tion. As far as we know, he had few, if any, opportunities to interact with mu-
sical instruments and was not encouraged to sing or to engage with music. His
precocit ywas first noticed at about the age of 6 years, when he spontaneousl y
reproducedatthepianoasongthatastaffmemberathisday-carecenterhad
just played. From the point on, he was given many opportunities and encour-
agements to interact with music and musical instruments, although nothing
approaching ‘‘instruction’’ was ever possible with this profoundl ynonverbal
individual. Even now his ‘‘lessons’’ consist of a pianist playing pieces that
NP then reproduces. A tape recording of his accomplishments at the age of
8 years shows memory and performance skills that were impressive for an
autistic child, though b yno means as polished and outstanding as his current
performances.
How did NP’s skill compare with ‘‘normal’’ skill at the various stages of his
life? At age 6 or 7, it was not clear that his memorization abilities were abnor-
mall ygood. Most untutored children of that age are capable of memorizing
short songs, and man ycan succeed in picking them out on a piano b ya process
of trial and error. What distinguished NP at that age was his abilit yto map his
internal knowledge of songs directl yand without error onto the piano ke y-
board and to choose appropriate fingering patterns. His performances of tonal
music have always been characterized by an absence of hesitation or experi-
mentation, no doubt assisted b yhis possession of absolute pitch. We have no
information that would help us to explain how NP acquired his knowledge
without having had an yknown opportunit yto practice before the age of 6.
For the period of his earl ytwenties, the comparison with normals showed a
somewhat different pattern. His technical accomplishments were then not un-
usual. Man yreasonabl yproficient pianists can choose appropriate fingerings
for musical passages immediatel yand automaticall y. What made NP quite un-
usual was thelength of the musical material he could commit to accurate
memor yafter a single hearing. This is a skill shared b yfew adults at an ylevel
of musical expertise, although there are adult musicians of m yacquaintance
who claim that the ycould do what NP does when the ywere age 12 or 13. The y
no longer can do it, because it has not seemed interesting or worthwhile for
them to practice and maintain that particular skill.
We ma yask what conditions seem to be associated with the acquisition of
the expertise of NP and other savants. The first common factor seems to be a
high degree of intrinsic motivation for engagement with a single activit ysus-
tained over man y years. Such motivation usuall yhas a strong obsessional
component, in that given freedom, the savant will spend all available time on
the activity, without ever tiring of it.
The second factor is an environment that provides frequent opportunities for
the practice of the skill in question. In the case of a musical savant, this may
include the provision of regular access to instruments, broadcast media, and
musical events. It is possible to suppose that whatever level of cultural depri-
vation NP suffered during his earliest years, he at least would have been ex-
posed to music through the broadcast media.
The third factor is, of course, the exceptional amount of time spent in cogni-
tive engagement with the materials and activities relevant to the skill in ques-
tion (practice). It is difficult to estimate the amount of time NP spent thinking
Musical Expertise 571