To be musically inclined has a vague meaning rather than a technical one, but it means that someone has a natural talent or inclination for performing or creating music.
When it comes to musical abilities and natural talents, there are varying levels that we all have and that our brains are able to process. Some people are extremely musically inclined, while others seem not to have a musical bone in their bodies.
The majority of people actually fall into a range that would technically group them into the percentage of the population that has the ability to process music correctly.
Contrary to popular belief, most people have the basics needed in order to become good musicians.
Sean Hutchins, director of research for the Royal Conservatory, said to The Guardian, "Only around 2 percent of the human population doesn't possess the skills needed to determine the right pitch to perform a song."
When you think about it, most people do seem to be able to carry a tune. Have you ever tried to sing a simple song like Happy Birthday in a large crowd? Notice how only a few people will be way out of tune.
You may be wondering, if 98% of the population in the world has the ability to become a great music artist, then why are there prodigies and certain few people that are referred to as the greatest of all time?
It really boils down to how smartly they trained their skills and how many hours they dedicated to their craft.
If you are taking lessons and studying music effectively in addition to practicing consistently, you can be one of the next people that the world will place among the greatest musicians of all time.
Your inclination for music is likely to be influenced by your environment, but it may also have genetic influences.
Studies show that children exposed to music education earlier in life have an easier time when it comes to ear training in music theory and performance classes.
But psychological professor Diana Deutsch says that physiology may be the cause of pitch accuracy, more specifically, perfect pitch (the ability to identify any pitch without an instrument).
In her research study, she states, "perfect pitch is associated with an unusually large memory span for speech sounds."
Perfect pitch, also known as absolute pitch, is the ability to correctly identify any music note without having an audio reference.
While it may not sound like a huge feat to those that don't study music, it is an often desired skill among musicians who strive for perfection when it comes to hitting the right notes.
Many musicians and composers have been cited as having perfect pitch, but it's one of those things that are hard to determine for sure.
You would expect well-known genius composers like Mozart or Beethoven, that are noted as having "absolute pitch" to be the truth, but one cannot really know for sure! Especially for legends that are from the history books.
There is a small percentage of us in the world who are barely inclined to music at all. Being tone-deaf means exactly what it sounds like it means, and it is not a fun thing to be if you are trying to study the art of music.
People who are tone-deaf are not able to process the pitches the way that musically inclined people can. This can make it difficult to become a singer since you will have a tough go at singing the right notes in a song, and they will go sharp or flat.
The more scientific term that many people don't hear about for it is called congenital amusia, and it affects around 4% of the total population of the world. Amusia is a type of agnosia, which is the loss of ability to identify things.
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So now that we know most of us in the world are at least a little bit musically inclined, how about the real talent out there that is exceptional beyond what most of us can comprehend when it comes to the art of music?
While most of us have the skills I will mention below, very musically inclined people shine in the following ways.
Individuals who are musically inclined to the extreme can hear melodies and harmonies without needing to be trained in how to do so.
They understand the overall structure of scales and chords from listening to popular music as they grow in their environments and are often able to mimic what they hear with ease, thanks to their ear paired with greater memory skills.
People who are musically inclined have a natural knack for feeling a steady beat along with various subdivisions that can happen in all types of song styles and different cultures.
Musically inclined people can often move and sing or move and play an instrument at the same time.
People who are not as musically inclined may have trouble swaying and clapping with a crowd because their brains can't process the music the way that some other people can.
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When you have an inclination for music, you often are able to pick up an instrument and learn it much faster than most people can.
Musically inclined people tend to be more coordinated, have better memory skills, and have an ear for music combined to make them exceptional instrumentalists.
Most people in the world (even the ones who are tone-deaf) can appreciate music in our daily lives, so an obsession with music is the biggest long shot on my list for being very musically inclined.
But those who are really musically inclined often have an obsession with music that goes beyond the one that most of us have.
Music creators and performers all seem to have a phase where we are the most obsessive consumers of music on the planet in order to stir up our inspiration.
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As a session singer, writer, and producer that has worked with over 300 clients to provide high-quality jingles, singles, and features, Yona spends her time creating and marketing new music and helpful resources for creators. Check out Yona’s latest releases on her Spotify, her Youtube and share if you like it!
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