Handedness and Musical Ability: A Study of Professional Orchestral Players, Composers, and Choir Members

Abstract

The handedness of three groups of accomplished musicians (623 instrumentalists, 331 composers, and 584 choir members) was assessed using a standard questionnaire (Oldfield, 1971). While the three groups of musicians did not differ from one another, there was evidence of a modest, but significant, increase in the proportion of left-handers and mixed-handers among the musicians when compared with a normal population. It was found, for example, that 12-2% of the male and 11-8% of the female musicians were lefthanded as defined by the Laterality Quotient (Oldfield, 1971). These figures compared with 8-5% male and 7 3% female left-handers in their respective age-matched control groups. Further evidence of an increased proportion of left-handed musicians was found for the single item, writing hand. This latter finding suggests that the differences in handedness were not simply a consequence of musical training.