There is no denying that one of most common denominators to all who consider themselves musicians is their keen “ear” for sound, pitch, and tone. Some of the most masterful composers in our history, such as Mozart, have an incredible perception of pitch and rhythm, but is a good ear enough to be considered musically competent?
Oliver Sacks seeks to answer this question by recalling several stories of individuals that have different qualities about themselves. For example, Sacks recalls a novel titled The Fountain Overflows, in which the daughter of a highly musically gifted family, Cordelia, is thought to have one of the best musical ears known but was considered an “unmusical” child. Cordelia lacked the fine motor movements, judgment, and was unable to tell good music from bad. Another story, “The Alien Corn” describes a boy named George who really wanted to become a pianist, but he was never musically trained as a child and didn’t have an ear. The narrator states that even though George had great training on the piano and had a mentor, he lacked a certain touch and gift that all great musicians have. So these two stories represent two separate pieces to a very mysterious puzzle. Is the key to being a good musician solely in the training of a “good ear”, passion and training in music, or is it a combination of both?
With modern imaging in medicine today, we are able to physically see differences in brain activity and volume. Studies carried out by Gottfried Schlaug of Harvard have shown that the corpus callosum, the large tissue that connects the two hemispheres of the brain, is enlarged in musicians, as well as parts of the auditory cortex, visuospatial cortex, and cerebellum. The auditory cortex enlargement could be the cause of a musical “ear”, as the cortex is responsible for carrying out higher order functions and connections. The cerebellum is responsible for fine motor movements and coordination, which is essential to producing beautiful music in pitch and rhythm.
Lacking a good ear for music does not condemn one to a life devoid of good musical abilities, and it most certainly is not a harmful illness in any way, but it is a condition that is very common. There are still many questions to be answered in order to say for sure what plays a bigger component in the musical mind‒ training and good judgment, or an inherent ear for the sound. Oliver Sacks brings a lot to the table in his novel, that could lead to further research in the near future.