For decades now, the concept of intelligence has had a strong impact on human life.

IQ tests are applied in personnel selection and in school settings, obtaining one score or another in one of them can have a great impact on self-esteem and, moreover, these measures are a good predictor of economic status and life expectancy .

However, some psychologists believe that there is not one single measure of intellect, but many types of intelligence, and some are very underrated. The musical intelligence would be an example of this.

What is musical intelligence?

Musical intelligence belongs to the model of multiple intelligences divulged by the American psychologist Howard Gardner, and it is a concept that alludes to the capacities and sensibilities that have to do with musical sensitivity, at the time of producing it and perceiving it as such with all its nuances.

It is totally independent of the auditory capacity , and therefore it only concerns the capacity to process the sound information of simple or very complex musical pieces, and it does not have to be expressed in specific musical genres either. What defines musical intelligence is the total freedom to create and appreciate music.

What are people with musical intelligence like?

Someone with musical intelligence is especially skilled at detecting nuances in melodies, thinking in terms of rhythm, timbre and tone and distinguishing similar sounds that sound separate or at the same time. In turn, they will also find it easier to express themselves musically, either by composing pieces of music to be performed by themselves or by conducting a musical ensemble in which many elements of the piece to be performed must be kept in mind.

Musical intelligence can be broken down into various skills . These skills are held to a relative degree, and do not have to do with a perfect and absolute ability to carry them out. Here are some of them, as an example.

  • Sensitivity in identifying the rhythm, tone, melody and timbre of a piece of music.
  • Relative ease in composing or performing original pieces of music , and in reproducing or adapting them with another piece of music as a reference.
  • Facility to find resources with which to express emotional states or ideas through music.
  • Facility to recognize masked pieces of music that appear to be simple noise.
  • Ability to recognize the different musical genres that influence a piece of music.
  • Facility to create melodies by playing various objects in an improvised way.

Musical intelligence is educated

According to Howard Gardner, musical intelligence is one of the first types of intelligence to appear throughout the development and growth of people, being present in the first months of life. Therefore, its existence does not depend on whether we have received formal education in music or not , and much less on whether we know how to read music. However, if we want to improve significantly in musical intelligence, there comes a point when it is necessary to practice and dedicate hours a week to training in a systematic way.

This, added to the fact that musical intelligence could be closely linked to logical-mathematical intelligence and skills related to creative thinking, makes certain groups claim the need for efforts to be made in schools to help improve this type of intelligence using musical intelligence stimulation programmes. Efforts are also being made to disseminate exercises with which parents can educate their children and musical intelligence from their first weeks and according to the stages of growth they are going through.

A final reflection

The idea of multiple intelligences, popularized by Howard Gardner, is as loved as it is hated. The fact that it is a classification of different mental abilities has earned him the criticism of those who believe that intelligence can be explained by studying a single intelligence factor (Spearman’s G-factor). However, also opens the door to understanding intellect as something broader than what is measured by conventional IQ tests .

Musical intelligence is one of the great counterpoints that the model of multiple intelligences places on the table: an intelligence that is legitimate by the simple fact of belonging to the artistic and creative facet of the human being , despite not being applicable to the work and productive gears such as logical-mathematical intelligence.