Musicality (''music -al -ity'') is "sensitivity to, knowledge of, or talent for

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

" or "the quality or state of being musical", and is used to refer to specific if vaguely defined qualities in pieces and/or genres of music, such as melodiousness and harmoniousness.Musicality
, ''Merriam-Webster.com''. These definitions are somewhat hampered by the difficulty of defining music, but, colloquially, "music" is often contrasted with

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

and

randomness In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual rand ...

. Judges of contest music may describe a performance as bringing the music on the page to life; of expressing more than the mere faithful reproduction of pitches, rhythms, and composer dynamic markings. In the company of two or more musicians, there is the added experience of the ensemble effect in which the players express something greater than the sum of their individual parts. A person considered musical has the ability to perceive and reproduce differences in

aspects of music Music can be analysed by considering a variety of its elements, or parts (aspects, characteristics, features), individually or together. A commonly used list of the main elements includes pitch, timbre, texture, volume, duration, and form. The ...

including pitch, rhythm, and harmony (see:

ear training Ear training or aural skills is a music theory study in which musicians learn to identify pitches, intervals, melody, chords, rhythms, solfeges, and other basic elements of music, solely by hearing. The application of this skill is analogous t ...

). Two types of musicality may be differentiated: to be able to perceive music (musical receptivity) and to be able to reproduce music in addition to creating music (musical creativity).

Music vs. musicality

Many studies on the cognitive and biological origins of music are centered on the question of what defines music. Can birdsong, the song structure of

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...

s, a Thai elephant orchestra, or the interlocking duets of

Gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

s be considered music? This is now generally seen as a pitfall. In trying to answer this question, it is important to separate between the notions of "music" and "musicality". Musicality – in all its complexity – can be defined as a natural, spontaneously developing set of traits based on and constrained by our biological and cognitive system, and music – in all its variety – as a social and cultural construct based on musicality. Or simply put: without musicality, there is no music. However, it is still a challenge to demarcate precisely what makes up this complex trait we call musicality. What are the cognitive and biological mechanisms that are essential to perceive, make, and appreciate music? Only when we have identified these fundamental mechanisms are we in a position to see how these might have evolved. In other words: the study of the evolution of music cognition is dependent on a characterization of the basic mechanisms that make up musicality.

Colwyn Trevarthen Colwyn Trevarthen (born 1931) is Emeritus Professor of Child Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of Edinburgh. Background After training as a biologist in New Zealand at Auckland University College and Otago University, Trevarthen r ...

has researched the musicality of babies, including its use in communication.Colwyn Trevarthen - Human Nature and Early Experience
, ''Vimeo.com''.

Notes

*''Resources of a musician'': a notable musician draws from several essential resources: ''musicality'', ''material'' (voice, dexterity), ''practice'', ''education'' *''Relation to dancing:'' Musicality is also related to dancing, since musicality is essential for becoming a good dancer. *''Relation to structure:'' Certain types of music have a regular inner structure, which a musical person is able to pick up intuitively. A viable musical structure is supportive of musicality.

References

External links

AABA: The Map to Swing Music
(

Rusty Frank Rusty Frank is an American tap dancer, producer, writer, choreographer, lindy hopper, historian and tap-dance preservationist. Early life Rusty Frank was born in Hollywood, California, and raised in Los Angeles. She began dancing at age six, i ...

)
Understanding Musicality
academic symposium 2012.
Musicality and Genomics
academic symposium 2019. {{Musical technique Musical terminology Choreography

Music vs. musicality

Notes

See also

References

External links