Musical ability determined by genetics, new study shows

07 July 2014, 11:21 | Written by Luke Morgan Britton

(News)

Practice may not make perfect after all, as a new scientific study argues that genetics are instead largely determining of musical ability.

As The Economist reports, a new study published in the journal Psychological Science shows that not even 10,000 hours of practice will make you an expert musician if you don’t have the right DNA.

The experiment was set up monitoring over 1,000 pairs of identical twins (who share all the same genes) as compared to non-identical twins (who only share half off the same genes), finding that a twin who practiced his craft more often than his identical counterpart was ultimately no better at the instrument than the other.

While practice is still required to increase ability, the study argues, this could be rendered fruitless if the musician doesn’t hold the required genetic make-up.

You can read more on the study here.

[via FACT]