Is Musical Talent Inherited ?

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck (1744-1829), thankfully often just known as "Lamarck", was a French soldier, naturalist, academic and an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws.

According to Lamarck any characteristic that any person has is inherited by their parents.  That would obviously mean that musical talent is inherited also.

Whether or not the talent is recognized or developed depends other many factors such as social environment, desire and practice, etc.

There are many great examples of musical families:

* The Jacksons
* The Osmonds.
* Nat King Cole and daughter Natalie
* The Jonas Brothers (yea, them too)

I am a musician myself, and my youngest son has very good musical talent and shows it.  My oldest son – well I can’t say if he has talent or not, I just have never seen it.  In other words, he has never had the musical desire.  That’s not to say it might not pop up later in, or reappear in his own children.

This entire process can be reversed too as neither my father or mother had shown any musical talent.   Now that is not to say they did not have it, but that talent was never developed to at least the point of learning to play an instrument.

There is no doubt in my mind that musical talent is inherited.