The Crystallizing Experience: A Study in Musical Precocity

Abstract

This study examines the nature of musical precocity and the mechanisms that mediate a “crystallizing experience.” Howard Gardner (1983) has made a cogent argument for the inclusion of musical intelligence in the spectrum of human intelligences. lie has proposed that this musical ability may evolve in different ways. One of these is the “crystallizing experience,” a dramatic event in a person's life that makes manifest inherent giftedness. The crystallizing experience may serve as a useful constrict for explaining how certain talented individuals first commit themselves to an area of giftedness. The present study involved 24 musically precocious boys of middle school age who were asked questions, individually and in focus groups, regarding the nature of crystallizing experiences. This study of the crystallizing experience revealed important implications for understanding the structure and composition of extraordinary performance.

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