Musical Genes

There’s a popular idea going around that if someone has any musical talent, s/he were magically born with that ability. A more accurate way to put it would be that most of us are born with the ability to make and/or enjoy music. [1]  We are the only species on earth the puts energy into making and listening to a series of tones and rhythms with no directly tangible meaning. Even songbirds tunes have a specified purpose and meaning, such as attracting mates or staking out territory. The bird’s beautiful trills are largely instinctual, programmed into their nervous system since birth. We humans can write original music and improvise. But why? Why are humans obsessed with music? Why do we even bother to spend time making and listening to music at all?

Sheet music.
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Perhaps humans evolved into a music-loving group because we are social creatures and music is way to communicate and bond with one another. Maybe musical ability is the product of sexual selection, being musically gifted can be seen as attractive. It’s possible that music doesn’t give us any evolutionary advantages at all - we merely like the sound, repetition, and comfort of music.

DNA Helix.
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Another theory is that early language was combined with music, but gradually the two separated. The Neanderthals are suspected to have communicated through tonal sounds similar to singing, but gradually phonetic language became dominate as it allowed early hominins to be more articulate. Some languages today, like Mandarin Chinese are still highly tonal.

People who grew up speaking tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, are more likely to have perfect pitch than those whose first language was non-tonal. Some studies show there is a gene for perfect pitch, but this claim is disputed. Perfect pitch is more of a combination of genetic advantage and the environment. Actually every person (with the exception of those with amusia, or hearing loss) can hear pitches correctly, it’s just the naming and matching of these pitches that confuses some of us. It’s odd that we can hear pitches but not name or reproduce them, that’s almost like being able to see colors, but not being able to name or match them. Really, instead of wondering why some people have perfect pitch and others don’t we should be wondering why all of us don’t have perfect pitch.

Sometimes specific genes of musicians can influence their ability. For example, having flexible or large hands can help a pianist or violinist play more complex passages. Paganini, a famous violinist in the early 1800s, may partially owe his success to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disease that prevents collagen formation. Collagen strengthens ligaments, with this strength comes stiffness.

Paganini drawing  by Ingres
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Without collagen Paganini could stretch his hands way more than the average person, allowing him to accomplish incredible feats on the violin. Ehlers-Danlos might have been a blessing to Paganini in some ways, but the disease may have also contributed to Paganini’s early death. Genetic problems can also hinder musicians. Schumann suffered from focal dystonia, a muscle loss disorder that prevented him from playing some pieces.

These genetic advantages/disadvantages influence physical ability to play music, but not musicality itself. While the idea that specific genes program our musicality is likely just a rumor, the human race as a whole may have a “musical gene.” Otherwise why would we be the only species that makes music? What genes these are and how they work is unknown.

Even if there is no genetic basis for musicality, scientists have found ways to make our genes musical by coding songs into bacterial DNA. A Chopin nocturne was coded into DNA, and strangely the sequence resembled that of the gene for RNA polymerase, which is needed for transcribing DNA. Genetic sequences have also been coded into songs by assigning each base a note (A, G, C, and E).

Sources.

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[1] People with disorders such as amusia, or hearing loss may not enjoy music.