US Ranks 8th In Musical Intelligence

More than 26,000 respondents from 25 countries took an eMusic sponsored Music Intelligence test designed to determine whether they have a well-rounded music collection.  The survey revealed that Icelandics have the highest average national music IQ with a score of 119.

The homeland of Bjork, The Sugar Cubes and Sigur Ros beat Switzerland who came second with 113 points and Ireland with 111 points. Other countries to demonstrate better than average music intelligence...

were The United States (101), France (100) and Sweden (101). The UK came in an equal fourth with Spain. At the other end of the scoreboard Israel, Mexico and Finland couldn’t tell their Kinks from their krunk, only managing 85 points.

The Music Intelligence questionnaire was developed by musicians, industry experts and journalists in conjunction with eMusic. Covering every genre and era of music, the questions ranged from Beethoven to The White Stripes.

THE TOP 10

1. Iceland 119   
2. Japan   112   
3. Ireland 107   
4. Spain   106   
5. Great Britain   106   
6. New Zealand     104   
7. Sweden  101   
8. United States   101   
9. France  100   
10. Canada  100