Page 35 - How to Shine on Stage

one among the tribe who did not display musical abilities. The low lev-
el of development of musical abilities is therefore in closer relation to the
fact that these were not sufficiently stimulated during childhood to de-
velop melodic and rhythmic abilities and musical memory (Davidson,
2011). Modern neuroscientific research confirms the universality of mu-
sical abilities, which are believed to be embedded into the human ge-
nome (Mehr et al., 2019).
Yet, musical abilities should not be associated only with a high
technical skills proficiency, but also with expressive and communica- 33
tive components of musical experiences, which help to advance musical
behaviour, revealing the capacity of music to regulate personal, emo-
tional, and social experiences (Davidson & MacArthur, 2021). McPher-
son et al. (2012) suggest that the expressive potential of music is what
makes it meaningful to the listener at any level of musical experience
and achievement. If we want individuals to develop their musical abili-
ties, we need to acknowledge the impact of musical experiences that are
meaningful to them and develop them in a context of skills that ena-
ble them to play an instrument/sing or listen to music in a critical way.
Moreover, since high-quality musical performance depends on expres- Indirect Factors of Musical Performance Success
sive and communication skills, affective experience always needs to be
balanced with the development of technical skills and prowess (David-
son & MacArthur, 2021).
It should be noted that the terms relating to musical abilities (gift-
edness, talent, abilities, musicality, musical intelligence, etc.) are often
used with different meanings and that there is still a lack of terminologi-
cal uniformity in this area. There are two dominant strands of research
on musical ability: the atomist strand, which views musical ability as a
collection of relatively independent skills (advocated by American psy-
chologists), and the unitarist strand, which sees musical ability as a whole
made of various factors that are interdependent to varying degrees (ad-
vocated by British psychologists).
Seashore (1967, in Mirković Radoš, 2010), a representative of the
atomist strand, believes that the basic abilities (sense of pitch, duration,
loudness) as well as most of the more complex abilities (sense of rhythm,
consonance) are innate. They manifest themselves from early childhood,
which is why it is very important to identify them before the age of 10.
Although Seashore considers sensory abilities as fundamental, he also
places importance on imagery, memory, and musical intelligence.
Schoen (1940, in Mirković Radoš, 2010) is another representative
of the atomist strand and sees musicality as a set of specific abilities or-