Resonate

There may be a connection between the length of one’s index and ring fingers and musical ability, according to an article in USA Today earlier this week.

Like a typical USA Today article, it doesn’t give the name of the study nor the scientists involved. But it does suggest that the ratio of index finger to ring finger is the best way to measure a person’s prenatal testosterone exposure.

Scientists found that most men have longer ring fingers than index fingers, and women tend to have index and ring fingers of equal length. Also, researchers have found that:

– Male symphony orchestra musicians have lower finger ratios than less-musical men.

– Heterosexual men have lower ratios than homosexual men.

– People with lower ratios tend to do better on certain tests of spatial ability.

 After I read the article, I looked at several of my friends’ hands. Indeed, the musicians had low finger ratios, while the not-so-musical guys had higher ratios. So maybe there is something to it.

But in the article, Michigan State neuroscience professor Marc Breedlove suggests that finger ratios may not be the best predictor of abilities:

             ‘”I wish it was a better marker … of prenatal testosterone,” he says. “It’s not a very good correlation. It’s easy to find women who have more masculine ratios than some men.”‘

So basically, it’s feasible that one’s finger ratio could indicate musical aptitude. And even though women and men tend to have different finger ratios, either gender can have promising fingers for a career in music.