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Biographical Precursors of Musical Excellence: An Interview Study

Forty-two students (aged 10-18) from a special school for musically gifted children were interviewed. Twenty of their parents were also interviewed. The interviews provided exhaustive information about the students' musical life prior to enrolling at the school. It was found that most students did not show any particular signs of early musical promise, and that most parents took an active role in supervising and encouraging the child's progress. The more highly accomplished students tended to come from less musically active families, and tended to have had fewer early lessons than the less highly accomplished students. The most able students had not devoted more time to practice than the others, but their practice time was more evenly distributed between a number of instruments. Results are discussed in terms of social and motivational influences on learning and development.