The musical intelligence Is the ability we have to capture sounds and imitate them, to have sensitivity to rhythm, to discriminate the qualities of sounds, to listen, to sing and to interpret songs and works, as well as a predisposition to play instruments.
Corresponds to one of the intelligences proposed by the psychologist Howard Gardner In its model of multiple intelligences . This intelligence does not only mean having a good ear for music, but also thanks to it, there is the possibility of developing ourselves culturally, spiritually and emotionally.
It is very probable that a person who by itself has more developed this intelligence, is interested in the music and emphasizes in her.
In addition, all intelligence needs the others and in turn all areas of life need a series of intelligences. That is to say, this intelligence requires of other intelligences as it could be the kinaestésico-corporal intelligence to be able to yield in arts like the dance.
Characteristics of musical intelligence
He is one of the intelligences proposed by Gardner, who is associated with the taste for music, as well as for singing, interpreting, composing and playing instruments, thanks to his ability to distinguish sounds, listen to rhythm, tone or chords.
These people have a sensitivity to sounds and rhythm, imitate sounds and melodies, transmit and capture emotions through music.
The development of musical intelligence involves the development of intelligences such as:
- The kinesthetic intelligence necessary for motor coordination when playing an instrument
- Logical-mathematical intelligence for the unity and harmony of notes
- The linguistic intelligence necessary for musical language
- The spatial intelligence required for the temporo-spatial nature of music
- the Interpersonal intelligence For the understanding of the emotions that are transmitted through the music
- Intrapersonal intelligence to understand our own emotions and express them
- And naturalistic intelligence for the knowledge and understanding of the most relevant facts in the life of a composer.
There are people who show a special interest in music, as well as an ease to learn and play instruments, suggesting that somehow these people have a biological predisposition for music.
Thus, certain parts of the brain located in the right hemisphere Play a fundamental role in musical perception and production, but this ability is not localized in a particular area as we can localize language, for example.
It is a fundamental capacity to make sound patterns that can be associated later, being independent of the hearing capacity. It is a facility for the processing of sound information, as well as a characteristic ability to create, appreciate and associate music.
In spite of what was said, without the biological processes of auditory perception and without the contribution of the cultural, music could not exist. The musical experience is due to the integration of the tone, the bell, the sounds and the intensity of the same ones.
"Music can express social attitudes and cognitive processes, but it is useful and effective only when it is heard by the receptive and receptive ears of people who have shared, or can somehow share, the cultural and individual experiences of their creators."John Blacking, 1973.
Among some people who indicate that they reflect a musical intelligence we are Mozart, Beethoven or Freddie Mercury.
Musical Intelligence and Education
As we have mentioned before, musical intelligence is an ability in the composition, function and consideration of musical patterns, encompassing the ability to recognize and compose musical tones and rhythms.
According to its author, Gardner, is executed practically at the same time as the linguistic intelligence. Through music we can improve our attention and concentration, the people who develop it have competences to discriminate quickly sounds and melodies, being able to reproduce them and to form new musical combinations, among others.
The stimulation to promote this area must be carried out from the gestation to early ages, being this stage the most suitable. For this, it is important to provide a good musical environment, facilitating musical elements in their daily contexts and giving the child direct experiences with music.
Almost all children at the beginning of development have both a musical ability and an interest in it in general. They possess diverse musical qualities that, if they are not sufficiently developed, will lead in a stagnation. That is why it is necessary to strengthen this area to go further than that basic level.
The relationship between musical intelligence and intelligence is not causal, but they do share approaches and strategies for information processing. So understanding, recording or coding system of musical symbols facilitates this ability to generalize to other areas facilitating learning, since both music and linguistics or math have a very articulated system of signs and keys.
The teaching of musical intelligence should be extended, as it offers ample learning opportunities for children, enriching their development and enhancing abilities such as seeing, hearing and representing melodic patterns, providing musical memory and perceptual components.
For this reason, schools should provide opportunities for students to explore and develop different intelligences, designing a broad educational program in which music also plays an important role. In addition, the perception that currently has towards music has already changed, taking more importance and considering it as an art.
Thus, music must be present in the educational program because it is part of our lives and our culture, and because programs that focus on music make students feel more satisfied.
Music, dance and the arts should not be dealt with together, that is to say, this theory focuses on separating the arts for the purpose of the instruction of each one of them in an independent and sequential manner but must be stimulated at all levels and in all The disciplines.
It is thought that intelligence is what develops before, so it should be encouraged their learning at all levels and above all through educational practices.
An example could be the search for stimuli with which to relate music and events, the stimulation of creativity through the construction of instruments with their own materials, activities or musical contests or initiatives that encourage students to transform texts or ideas In parodies or theaters.
Some academic activities performed by people with a more developed musical intelligence would be to listen to music while studying to associate the subject with music and listen to the song before the exam to remember what was studied.
On the other hand, mention that in this musical education plays a key role the creativity that is enhanced by the development of skills such as music.
The educational experience has to be important in the lives of the students and above all that they perceive it as meaningful, as a value for their personal growth, that they feel collaborators and participants in this process, that their ideas are valued and that they see it The meaning and the importance in all the areas of his life and not only in the school.
One way to achieve this is to bring people's lives closer to music and to develop that creativity through it. An integral form of development of the person should include opportunities for him to think in different ways.
Gardner defines musical intelligence as"sensitivity to the structure of music that allows an individual to make appropriate decisions to music according to his / her experience, which includes sensitivity to musical properties, interrelationships between musical ideas, and Expectations about what makes sense to music."
Musical Intelligence and Neuroscience
Studies on this intelligence allow us to see how some people have more developed musical ability, depending on the activation of different areas of the brain.
These investigations use real cases of people with some anomaly in musical competition or studies of the morphological and / or structural changes of the cerebral organization that people experience.
Anomalies in musical competition would be the presentation of a lower capacity with respect to the average population when perceiving, forming, integrating and representing music; Possibly due to a hemispheric functional alteration or interhemispheric systems.
People who are not able to differentiate sounds may have a Agnosia Deep injury caused by right temporal lobe lesions.
They may also present a structural disorder with alterations in the perception of timbres or duration and intensity of the sounds, due to alterations in the right hemisphere. In turn, when the disability has to do with rhythm, the anomaly is in the left hemisphere .
On the other hand, when people perceive and feel the emotions transmitted to them by a work, but are incapable of recognizing the emotions as well as their denomination, we would be faced with a semantic upheaval. When this abnormality occurs the lesions are located in the temporal area of the left cerebral hemisphere.
Concerning morphological changes and / or in the cerebral organization, the neurologist Schlaug, studying professional musicians, found that they had a thicker corpus callosum than normal. However, it was not clear whether this was due to musical ability or whether these people before they started playing the instrument already had that particular size.
His current research led him to conclude that six-year-olds who continued to play instruments over three years for at least two and a half hours a week, their corpus callosum grew by 25% relative to the overall size of the brain.
Other investigations indicated that the brain Evolve as children have been trained in music and have experience within this area, relating to the best cognitive skills demonstrated in children who practice music. This is clear evidence that musical learning has a positive effect on memory and attention.
Music, as well as its teaching, is primordial both in the formation of the person as much in the development of cognitive and emotional abilities as by its important paper in individual and social aspects.
"Possible genetic factors limit the extent to which an intelligence can be realized or modified over the course of a lifetime. From the practical point of view, however, it is likely that this biological limit will never be reached. With sufficient exposure to the materials of an intelligence, practically anyone without a brain injury can achieve results in that intellectual field."Howard Gardner.
Theory of multiple intelligences
For Gardner, the traditional tests focus exclusively on logical measures and language, obviating and not analyzing other aspects that are also very important.
He thinks that each person has a certain intelligence and formed based on the combination of different intelligences. In addition, such intelligence can be modified and developed based on learning and practice.
Your model Describes the following eight types of intelligences: linguistic intelligence, logical and mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, body intelligence and Kinesthetic , Interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence and naturalistic intelligence.
References
- Carrillo García, M.E, López López, A. (2014). Theories of Multiple Intelligences in the teaching of languages. University of Murcia. Educational contexts, p. 79-89.
- Morán Martínez, M.C (2009). Psychology and music: musical intelligence and aesthetic development" Journal Article.
- Colwell R., Davidson L. (1996). Musical Intelligence and the Benefits of Music Education. Multiple Intelligence.
- Aróstegui Plaza, J.L. (2012). Creative development in Music Education: from artistic genius to collaborative work.