Giftedness and Talent in Music GARY E. McPHERSON The terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ are often used in music, but what do they imply? More importantly, how can music education serve the needs of our highest achievers? In some ways these questions have been answered by the great pedagogues of our time, including Dalcroze, Orff, Kodédly, and Suzuki, who argue that all children are talented and that it is only a matter of degree. But there are other factors to be considered. One such issue con- cerns educational equity and the growing trend by educational authorities to require schools to achieve quality outcomes for children displaying high potential. But often these programs concentrate on outstanding cognitive or academic ability in terms of performance in language, math, and sci- ence. Traditional programs for the gifted are often too narrowly defined? for as Howard Gardner argues, the types of intelligence we see every day in our music classes cannot be absorbed entirely within linguistic or logical- mathematical styles of thinking.* The first problem one encounters when sifting through the literature is the lack of research concerning giftedness in music. Betty Atterbury cites only one researcher who has investigated differences between gifted and normal-achieving music students,’ although there are some studies dealing with child prodigies and exceptional ability in terms of musical perfor- mance.® But this research tends to focus on the highly specialized talent of adolescent and adult musicians. What is needed are more studies con- cerned with defining and clarifying giftedness in music during childhood, plus work that will help us understand how talented children learn to become superior musicians. An additional problem when trying to understand giftedness and talent are the competing definitions used in various sectors of education which Gary E. McPherson is Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator for Music Education, the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is coeditor of Research Studies in ‘Music Education and has published in journals such as Psychology of Music, Journal of Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, and the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. He has served as National President of the Australian ‘Society for Music Education and is currently the Treasurer for the International Soci- ety for Music Education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 31, No. 4, Winter 1997 ©1997 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois66 Gary E. McPherson are often theoretical in nature and troublesome to implement.’ The defini- tions I propose for ‘giftedness’ and ‘talent’ are modelled on the work of Francoys Gagné, for I am convinced that this view offers the best approach for our discipline.® In essence, it recognizes that there are clear distinctions to be made between domains of ability (gifts) and fields of performance (talents). This distinction can be seen in Gagné’s model (see figure 1). INTRAPERSONALS CATALYSTS Monvarion Yj PERSONALITY tne Autonorm Ineraste f Seliconfidence TALENT Persistence ff Soltestoom, ete i GIFTEDNESS APTITUDE DOMAINS iiotectul{ = FIELDS OF TALENT (samo) — Ais (vieuals / expressive) — Ainatios and Spore — Business and Commerce — Communicstons —Crats and Trades — Education Socioatocivel = Sencoimotor(= = Heat eanies — Scionce and Technelosy = Tearepodation ENVIRONMENTAL, CATALYSTS Figure 1: Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent Based on this model it can be proposed that ‘giftedness’ is a term that can be used to describe individuals who are endowed with a natural or in- nate potential to achieve that is distinctly above average in one or mote apti- tude domains. These include intellectual, creative, socioaffective, sen- sorimotor, and other less recognized and studied aptitudes that can be developed or stifled, depending on individual or environmental influences such as motivation, self-esteem, peer pressure, socioeconomic, sociocultural, and linguistic factors as well as by disability. Aptitudes are innate or natu- ral human abilities that can be observed in young children before they un- dergo any systematic training or practice." It is the mix of these aptitudes that shapes individual differences. For example, a child with high aptitude in the sensorimotor domain may have the fine sound discrimination and physical dexterity required to develop as a musical performer. If the child is also gifted creatively, he or she may also possess the potential to develop outstanding talent as an improviser.'*Giftedness and Talent in Music 67, ‘Talent’ can be used to describe someone who can demonstrate superior performance as a result of some type of systematic training in a specific field of human activity. Gagné argues that talent is associated with a number of fields,” including the arts (e.g., music, art, dance, drama), academic fields (eg., humanities, social sciences, mathematics), and others such as athletics, sports, technology, entertainment, and business administration. In terms of music, talent implies a specific set of skills that encompass the defined tal- ent, such as may be displayed by a young, highly proficient pianist who can perform a concerto or a singer with an accurate and extended singing range.'* In these examples talent refers to outstanding performance in a specific activity that can be developed through learning and interactions with environmental influences such as parents, teachers, and peers, or even modified by the personality and motivation of the learner. There appears to be growing acceptance that approximately 15 percent of the total population fall within the category of gifted, while talent is best gauged in relation to peers of the same age who are engaged in the same activity."® There is also a growing recognition that different degrees of giftedness and talent require different forms of provision and intervention. If the parameters suggested above are used as a guide for differentiating between giftedness and talent, then it is probably true that in every quality school music program there will be a number of students who will fall into one or both categories. What is needed then isa framework that music edu- cators can use to identify giftedness and talent in music settings. At present, no such framework exists, but research undertaken during the last decade does offer some solutions and possibilities for future consideration. The Five Aptitude Domains Gagné refers to aptitude as natural abilities that have a genetic origin and appear and develop more or less spontaneously in every individual. Furthermore, When exercise and practice are controlled, they explain the major proportion of individual differences in talented performances... . Even though aptitudes have a significant genetic component, their growth is by no means controlled solely by maturational processes; environmental stimulation plays an equally important role through daily use and information training. The first aptitude domain identified by Gagné is intellectual giftedness, which can be specified in many ways, depending on the line of research. It is here that we could use Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to dis- tinguish three “intelligences” that would form a subcategory of this domain (ie, linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial). The importance of this aptitude68 Gary E. McPherson for success in music becomes evident when we consider these three areas. For example, linguistic ability would enable children to understand the words of a song in their own language or to he sensitive to the rhythm, in- flections and meter of words to a song in a foreign a language.!” Logical- mathematical intelligence is needed for a child to feel and move to the beat of metered music, while spatial ability is related to the physical experience of moving to music and knowing how much more space is needed when gestures are large rather than small. The creative domain helps to define those abilities involved when re- sponding “adaptively to the needs for new approaches and new products. It is essentially the ability to bring something new into existence purpose- fully.’"° Although creativity may not be an integral component of some tal- ents in music such as performance,” it is a key ingredient of the creative side of the discipline and at the heart of improvising and composing. Socioaffective aptitudes refer toa wide range of abilities required for so- cial intercourse, including the ability to understand the views and feelings expressed by others and aspects of character that promote leadership and confidence. Research shows that the emotional lives of many gifted chil- dren are often intense” Their overexcitability results in a greater capacity to respond to and assimilate extraordinary amounts of sensory stimuli?! The relevance of this domain to music is broad. It could include those social and emotional aptitudes necessary to persist with learning over an extended pe- riod of time. It could also include aspects such as leadership and confi- dence, both of which are important when one performs either as a soloist or in an ensemble. Or it could also involve a passion for the music of one par- ticular composer or style of performance. In terms of Gardner's intra- and interpersonal intelligences it would involve being able to control and moni- tor one’s own feelings about music, as well as being able to relate to how music affects others. Gagné refers to two types of sensorimotor aptitudes. First, there are those that relate to the five senses, and in this regard an aptitude for dis- criminating sound is essential for success in music. Gardner’s “musical intelligence” would form a subcategory here, comprising a sensitivity to pitch, rhythm, and timbre as well as an ability to discern the emotional aspects of music.” Second, motor abilities refer to those physical abilities that allow for speed, endurance, strength, reflexes, dexterity, and balance. Gardner's bodily-kinesthetic intelligence would again form part of this domain. In terms of music, fine motor skills are required for exceptional performance on a musical instrument, while the very act of singing is yet another illustration of the link between movement and the senses. The final domain, “others,” refers to a range of less understood and studied innate potentials (e.g., extrasensory perception, the gift of healing). Gagné refers to this as an “expansion port” which can be used when other aptitude domains are more clearly defined.Giftedness and Talent in Music 69 Gagné’s aptitude domains provide five broad categories that are useful in determining giftedness. Importantly, for each individual child the mix of these aptitudes will be different. Identi ing the Musically Gifted One implication of the discussion so far is that a child may be gifted with- out displaying any specific talent (but not the reverse). This is because the child may posses the potential for success but not the performance. Based on this assumption, the identification of gifted children is essentially a task of trying to predict an individual's potential to succeed musically, prior to any formal musical training. ‘Music educators have been grappling with this problem since Carl Sea- shore constructed his Measures of Musical Abilities in 1919. More recently, Edwin Gordon has provided a series of measures of music aptitude that can be used to identify children with outstanding musical potential. Gordon be- lieves that music aptitude results from both nature and nurture, because ge- netic and early environmental influences (including those before birth) in- teract and contribute in ways that are still not fully understood.23 His view is that music aptitude is a multifaceted ability involving more than twenty different dimensions, of which tonal and rhythmic aptitude appear to be the most dominant.” Starting in 1965, Gordon published his Music Aptitude Profile which is intended for children from fourth to twelfth grades.” Later he expanded his work to include the Primary Measures of Music Audiation and Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation, suitable for use with children under the age of nine. More recently he has developed two new measures; the first, Audie, is intended for three- and four-year-olds, while the second, Advanced Measures of Music Audiation, can be used for student selection into specialist music programs at the university level.” ‘Two major findings result from this line of research. The first is that mu- sic aptitude, like intellectual aptitude, is normally distributed among the general population. Consequently, about 2 percent of the population will have high music aptitude, while 14 percent can be classed as having above- average music aptitude.” This fits nicely with the parameters described earlier. There is also evidence that the age of nine represents an important step in the development of a child, because up until this age music aptitude is developmental.” This means that up until age nine the quality of the envi- ronment exerts a “push and pull upon younger children’s innate potential atrates that vary among children.” I this view is correct, then a baby with a high level of music aptitude at birth whose environment is musically impoverished will loose much of this potential forever. Alternatively, qual- ity musical experiences will enhance a children's music aptitude and impact on their future musical development in a variety of ways.”70 Gary E. McPherson Apart from standardized measures of music aptitude, there is also a de- veloping body of research that advocates the expansion of this concept by including information on children's creative thinking in music. These mea- sures provide some of the most exciting research currently being undertaken in the field and fit neatly within the creative-aptitude domain described earlier. There are two recent measures that attempt to examine young children's ability to think divergently and imaginatively. The first, Celia Wang's Mea- sures of Creativity in Sound and Music,” can be used with children from three to eight, while the second, Peter Webster's Measures of Creative Thinking in Music,* has been devised for children between six and ten. Wang's mea- sure is based on Torrance's preschool test™ and involves activities requiring the child to perform a steady beat, imitate events described by the teacher (eg,, a giant walking, a horse in motion), improvise ostinatos using a bass xylophone, and move in appropriate ways to six examples of recorded music. Activities are scored according to musical fluency and musical imagination. ‘The Webster measure involves ten tasks divided into three parts. Explo- ration tasks seek to determine how well the child can manipulate the pa- rameters of pitch (high/low), tempo (fast /slow), and dynamics (loud /soft). In the synthesis activities, children use a mallet and temple blocks to engage in a musical dialogue with the teacher, and they also create sound pieces with a round ball and piano or voice and microphone. In the synthesis tasks children use any of the instruments in less structured tasks that finish with the creation of a composition that has a beginning, middle, and end. Scoring is done according to four factors: musical extensiveness, musical flexibility, musical originality, and musical syntax. The work of these researchers is important because it questions the very nature of potential in music. For these authors divergent-thinking skills as- sociated with personal expression, imagination, and free will are an integral part of learning how to think in sound. In addition, this line of research shows enormous potential and may soon be linked with imaginative com- puter software that helps map out how children create and manipulate sound, There are, however, problems with using only a psychometric approach to determine level of giftedness. First, the creativity measures mentioned above are relatively crude, and their reliability and validity are still in ques- tion2> Second, although Gordon's tests provide an important means of assessing music aptitude in the general population, many problems still re- main, particularly before the age of nine when music aptitude is develop- mental. Therefore, given the nature and scope of the five aptitude domains described here, the fact that some students (including those from minority or disadvantaged groups) often display their potential in unique or indi- vidual ways,* and the realization that success in music may not be totallyGiftedness and Talent in Music = 71 dependent on only those aptitudes identified by Gordon, multiple indica- tors are needed. Moreover, Gordon himself argues that “there is no one in- fallible score on any music aptitude test which indicates superior potential for learning music,’*” because it is up to the teacher to make a subjective evaluation of the results from each of the components of the measure. This is why giftedness should be viewed more broadly in terms of a profile of aptitudes which, depending on intrapersonal and environmental catalysts, may lead to the development of specific fields of talent. However, it has been only in the last few years that researchers have be- gun to consider other types of data-gathering techniques to identify the gifted.* Carol Richardson is among the few to draw together ideas from other disciplines that can be adapted for use in music.” Her review identi- fies standardized tests, checklists, interest inventories, performance indica- tors, and personal and social criteria, all of which help profile student po- tential. For example, a case study of a young child that takes into account early preschool developmental information, psychometric information ob- tained from standardized tests, present performance indicators obtained from classroom teachers, motivational information, and sociometric infor- mation will provide a portfolio of student ability, including valuable infor- mation that could be used to extend learning patterns for those who may benefit from accelerated programs or more enriched activities. Once again, these are the sort of techniques that the model encourages (see figure 1). Recognizing Different Aspects of Musical Talent Music is one of the most easily identified fields of human activity in which talent can be demonstrated. But all too often musical talent is discussed in terms of a narrow range of abilities, with the performance of music seen as important above all else. The young violinist who can perform a violin con- certo is obviously talented, and we must recognize and cherish this type of performance. But what if we were to ask laypersons to describe those musi- cal talents they most admire? When I ask this question, I often get a much wider range of responses that includes the musician who can sit at the pi- ano and play “by ear” a variety of popular melodies in any key, or the rock musician who can compose a catchy song directly onto a music sequencer, without the need to write the melody out using traditional musical nota- tion. The point of all of this is that music education is often overspecialized, emphasizing technique and the re-creation of a body of existing literature rather than the range of abilities needed to develop as an all-round mu- sician.” Unfortunately, an emphasis on technique and the re-creation of existing literature still prevails in many syllabuses around the world.!! Itis here that I would argue that any attempt to differentiate the types of developed talent that encompass the discipline of music must proceed from72 Gary E. McPherson a broader perspective. If our aim is to identify the most talented members of a high school instrumental program, we might ask each student to perform a selection of works for us at an audition. This would give us a fair idea about the technical capabilities of each musician as well as indications of their ability to perform with conviction and stylistic understanding. But in many ways this information will be rather limiting and may not extend our understanding of the level of skill possessed by each student beyond what we already know. More importantly, it may not help us determine the mix of skills possessed by the most talented musicians and decide on the types, of student-centred enrichment programs that would best aid their future development. John Sloboda maintains that one way of testing whether musicians un- derstand the music they are playing is to ask them to sightread. “If a per- former can apply appropriate expression in such a situation, then his or her understanding must be fully intemalized’” Depending on the situation and the enrichment programs available, it might also be appropriate to gauge performance ability in other ways, such as playing from memory, playing by ear, or even improvising. This would give us information about how well musicians can process music aurally, the degree to which they can coordinate ear, eye, and hand, and their ability to think creatively as they perform on their instrument. Yet another way of understanding what we as teachers can do to nurture talent is to consider intrapersonal and environmental factors which act as catalysts at all levels of learning. Consistent with Gagné's model are studies dealing with persistence leading to exceptional ability in musical perfor- mance. These show that environmental and personal influences impact on the development of an instrumentalist's skills in music in many different ways. Researchers report four major findings, First, parents of persistent learners tend to provide more support and encouragement during the early stages, and this tapers off as the child becomes more self-regulated with his or her practice. In contrast, children who give up playing tend to come from homes where there was little parental involvement during the early stages of leaming but greater parental pressure to practice during the teenage years when it has become obvious that motivation was waning and that parents should make a “last effort” to keep their child learning the instru- ment. The second major finding shows that persistent musicians are able to differentiate between the personel and professionel qualities of their teacher and that personal warmth is a vital characteristic of a teacher during the initial stages of the students’ development. These researchers found that the best students remembered their first teacher “not so much for their tech- nical adeptness as for the fact that they made lessons fun. They communi- cated both their love for music and their liking of their pupil.”“®Giftedness and Talent in Music — 73. A third finding shows that during the initial stages of training, better students spent less time on formal task-oriented practice during their prac- tice than do their less able peers. In this study many of the best studenis spent time freely exploring the musical medium, such as improvising and “messing-about” activities that Sloboda describes as important to the devel- ‘opment of the “expressive” dimensions of musical ability. Finally, there is some evidence of how intrinsic and extrinsic motivators work during the early stages of musical development. The concern here is that if achieve- ment is emphasized too early, then intrinsic motivation will be inhibited. “In simple terms, children become so concerned about what others may be thinking of their performance that they have little attention left to allow the potential of the music to engage their aesthetic and emotional sensibilities deeply. All music becomes a source of anxiety.” ‘As implied by the discussion so far, most research has concentrated on defining exceptional musical talent in terms of how young children perform on a musical instrument, While performance ability often develops early, a talent for composition is rarely seen before late childhood.“® But this could be largely due to a lack of emphasis on this aspect of training both within and outside our schools. In non-Western cultures there is evidence that a broader approach is possible. For example, the Anang people in Nigeria value music to the extent that training begins almost immediately after birth. Consequently, by the age of five, children are able to “sing hundreds of songs, play several percussion instruments, and perform dozens of intri- cate dance movements.” There is also evidence that Western styles of mu- sic education have lost some of the ingredients essential for real musical growth. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries pianists leamed to play not only by imitating and repeating musical passages, but also by formulat- ing them through improvisation and composition, However, from around 1850, “Creative learning (i.e,, learning by invention on the part of the pupil) was superseded by reproductive learning according to prescribed cur- ricula.”°° Music became more of a specialist art. But there are signs that change has begun to occur. The development of national curriculums and standards at the school level has generated a worldwide trend toward developing sequential programs in all subject ar- eas that take into account different levels of ability. In music, there seems to be growing awareness of the importance of providing greater balance be- tween the three components of the discipline often referred to as creating, performing, and listening / appraising.” These developments are rooted in the pioneering efforts in the 1960s by composer-teachers such as Peter Max- well Davies, George Self, Brian Dennis, and Murray Schafer. Their work not only redefined music's role in education, but also acted as a “powerful stimulus for a revolutionary methodology: teaching from what is offered; 152 from the imaginative explorations of the pupils.74 Gary E. McPherson Given the importance now being placed on more broadly based school programs involving performance, creating, and listening/appraising mu- sic, it will be interesting to observe how our views of musical talent change during the next decade. What can be said is that opportunities for children to develop their creative potential in music through more broadly based programs starting from the early years of schooling are no longer the excep- tion, they are becoming the norm. How and in what ways this change of emphasis will make any real difference will take a generation or more to be realized. In summary, I have argued that there are clear distinctions to be made between gifts and talents. Giftedness corresponds to potential that is dis- tinctly above average in at least one aptitude domain, while talent refers to superior performance in a specific field of human activity. Thus, a child could be gifted in one or more of the aptitude domains necessary for music without being able to demonstrate any real musical talent. According to the framework proposed, intrapersonal and environmental factors work as catalysts in shaping the defined talent. ‘These distinctions help clarify our responsibilities as music teachers. If our concern is to identify from the general population those children who ‘would benefit from increased exposure to music, then we will be concemed to gather information that will assist us in gauging, the level of giftedness across the aptitude domains seen to be relevant for success in music. If, on the other hand, our concern is to identify those students with superior mu- sical talent who would benefit from accelerated programs in one or more dimensions of the discipline, we would need to obtain information that is related to the talent in question. Gagné's model provides a suitable starting, point from which information for both concems can be collected. In comparison to other subject areas, music has in many ways been a pacesetter in providing for the special needs of the talented. We need only look at the types of opportunities we offer young musicians. For example, in many countries musically talented children can undertake specialist training on a chosen instrument, participate in selective choirs, orchestras, and bands, and attend a wide range of regional and state-wide camps and other enrichment activities. Many of these programs are highly competitive and focus on the training of a musician in terms of what is needed to per- form in a professional orchestra or vocal ensemble. But this view of music as a specialized craft does have some drawbacks, particularly when ma- nipulative and technical instrumental skills are allowed to dominate over intellectual and creative growth across the discipline. What is now evident in many parts of the world of music education is a broadening of this con- ception to include more emphasis on creative forms of expression, where improvisation and composition are equal partners with the performance component of the curriculum.