In his discussion about the origins Mozart's musical talents, Shenk points out that "the reality about Mozart turns out to be far more interesting and far less mysterious. His early achievements-while very impressive, to be sure- actually make good sense considering his extraordinary upbringing." (pg. 61) Shenk is not denying Mozart’s amazing musical talents, but rather suggesting that his talents should not have been unexpected considering his upbringing. Because he was raised in such a musically supportive environment, he grew up very musically inclined.
Do you think Mozart would have achieved the same level of musical genius had he not grown up the way he did? To what extent did his upbringing influence him? Could anyone (for example, had the Mozarts adopted a son or daughter instead of having their own biological children) have achieved what Mozart did had they been raised in a similar environment? Or was Mozart an oddity? Based on the last two questions, to what extent do either genes or environment play in determining someone’s talents?
Lauren Young (laurenyoung19@aol.com)
Mozart's story is a strange one. It was the perfect storm of genes and environment working in synch with eachother to cause a child who, at the time, seemed to accel so increadibly in his musical abilities. Mozart's harsh upbringing was caused by how harsh his father was. He was "so overbearing when it came to rearing the young Mozart" that there was no way for Mozart to compromise in the amount of work he would put into his studies. Mozart also had the initial knack for music and a keen ear that at his young age couldnt have been taught to him.
ReplyDeleteBecause Mozart had such an inclination toward the music initially it is clear that there was an inner excitment toward music and that, because his father was so involved in music, Mozart would of course be indoctrinated at birth. It is possible that if Mozart were to have been an adopted child and not of blood from the Mozart family, that Leopold wouldnt have been as invested and wouldnt have tried as hard, and pushed as much to get Amadeus to succeed. But despite that fact, I think that a child with that much indoctrination and exposure to music from birth will have a greater chance of becoming great than a child not born into, or raised in that type of family. I know from experience, that parents that are passionate about one thing usually raise a child who has a similar passion and tend to go in that direction. The opposite can also be true. If parents push too hard and dont have strong enough authority, the child could lean toward rebellion and do the complete opposite of the intended result.
Genes play a role in the parents passing down the inclinations toward music, but the environment either supplies that initial interest with fuel or allows it to be extinguished if it is not cultivated.
Source: http://www.jwu.edu/uploadedFiles/Documents/Academics/JWUHonPaperMozartDNV.pdf
Hannah Perl (hannahperl94@gmail.com)
Based on the GxE theory, I believe that Mozart would not have achieved the same level of greatness had he been raised in a different family. Had he developed in a family that did not appreciate music to the extent that his did, he would not have had an early exposure to it. Additionally, he would not have had the capability to practice playing an instrument. As stated in Shenk's book "[This] Data suggests that the changes in hippocampal gray matter... are acquired."(35) I believe something similar occurred with Mozart. Due to his massive amount of exposure to music from the moment of his birth, Mozart's brain developed in such a way that he could hear every note in exquisite detail. This allowed him to become the musical prodigy that he was.
ReplyDeleteHad the Mozart family adopted a son or daughter I believe that son or daughter would also have grown up to be a talented musician. I cannot say if they would have been a prodigy to the extent that Mozart was but I can say that they would certainly have had enough exposure music to have developed into musicians. In regards to talent, my personal view is the same as Hannah's. I believe that talent is merely an inclination towards being a musician in the genes and then the talent is cultivated by the parents and/or the environment around the child as he or she matures. Using myself as an example, I started playing Chess when I was 4 years old but it was my fathers and grandfathers repeated challenges that kept me playing the game for several years. I quickly surpassed both my mentors but my "talent" at the game diminished due to no longer having a challenging player to assist me in improving my skills.
Vlad Miskevich (vladmiskevich@yahoo.com)