The Musicality of Genetics

When Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the first Piano in 1655, music would forever be changed. The complex hand-eye coordination and muscle memory needed to play the piano is unprecedented and takes years to master, let alone learn. It is thought that the ability to learn, play, and understand music was genetically inherited; that the musically inclined have a gene needed to play such classics such as Bach and Chopin.

Dexterity and music ability are not necessarily inherent. One study found that about 50% of a 224 sample were found to be musically inclined. They were given standard musical aptitude tests that were designed to identify musical pitch and tone. Such an ability may seem trivial, but genetically, it can be found in almost anyone ranging from complete amateurs to people who have a background in music. Several DNA sequences were actually identified from the study and were correlated with music ability. One such sequence involved the hairs within a human ear in which vibrations could ascertain different pitch and sounds. It is still not conclusive to say genetics and music are inherent, since I play multiple instruments, and my family family struggles to even understand what they hear, but some generalizations on nature rather than nurture can be made. 

Link to Main Music Article

Link to Further Research on Music Ability 

Dopamine Levels with Music are Actually Influenced by Genetics

Source ArticleBrain on Music
Music can have varying effects on a person's feelings or on how they behave based off the possibility that music has an influence on one's levels of dopamine. In a new study conducted by Professor Elvira Brattico in two Italian hospitals with the help of the University of Helsinki, researchers were able to identify that variations within the genetic sequence which codes for dopamine receptors are what determines how one will react to music and sounds. They determined that based off of a GT and GG phenotype that there will be different reactions from each person.
GT subjects reacted to music with a mood improvement, and GG subjects reacted to sound with mood deterioration. Information such as this can greatly help with people who have abnormalities within their dopamine levels and with more research into the topic can perhaps provide types of therapies can be created.
The experiment description within the article is not very specific, and it is possible that it may have an effect on the results. The article simply describes the music as music and sound as sound, and claimed that sound was bad for dopamine levels on GG subjects and music was good for GT subjects. What was the effect of music on GT subjects and the effect of sound on GG subjects? What types of sounds were being played because naturally if a researcher blasts loud nails on a chalk board sounds into one's ears they will most likely react negatively and their mood will decline.