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Musical inventiveness of five idiots-savants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

B. Hermelin ,
N. O'Connor  and
S. Lee
B. Hermelin*
Affiliation:
MRC Developmental Psychology Project, Institute of Education, London
N. O'Connor
Affiliation:
MRC Developmental Psychology Project, Institute of Education, London
S. Lee
Affiliation:
MRC Developmental Psychology Project, Institute of Education, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr B. Hermelin, MRC Developmental Psychology Project, Institute of Education. 18. Woburn Square, London WC1H ONS.
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Synopsis

Accounts of musical ability in idiots-savants have up till now been confined to stressing the astounding musical memory which such persons may possess. The present study investigates compositional and improvisational skills in five idiots-savants. The findings are interpreted as indicating that a representational system of musical rules and structures is accessible to persons of low general intelligence, and that such a system may underlie reproductive as well as generative musical capacity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , August 1987 , pp. 685 - 694
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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