NYT Opinion: Is music the key to success?

[DriveYourCarDownToTheSea]

NYT Opinion: Is music the key to success?

Condoleezza Rice trained to be a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. The hedge fund billionaire Bruce Kovner is a pianist who took classes at Juilliard.

Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to correlate with outsize success in other fields?

The connection isn’t a coincidence. I know because I asked. I put the question to top-flight professionals in industries from tech to finance to media, all of whom had serious (if often little-known) past lives as musicians. Almost all made a connection between their music training and their professional achievements.

[Scarlett O'Hara]

I think it has to depend on how good you are in terms of musical training. If you are really good at playing and instrument you should be able to find an orchestra to play in. I think being able to play in a musical would be so much fun. So I can see why they suggest that correlation. However, you haven't really given much evidence of it being true. I would need to see some peer reviewed journal articles to confirm the theory.

[Mr. Charlie]

Depends what you mean by 'success'. A peasant who makes little money but is happy is arguably more successful in life than a person with great wealth, or great reputation, or great influence who is unhappy. And I personally wouldn't label Alan Greenspan a success. His policies played a key part in the mortgage crisis, the subsequent seizure of peoples homes and eventual global financial mess. If being successful means bringing misery to millions then the word needs to be redefined.

Rant over. To answer the question properly, you'd have to sum up everyone who trained at music and see what percentage of those became successful. But, again, what does that word mean? To be successful is to be successful at something. So maybe we are all successful. All unsuccessful. Both at once maybe....

[Plankton]

I've noticed that logical thinkers (pragmatics) who are also skilled at creative endeavors tend to excell due to the use of both sides of the brain. How that works, is best left to the pragmatics.

[Franco Pepe Kalle]

Well they are people that are deeply inspired to do some great things with the help of music. That is true.

[hip hop bunny hop]

Originally Posted by Vanilla

However, you haven't really given much evidence of it being true. I would need to see some peer reviewed journal articles to confirm the theory.

The ability to comprehend music, in particular complex music, involves use of spatial logic. People with good spatial logic skills are able to both comprehend abstract ideas and extrapolate upon them intuitively. Spatial logic is what you're using on an IQ test. The problem with OP is the implication that education, music education in particular, can improve spatial logic skills in a meaningful way.

Or, if you prefer a boorish marxist explanation - of course people with proper musical education tend to be successful. Those parents who can give their children such an education tend to be quite well off. These children are, then, succeeding due to economic advantages conferred to them by their parents status, not through the magic of music....

[djchameleon]

Those people that are successful are successful because of their type A personalities and drive to be over achievers. It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that they were also musicians.

The study doesn't take into account people that are poor and living on the street and street musicians or people that are working lowly day jobs and are in some cover band that they play gigs on the weekends.

The level of musical training is attributed to their families having the money to afford said training. What a flop of a study.