Musicality or musical intelligence is a bit different than cognitive intelligence. Generally because music uses the right side of the brain while problem solving and math use the left side. I'm very musical but not very chessical for example ;] but I'm trying!
For Intellectual Musicians (and anyone else who wants to comment)
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It's a great topic! I could go on and on about it. Some bullet points -
* Intelligence is a rather large concept.
* Both intelligence and music come in different types (classical music is more like mathematics, and rock and roll is more for the socially outgoing types)
* What about social intelligence? Is it related or is it separate?
* Music has different dimensions of rhythm (timing), patterns of tones, timbre, vocal expression, political expression in lyrics, social expression based on the style of the person who's on the stage etc.
* An orchestra playing a symphony is kind of a pinnacle of civilization in terms of the organization and artistry that goes into it (including the architecture and decoration of the concert hall) (so is modern computing, which is why it's so ironic when someone's cell phone is going off in the front row, and he doesn't know it's his, and the orchestra has to stop)
Personally I am somewhat good but also somewhat bad at singing, remembering tunes, remembering lyrics. I play no instrument (keyboard, but only computer keyboard). More music would probably benefit me cognitively. I was good in math classes in school, and stuck with it, but didn't make the transation to being a creative mathematician (it's quite a big transition). My piano lessons didn't include creativity as a component, they were just boring beginner piano lessons. My understanding of myself is that I'm intelligent but poorly educated.
* Intelligence is controversial to define, and also controversial to measure. I don't believe intelligence has a clear definition strictly speaking.
* With experience I sense that I can recognize more intelligent music from music that's more on the stupid side (commercial radio). Also when trying to read something it's usually fairly clear whether the author is intelligent or isn't (or else maybe isn't engaging their intelligence at the time).
It has long been stated that music and intelligence go hand-in-hand. Some believe this, some don't; we really don't have any conclusive proof to either side. Some of the brightest minds in history have played instruments, such as the great Albert Einstein, who would recharge his magnificent noggin by playing the violin. Or, conversely, some of the best musicians of out time are extremely intelligent, such as Queen's guitarist Brian May, who has a PhD in astrophysics. What are your opinions on the matter? Is there a correlation, r are the above examples coincidences?