Research into musical personality has been ongoing for many years.  Trying to figure out this modality is possibly the key to understanding the talent in which a young musician has and how they tend to form their craft.

It is said that between two personalty traits, Introvert and Extrovert, Introverts will tend to practice in seclusion at ease where their extrovert counterparts will find periods of separation a lot more difficult.

Does this mean that introvert personality makes a better musician?

‘Introverts tend to direct their energies inwards towards a more subjective response to what goes on around them’,  ‘This can take the form of painting, writing stories, making up rhymes, or improvising’.  ‘These forms of creativity tend to blend well with the musicians personality which incorporate a sense of sensitivity and intuition, which is needed in performance’. (2002)

When I think about drummers, I think about introvert personalty, I think about the hours of practice in seclusion, happily running through parts and improvising.  I am not, however, an introvert, I fall between the category of introvert and extrovert.

We also have to remember that your personalty is equally influenced by genetic and environmental factors, So if you feel you have inherited your drummer fathers extrovert personality (sorry kids) then you will enjoy the social settings of what singing provides. 

Music lessons at young age should be fun and playful, which will engage both personalties and teachers should be prepared to make lessons fun and engaging, not to go into the technical stuff first. Play a game with your student, I know parents are paying you good money to teach their child an instrument, however your job in the early sessions is to get them hooked on music.  Once you have got them hooked, they will move on to the next stage with ease.

Bibliography

Geldard, E., McPherson, G. and Parncutt, R. (2002). The science and psychology of music performance. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, pp.7,9.