Musical prodigies : interpretations from psychology, education, musicology, and ethnomusicology

Child prodigies have been observed in a range of disciplines - particularly music, mathematics, chess, and art. The question of what makes a prodigy has long been controversial. Some have dismissed the notion of giftedness, arguing that most famous prodigies had strong parental, cultural, and environmental influences that helped them develop their extraordinary abilities. One recent theory suggested that anyone could achieve outstanding success in whatever endeavour they wanted with a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice. Nevertheless, many studies of prodigies have suggested that there might be strong underlying cognitive differences, regarding their use of short-term versus long-term memory, spatial memory, imagery, and language. Whatever the arguments - for those interested in child development - prodigies remain a fascinating subject of study when considering questions about creativity, intelligence, development, and the impact of nature versus nurture. This books breaks new ground in presenting the first scientific exploration on the topic of musical prodigies. It brings together research from a range of disciplines, including psychology, neurobiology, and genetics, to provide a thorough exploration of prodigious talent. In addition, the book includes fascinating case studies of prodigies and also looks at their long-term development into adulthood - many child prodigies have had problems making the transition into adolescence and adulthood. Musical prodigies will be required reading for anyone interested in child development, music, and the arts Content: Cover Musical Prodigies Copyright Contents List of Contributors Introduction Section 1 Theoretical frameworks 1 Analyzing musical prodigiousness using Gagné's Integrative Model of Talent Development 2 Two roads diverged in the musical wood: A coincidence approach to the lives and careers of Nyiregyházi and Menuhin 3 Syzygies, social worlds, and exceptional achievement in music 4 Genetic influences on musical giftedness, talent, and practice 5 Musicological reports on early 20th century musical prodigies: The beginnings of an objective assessment 6 Early and late bloomers among 120 classical composers: Were the greatest geniuses also prodigies?7 The wunderkind composer Section 2 Aspects of development 8 Working memory in musical prodigies: A 10,000- year- old story, one million years in the making 9 The brain's rapid encoding of rule- governed domains of knowledge: A case analysis of a musical prodigy 10 On the cognitive- developmental theory of the child prodigy phenomenon 11 Transitioning musical abilities into expertise and beyond: The role of psychosocial skills in developing prodigious talent 12 Growing- up prodigies: The midlife crisis13 Musical prodigies and motivation 14 Musical prodigies: Does talent need trauma? 15 Prodigies of music composition: Cognitive abilitiesand developmental antecedents 16 Development of timing skills 17 Igor: A case study of a child drummer prodigy 18 The career decisions of musical prodigies 19 Musical prodigies within the virtual stage of YouTube 20 Synesthesia and prodigiousness: The case of Olivier Messiaen 21 Prodigious musical talent in blind children with autism and learning difficulties: Identifying and educating potential musical savants22 Veridical mapping in the development of autistic musical savants Section 3 Individual examples 23 "Proofs of genius": Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the construction of musical prodigies in early Georgian London 24 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the child performer- composer: Newmusical- biographical perspectives on the early years to 1766 25 Ludwig van Beethoven: An understated prodigy 26 The "Second Mozart": Mendelssohn and precocity revisited 27 Teresa Carreño: "Such gifts are of God, and ought not to be prostitutedfor mere gain"28 A folk song prodigy? Considering the exceptional musical childhood of Chilean folklorist Margot Loyola 29 Glenn Gould: Conventional prodigy, unconventional professional 30 André Mathieu (1929- 1968): The emblematic case ofthe "young Canadian Mozart" 31 Jack Teagarden's Southwestern Sound: A musical prodigy and his field 32 "Little" Stevie Wonder: Motown musical prodigy 33 "You can't win, child, but you can't get out of the game": Michael Jackson's transition from child star to superstar Until now, no single resource has attempted to bring together such a varied range of disciplines to study the phenomenon of the musical prodigy, nor attempted to cover such a diverse range of topics. The 35 chapters which comprise Musical Prodigies: Interpretations from Psychology, Education, Musicology, and Ethnomusicology are organized according to three sections: Theoretical Frameworks, Aspects of Development, and Individual Examples. Each chapter retains the style and referencing of the author’s area of research. Readers will find a multitude of clues within this volume that will help shape their thinking about how children are able to earn the label “musical prodigy.” It is important to note, however, that no single or unanimous interpretation is currently available that provides a definitive explanation of musical development or the phenomenon of the musical prodigy. It is also true that not all of the 51 researchers who took part in this project would agree on every issue or interpretation, yet all are highly knowledgeable authorities who possess enormous enthusiasm for enriching understandings in this aspect of human achievement. The volume seeks to provide a uniquely valuable resource that encourages readers to think more deeply about the many varied ways in which precocious music development can unfold during childhood. The aim has been to interrogate the many factors of the phenomenon of the musical prodigy, and in so doing, stimulate discussion on a largely unexplored area of research -- Oxford Scholarship Online What makes a prodigy? Although child prodigies can be found in various disciplines such as music, mathematics, chess, and art, the origins of exceptional has long been controversial. Some have dismissed the notion of innate talent, arguing that prodigies benefit from strong parental, cultural, and environmental influences that helped them develop their extraordinary abilities. Others emphasize the role of genes supported by inborn predispositions. And what role do cognitive processes, from memory to the use of imagery and language, play in such rapid and early talent development? The notion of prodigy reaches to the heart of questions about creativity, intelligence, development, and the relationship between nature and nurture. This ground-breaking book presents the first scientific exploration of musical prodigies, bringing together research from psychology, neurobiology, genetics, education, musicology, and ethnomusicology, to provide a thorough exploration of prodigious talent. With fascinating case studies of prodigies and their often complex transitions into adolescence and adulthood, this is a unique investigation of a remarkable phenomenon, for anyone interested in child development, music, and the arts. --Cover