The smartest member of a band, according to science
A musical band can be many things, but above all else, it seems to be a constant battle of ego. Musicians, more than most people, are usually awash with a sense of their own importance and, in fairness, it is easy to see why. Anybody who creates artwork or anybody who is creative in general must, to some extent, believe in what they are doing. A side effect of this is that bands, over the years, have been torn apart by arguments and ego battles over who is the most intelligent member of the band. Fear not, though; the world of science has the answer. So, calm down and put off the break-up press release for the next few minutes.
For much of rock and roll history, guitarists and lead singers have been seen as the driving force behind artistry. The songwriting partnerships of people like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones or Morrissey and Johnny Marr gave rise to a, perhaps misguided idea that guitarists and singers are the main creative drive for bands. Those two musicians do all the songwriting, while the bassists and drummers of the world are seen as being more malleable and easy-influenced, existing only to achieve the vision of the singers and guitarists.
While this cliché set-up for bands has changed somewhat in the modern age, as rock and pop music embraces new and innovative instrumentation. In a widespread sense, though, that sentiment still rings true.
You would be forgiven for thinking, therefore, that the smartest member of your band is either the guitarist or the singer. After all, anybody who has ever attempted to learn the guitar will tell you that it is incredibly difficult and requires a very specific way of thinking. According to science, though, the brains of your band lie farther back on the stage.
Just as guitarists are viewed as creative geniuses driving their art forward, drummers are regularly viewed as the wildest members of the group. Given their penchant for whacking things with sticks, drummers have amassed an image of being simple-minded, almost neanderthal in character – so much so that Jim Hensen created a muppet based on that image. According to the people in white coats, however, drummers are far more likely to be intelligent problem solvers with a talent for analytical thinking.
Research from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm back in 2008 showed a link between being able to keep a steady rhythm and problem-solving. While that might sound like a pretty tenuous link to intelligence, the study also found that drummers were more likely to have higher levels of ‘white matter’ in their brains, which is said to help in problem-solving, analysis and time management.
Of course, the image of drummers as being disposable, simple-minded brutes is fairly limited to the sphere of rock and roll anyway. Anybody who has ever listened to jazz drummers like Elvin Jones or Gene Krupa would surely admit that drummers are no less musically proficient than any other band members. These studies, on the other hand, suggest that drummers may be the most technically intelligent and skilled members of any group, regardless of genre.
