muscle activation; and if possible made to fit into a musical line of other notes already played AND those to come. For just one note, say an eighth note at a medium tempo, all this has to take place in less than a second!!!!!! The mind that can handle all of that for just one chorus, has GOT to be something special.
Yes I read this article some time ago,and understood it,general agreement with the jazz thing, How long have I played ” honey suckle Rose” and Last night I did some thing Different to it,Ive played it for about fifty years,and I think this continual ” brain Jogging” makes us use both sides of the brain,another thing that gets execised is the memory ! (we wont talk about drummr’s ) they get bashed enough, Through teachin Ive found some methodes to teach the student to memorise charts and melodies( the quicker the better)then the door to improvisation comes open faster,also the sense of humor becomes more acute in the musician,and ones ability to laugh at ones self,once these things start to work the music changes and ” we Have fun” and this leads us to aproach all things out side of music with the same attitude,by using our extended thinking process a problem is approached differently,we dontjust look at it and ay Wow this is a problem,we look
at it and emediately start to find a way to
“take a Chorus on it. . . . .
Well, based on the replies thus far, I think we call all agree on this: musicians must be universally poor at spelling, grammar, typing skills, and punctuation. As for intelligence, yes, I agree that most of my music friends are of “above average” intelligence, just as I am, of course.
Okay guys…in my opinion, female as it may be, ALL musicians jazz or otherwise are a step above the average person intellectually. However, that said, this as with most things is NOT true of everyone. I grew up with classical music..often falling off to sleep to duets played by my mother on piano(her profession Nursing)and my father on cello(his profession Pharmacist)- it was wonderful! My hubby once played trombone (his profession lawyer)…my brother-in-law still blows his trumpet (his profession Engineer) and, they were/are ALL very smart, well-rounded individuals.
I am a singer with a piano background and a career in business. I’m sure all of you are brilliant…I make no such claim nor do I set myself above anyone else in any regard. I love music and it is very much a part of my life;I am glad music was taught in school and part of the learning curriculum, it’s a shame it is not viewed as important today. I sing with a small combo as well as a Big Band and WE HAVE FUN. There is a saxophonist in our combo who is absolutely marvelous and composes as we go along offering different renditions to often heard American Standards that make them unique and enjoyable listening for all audiences.
I agree especially with John Marshall who said “the sense of humor becomes more acute in the musician”…all of the musicians I know are wonderfully grounded and full of fun and good humor. I love to be around them…I even look forward to rehearsals as much as the gigs! I agree too that it all about ATTITUDE. Keep the music flowing fellows … create in me a new song to offer to the world around me. Thanks for the opportunity to share. God Bless.
I guess its true, and Piano and Drums players must score the highest. Piano players have two read simultaneously two clefs, and coordinate 10 fingers most of the time playing diferent things, for example, a bass line and a melody line. Sometime it gets really complicated. Similarly, drums player must coordinate two feet and two hands, playing simultaneoulsy different rythim lines…
Would you agree?
Best,
Jº
I’m a retired professional drummer who has played everything but prefers jazz, of course.
I have found that most of the fine jazz drummers were more than drummers. They were able to play other instruments and were well educated in music. I am saddened to see how many of those writing these are so unskilled in their native language. The flamenco musician has an excuse. The others don’t.
Hello my dear Jim,
Ofcourse I agree with what most people are writing here. I have been a studio musician (radio + Tv orchestra’s) and teacher for more then 35 years in trumpet (jazz-improvisation and arranging class). Also I am still teaching and playing concerts on trumpet and piano.
So I dont want to talk bad about classical musicians because there are many who can improvise also.
But what I want to say is: any musician who can play what is written……and also improvise jazz (bebop f.e.)from chords…..is the most educated musicain.
Which means in my opinion, he/she lives in another world then the normal person you see on the street.
I hope I dont insult anybody, because the most important thing in a musician life is happiness and health to control your instrument
good.
To be happy with your instrument is the secret!
Take care musiclovers, Eddie
I know some musicians who are very intelligent, and I know some who are as thick as planks. Most of them are somewhere in between, just like the rest of the population. Some of the contributions on your blog are very sensible and some are quite idiotic. Readers can decide which are which, but it bears out my belief that we are probably no cleverer as a group than any other. I expect all specialists like to think they are a cut avove everybody else.
It doesn’t take intelligence to make music, either on paper or in one’s head; it just takes a special gift that some of us have got, but which, luckily for those of us who have it, most people don’t have.
Graham Mintram
Graham, I agree that most people skilled in any profession would say they are a cut above everyone else, but to say “It doesn’t take intelligence to make music, either on paper or in one’s head…” might be taking it to extreme, especially if you consider doing this at a high level.
I taught piano for 15 years and I could always tell how a student did in school by the way they assimilated music, from both a written standpoint and from an aural standpoint. The swifter kids always picked up music faster than the ones that had a harder time in school. I never met a kid that had a hard time in school and was a whiz at music.
I’ll bet you could ask most music teachers who teach elementary age children and they would tell you the same thing. The only exception could be the autistic savant that can’t use a fork to eat, but can sit down at the piano after one hearing and play a Mozart Sonata. That’s a whole other fascinating topic though.
Perhaps you’re right, Jim. I don’t claim to be infallible. Maybe I’m actually brighter than I thought!
Graham Mintram.
hi. interesting stuff. believe that being very curious also helps.
not sure about classical people,jazz people always asking how did he or she do that, lets see what this sounds like etc.
i was able to do well in several fields of endeavor and at 73 yrs of age can probably say the music helped as it made me inquisitive.
robert
I don’t think musicians in general are smarter, because I’ve come across musicians who trained at schools such as Juilliard and who can’t play “Happy Birthday” or “Here Comes the Bride” without having the music in front of them. That puts them in the same category as a roofer (I don’t mean that as an insult at all!), who just does his job on “auto pilot,” so to speak.
I think good jazz musicians do have that edge because of what is entailed when playing jazz, such as the whole idea of making good musical decisions in a split second. Somebody might argue that it comes with training but not everybody can excel at it.
Reading the above blogs there does not appear to be too much intelligence in the music world. At school, didn’t many of the above contributors study plain old English?
I’m generalizing of course. With what I have read above no wonder so many musicians throughout the world work for nothing. They lack the intelligence to realize some smartie is cashing in on their creativity.
Intelligent musicians one and all. Don’t ever forget to put your hand out to collect that stuff called money at the end of a gig.
I am celebrating 50yrs since my 1st TV Performance; Local TV talent contest. I have spent my ife making people happy with music because that makes me happy. I did it because I wanted to. My IQ was tested at 21 yrs as being 151. It didn’t make rich. It didn’t help my chops. It didn’t make my music better. My love for my fellow man made my music better. Music is my genetic forbearance; “to be tolerant or to have patience”. It is a part of us – a thing we can develop easily if we apply. We may be different from others in the way that the Vikings were different from the Myans. Both cultures developed the skills they needed. If we are gifted genetically with music skills it is because of the divergent geneology our forefathers practiced. IQ is potential not intellic. Intellic is the meausure of your flask – how much it holds not what it holds. What music nutures is wisdom from countless years of trial and error. We learn from our many mistakes. That is what makes music special and it should be given with a smile. Unfortunately there are so many who never get the chance to hear the best of music and experience that smile. Musicians love to be admired, and paid for it. I perform anywhere there is an audience who will listen. I have never ended a performance without a loving response because I have such a great time and people like to see that. It makes them happy too.
Don’t want to break into the conversation too much, but on the reply from John Harding, is this the same Joln Harding that went to the “U” in the late 70′s ? If so contact me at flynowpaul@aol.com
It’s not the IQ one has to worry about with some musicians..it’s the inflated ego.
Judging by the state of music in this country right now, it’s obvious that the opposite is also true….untrained ‘musicians’ appear to be significantly dumber than the rest of our society.
LeeHB
I would be very interested in studies that show music to be an IQ enhancer when young and an IQ supporter when senior. I believe it to be true and tell that to parents of kids and older friends that are seniors but in Black and White would be better. I think its a much better slant to say Music study will enhance your life rather than I’m smarter than you? K
Of course I agree, but dont ask my wife.
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