The psychology of musical talent [electronic resource] / by Carl Emil Seashore.

Boston ; New York : Silver, Burdett and Co., [c1919]

xvi, 288 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

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Electronic reproduction. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association, 2011. Available via World Wide Web. Access limited by licensing agreement.

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"This monograph is addressed to students of applied psychology. The scientific study of the artistic mind is a somewhat baffling undertaking. There are no substantial precedents; the available scientific data are extremely meager; by nature the artist himself is but little interested in the process of his mental dissection; and, after all, the varieties of artistic minds are legion. But the time is ripe for a vigorous application of the technique of psychological inventory to practical affairs, and the discovery and fostering of human talents is indeed both practical and practicable. The system of evaluation of musical talents to be reviewed in this book will find a large field of usefulness in the elementary schools. A set of exercises is being worked out for the introduction of some of the most important tests in this series as a part of the regular instruction in certain grades of the elementary schools. This will secure a sort of "dragnet" survey of musical talents, as all the children in the community will be reached when they pass through these grades. It will stimulate an interest in the search for talent and efforts in the conservation of talent on the part of all concerned, particularly the teachers. Among the pupils it will cause a wholesome awakening to a recognition of their particular talents. For teachers of music it will stimulate the recognition of responsibility for the talented children of the community. It will be a part of the coming system of vocational and avocational advice, and should be a potent instrument in the development of community interest in music. The tests themselves constitute very profitable musical exercises. If the great musicians can live before us in the wonderful reproduction of the modern phonograph, tone-producing instruments employed in the measurement of musical talent might equally well be made to perform for popular presentation through this medium. To test this assumption we made accurate measurements of the reliability of the reproduction in phonograph records and found that, for most purposes, such a record is as good as the original instruments and that in some respects the record has an advantage over the original instrument in that it makes it possible to standardize the test material with accuracy. The first series entitled "Measures of Musical Talent" is started with five double disk records, each illustrating a basic test as follows: the sense of pitch (Chapter II) , the sense of intensity (Chapter II ), the sense of time (Chapter IV), the sense of consonance (Chapter VII) , and musical memory (Chapter XII). A second series embraces the motor tests. For this there are available instruments and methods for the measurement of timed action, rhythmic action, motility, singing in pitch, and other tests as outlined in Chapters I and X. The use of these is more limited because the test can be made only upon one individual at a time; but their application is of broader significance inasmuch as they measure basic capacities for many occupations besides music. This volume is primarily a collective and elementary presentation of the results of investigation by the author and his pupils and associates and must, therefore, go forth essentially as a communication from our laboratory, which is devoted largely to the study of the psychology of music. Limits of space preclude a more general and historical treatment"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Ovid Psycbooks.

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June 25, 2014