Prodigies of music composition: cognitive abilities and developmental antecedents

Prodigies of music composition exhibit a range of cognitive skills that differentiate them from other prodigies. However, there is little understanding of the nature of these skills, how they are acquired, and how they might develop. In addition to extensive musical knowledge and technical skills that also characterize other musical prodigies, the developmental transitions that occur from infant to prodigy to successful adult composer likely involve the acquisition of several personal, social, and cognitive skills. We review these skills, as well as the antecedents necessary to develop them, such as high levels of practice and social support. Finally, we propose a cognitive framework for investigating such skills and their development. We illustrate our conclusions with examples of prodigies of music composition.