# Adam Neely (BASS!) YT video: What is Your Musical IQ? Harvard study



## Stringtree (Mar 2, 2020)

OK, I really had a tough time with the Philips "golden ears" test in the later stages.

This one purports to measure your musical IQ:



I don't know if we should share results or what. It was relatively painless to complete, about ten minutes or so.

What do y'all think?

Greg


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## Fredeke (Mar 7, 2020)

Like regular IQ, I don't dare to test mine.


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## Richard Wilkinson (Mar 7, 2020)

In my defence, I was listening quietly on laptop speakers - also I didn't realise some of the beat matching examples would be so close so I got thrown by a couple.


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## robgb (Mar 7, 2020)

I got basically the same score he did, but different in different categories. Oh, and I'm pretty sure some of my answers were actually correct. No, really. I think they got it wrong.


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## Zero&One (Mar 7, 2020)




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## Stringtree (Mar 7, 2020)

That graph is an actual picture of my brain.

So my best facility, according to testy-test, is beat alignment; the other two I lagged in. WTH happened? I sing. I've played French horn and oboe, and I've sung in bands. I though I was pretty good at that sorta thing.

So I guess I'm similiar to Zero&One in the results. I didn't save the individual graphs. All I got was a dumb PNG.

I think I can read this graph. Two axes are apparent. The one on the right, I dunno. I'm further demonstrating the low figures I should expect in tests in general.

Meh. How will this help me? What will the researchers learn?

Anything to distract from making more music, I suppose.

Greg


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## MartinH. (Mar 7, 2020)

I did way better than I expected in 2 of the tests and with the overall score, and I'm not sure I fully understood the one where I did so poorly. 

To me it felt like a pattern recognition test. I don't think it's fair to call it "musical IQ".


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## Stringtree (Mar 7, 2020)

I’m feeling like I posted metaclickbait. Eep.


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## ProfoundSilence (Mar 7, 2020)

In order for this to truly he an IQ it would have to be taken by regular non musician people as well. 

maybe I'll take the test later, how long is it?


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## ptram (Mar 8, 2020)

Here are mines. In my defence, I must say that I'm never sure if a country/western singer is in tune, and most of the mistuning examples where of this type of music. I did no mistake in the few, more 'classical' tests.


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## ProfoundSilence (Mar 8, 2020)

115.

Melodic Descrimination: 124
Mistuning Perception: 108
Beat Alignment: 112


what I didn't like were both examples being out of tune - and it's kind of fuzzy how they decide which is "more" out of tune.

Same issue with the beep rhythm - I remember one was rushing and the other dragging(whiplash reference) and yet it was going to be a 50/50% split which was more out of time. Likewise, using a beep is soft on both ends, with no sharp transient and can easily be partially masked by the harmonic content. Again, when neither the music nor the beep is reliably on time in either example - who gets to decide which is "more" in time.

The melodic one I did pretty well on, considering the hell that is arbitrary notes slapped around in unstructured flurries. There wasn't anything motivic about them - so I have a hard time calling any of those melodies to discriminate against. Likewise many were outright free, as one example clearly had pitches that didn't belong to it's tonal center.

So you've got very subjective answers to questions that should be objectively discernable, on top of oddly crafted (non musical) examples.


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## Will Blackburn (Mar 8, 2020)

111 let down by that melodic intervals one. 😦


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Mar 8, 2020)

I got bored during the 2nd question and turned it off.


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## ProfoundSilence (Mar 8, 2020)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> I got bored during the 2nd question and turned it off.


if you could just skip the tutorial at any time it would take way less time. 

granted been up for a while, so I wasn't in the mood to take my time(also knowing full well how fatigued my ears already where from mucking around with some stuff all night)


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