Musical Talent and Visual-Spatial Abilities: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The relationship between musical talent, especially the ability to compose and/or improvise, and visual-spatial ability was investi- gated. Subjects were 60 boys and 60 girls from 9 to 14 years of age. Three groups of 40 were compared: (1) Children with musical talent and the ability to compose and/or improvise. (2) Children with musical talent without the ability to compose and/or impro- vise. (3) Non-musicians as controls. The spatial visualisation factor was found to be significantly related to musical talent in boys and in girls; high scores on Witelson's Dichaptic Stimulation Test were significantly related to musical talent in boys. The 13 boys and 13 girls with highest scores for their compositions and/or improvis- ations as evaluated by music scientists were contrasted with group 3. Results from the total sample were confirmed. One year later 51 boys and 52 girls who had participated in the first stage of the study were retested. Creative musical ability was significantly related to spatial orientation in both boys and girls and to spatial visual- isation in boys.