| That... may not be entirely true. > Practice does not make perfect: no causal effect of music practice on music ability > Abstract > [...] > We found that music practice was substantially heritable (40%-70%). Associations between music practice and music ability were predominantly genetic, and, contrary to the causal hypothesis, nonshared environmental influences did not contribute. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25079217/ > Genome-wide linkage scan for loci of musical aptitude in Finnish families: evidence for a major locus at 4q22 > [...] > Result: > The heritability estimates were 42% for [Karma Music test; KMT], 57% for [Seashore pitch], 21% for [Seashore time] and 48% for the combined music test scores. Significant evidence of linkage was obtained on chromosome 4q22 (LOD 3.33) and suggestive evidence of linkage at 8q13-21 (LOD 2.29) with the combined music test scores, using variance component linkage analyses. - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564861/ The methodology doesn't seem to be measuring the musician's capability of producing music. Rather it measures their ability to hear and detect pitch and comprehend melodies and rhythms, something that's critically required for musicians. And unfortunately that does appear to have a very significant genetic component, one that does not benefit from practice as much. From what I understand it doesn't mean that hard work isn't needed or that there is no point for someone without the genetics to not practice music. Rather it just puts a limit on what level of skill one can achieve through hard work. |