On Multiple Musical Intelligences: Revising Gardner's Seminal Theory

• In Event: Investigating Musical Learning and Assessment

Abstract

The purpose of this theoretical study is to reconceptualize Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences to account for neuroscience research that has revealed the complexity of cognitive processes associated with musicking. Despite sound evidence to support Gardner's theory, recent research on the neural connections that form through music has exposed a reality more complicated than the hypothesis Gardner initially proposed, demanding a deeper engagement with the underlying tenets of MI in three specific areas: the dissociability of musical capacities; the profound influence of culture on development and cognition; ; and the intricate overlap between music, language, and sensory perception in the brain.

Author

• Andrew Aprile, Queens College - CUNY