Are you a musical prodigy? Take this scientific music IQ test

5 July 2022, 13:53 | Updated: 8 July 2022, 11:43

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

Find out if you’re a musical prodigy, with Harvard University’s musical IQ test.

Ever wondered what your IQ would be when it comes to music? Researchers at Harvard University have created a test – now played by more than two million people – to find out how you make sense of the music you hear.

Created by The Music Lab, which is based in Harvard’s Psychology department, the test is part of several games on the lab’s website, including a tone deafness test.

“We study how the mind works,” we are told in the introduction. “Specifically, in this research we are investigating how people make sense of music they hear. “We will play you some sounds. You can use speakers or headphones. We will ask you questions about what you hear.”

The 20-minute test involves three stages, with each stage testing your ability in the following categories; Beat Alignment, Melodic Discrimination, and Mistuning Perception.

In each test section, quiz-takers are given two musical extracts to listen to, each with a slight variation. But can you tell the difference?

Grab a pair of headphones, find a quiet room, and why not take the quiz now.

Read more: Study says learning a musical instrument increases your IQ by 10 percent

Violinist takes on Harvard Music IQ Test

Take the musical IQ test here >

The Harvard test has been shared by musical content creators since its inception in 2019.

Test-takers range from social media sensation TwoSet Violin, to jazz musician Adam Neely, to violinist Ray Chen. But can you get a better score than any of them?

And if this test whets your appetite, the Harvard music lab has a whole lot more where that came from...