ABSTRACT
Musical prodigies display exceptional musical talent from an early age. Historical examples include Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Mendelsshon. Approximately 1 in 47,000 children are considered to be prodigies. Musically gifted children tend to be particularly sensitive to the structure of music, its tonality, key, harmony and rhythm, and its expressive properties and can remember songs much earlier than other children. Early research on musical ability tended to assume that it was inherited and fixed setting limits on what an individual could achieve. Younger participants reported higher levels of musically sophisticated behaviour, perhaps because of the increased availability of music in their lifetime compared with older participants. Musical sophistication was shown to develop early in life when there is more time and motivation to engage with music. Interest in music and opportunities to pursue those interests are crucial to enable us to develop our musical skills to their fullest extent and continue to engage with music in some capacity throughout our lives.
