This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

According to Levitin, the components of musical ability include technical skill, specialist knowledge, and emotional connection. Throughout This Is Your Brain on Music, and in Chapter 7 in particular, Levitin analyzes music to identify the characteristics and competencies that contribute to these components. Certain skills, such as metrical extraction and memorization of pitch, timbre, and tempo, are seemingly innate and common to nearly all humans, prompting Levitin to characterize even untrained individuals as “expert listeners.” All humans have the capacity to produce music, and Levitin emphasizes that the division between professional musicians and listeners is an artificial product of Western culture rather than a true reflection that musical ability is scarce. Young children automatically participate in singing and dancing, and anyone can learn to play an instrument, showing that the components of musical ability are common throughout the general population.

As Levitin discusses in Chapter 8, some pieces of music are more pleasing to the ear and technically accomplished than others, particularly within the context of a particular culture’s musical schema. Certain identifiable components of musical ability contribute to producing “high-quality” music and therefore speak to particular expertise. Perhaps the most obvious of these components is technical skill: the ability to manipulate an instrument to produce the desired sounds. Levitin emphasizes that genetic factors might help or hinder a person in playing a particular instrument: For instance, large hands benefit a pianist but are detrimental to a violinist. However, no fixed rules limit ability. Indeed, no consensus exists regarding the extent to which musical ability is a matter of nature or nurture, although both factors likely play a part. Practice is the most important component of technical skill: Approximately 10,000 hours of practice are necessary to achieve world-class mastery of an instrument.

Technical skill is impossible to achieve without some specialist knowledge regarding how to play an instrument, read music, or manipulate one’s vocal chords effectively. Knowledge likewise plays a role in musical ability by contributing to a person’s musical schema, or framework of expectations for a piece of music based on experience. Composers must have an understanding of the musical tradition in which they’re composing in order to anticipate and manipulate listeners’ expectations. Similarly, listeners are unlikely to appreciate a piece unless they have some familiarity with the music’s genre or format and some knowledge of the conventions of its musical tradition.

The third component of musical ability, however, is not commonly taught, even in top music schools: emotional connection, the ability to elicit an emotional response in an audience. This often involves elements of technical skill and specialist knowledge (however unconsciously one applies them) in manipulating elements such as loudness and rhythm for emotional effect. Levitin acknowledges that emotionality is scientifically difficult to quantify in its entirety. Emotional connection requires a perceived vulnerability on the part of the performer and a certain charisma. It is often the je ne sais quoi component that distinguishes an outstanding performance or piece of music from one that is merely high quality.