Identifying Children's Gift in Music at Schools

Assessing a Child’s Musical Ability in Formal Education

Aug 23, 2009

Because music is not high on the national curriculum, children who are gifted in music are at risk of being overlooked.

A report published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2009) entitled The National Stategies Annual Plan Summary, prioritises literacy, numeracy and science subjects in schools. In all other subjects of the curriculum, including music, there must be an element of literacy and numeracy evidenced within the coursework. If needs exist in these areas, even if great musical ability is evident, the overall marking is likely to be detrimentally affected.

Tests Which do not Measure Musical Talent

In similar fashion, the IQ test (Intelligence Quotient), which purports to measure a person’s overall intelligence, overlooks musical ability altogether and concentrates solely on matters of logic, reasoning and comprehension.

Howard Gardner’s important book, Frames of Mind – the Theory of Multiple Intelligences [Fontana Press, 1993] attacks the orthodox view of a person’s intelligence. He in fact identifies seven different “intelligences,” including musical intelligence. Gardner argues that formal testing for true musical ability is insufficient or nonexistent.

The Logical Side of Music

Gardner further argues that formal tests for musical giftedness focus merely on the logical and analytical side of musical appreciation of which everyone possesses to some degree. This “formal mode,” as Gardner terms it, resides in the left hemisphere of the brain. The usual testing for musical ability in this regard might include the following criteria:

Gardner theorises that this does not test true musical ability. In fact, he believes that talent in music resides in the right side of the brain and calls it the “figural mode.”

The Figural Mode of Musical Ability

According to Julian Rushton’s,author of Mozart, an Extraordinary Life [Royal School of Music, 2005], Mozart was composing music by the age of five. Gardner suggests that this “figural mode” of musical ability is more about natural intuition and a “feel” for music and how it works as a whole, rather than in parts.

Test for Prodigy in Music

Testing the figural mode for musical ability might contain the following criteria:

Subjects who have great abilities in these areas are said to have prodigious talent in music. Prodigies may also be those who have Savant Syndrome, a condition where the subject with special needs possesses a great talent for music.

Testing Musical Ability in Children

Musical ability is not high on the national strategies agenda, making way for literacy, numeracy and science subjects. Similarly, the formal testing for musical talent rests on prescriptive matters such as recalling a series of notes. Gardner argues that this is not the true mark of musical talent, for everyone possesses these skills to some degree. True musical talent, which he terms the “figural mode,” is concerned with the ability to improvise a piece of music, to interpret it and to look upon music holistically rather than in its parts.

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