Is there a music gene – a gene in humans that passes down musical talent from parents to children or throughout a family?
Well, sort of, but not in the sense of a single “music gene.” Research suggests musical ability is partly inheritable and influenced by many genes with small effects, plus environment, training, and family exposure. Studies have linked traits such as music perception, memory, absolute pitch, and practice-related musical achievement to specific genes and genomic regions, but none of them guaranteed musical talent.
While we may not know exactly why or how music can run in families, there is no shortage of the offspring of famous artists becoming popular artists themselves. Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra; Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife Vivian Liberto; Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus; Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon; Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley, Norah Jones, daughter of Ravi Shankar; Adam Cohen, son of Leonard Cohen; Rufus and Martha Wainwright of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Wendy Wilson and Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phiips, daughter of Brian Wilson. And the list goes on.
In Mexico, the hereditary influence of music is very strong, often extending throughout whole families or clans. An early example is Alejandro Fernández, son of Vicente Fernández, a legendary Mexican ranchera singer and actor from the 1960s. Alejandro’s solo career took off in the 1990s, and his latest song, “El Rey” has 2 million streams as of this week. The granddaughter, Camila, has recently launched her own music career with over 600,000 listeners on Spotify.
Others include Ángela Aguilar, daughter of Pepe Aguilar and granddaughter of Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre; her brother Leonardo is also popular in regional music. Majo Aguilar the other granddaughter of Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre; is also building a successful career in music with close to a million followers on Spotify. Mía Rubín, daughter of Erik Rubín and Andrea Legarreta; José Manuel Figueroa, son of Joan Sebastian are also on the list. Then there is the Rivera clan: Jenni Rivera, Lupillo Rivera, Juan Rivera, Gustavo Rivera, Pedro Rivera Jr., and Chiquis Rivera of the sprawling musical family are making a splash.
I was thinking about these people and the influence of family and maybe genes this week when I interviewed the three Medeles brothers in Mariachi Real Ajijic for their upcoming concert at the Lakeside Little Theatre. The Medeles family is another great example of how music runs through a family: Chuni, Jaun Pablo, and Daniel Medeles are part of one of the most popular mariachis in the region ( Jaun Pablo and Daniel Medeles play in the band, Chuni handles production, although he is also an artist).
Daniel also runs the Pedro Rey School of Mariachi; their cousin from another side of the family runs CREM (Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales) a major music school that regularly performs in top-shelf venues locally. The brothers’ grandfather and father were well-known musicians. The daughters are also touched with music family magic, playing cello, dancing, and working on production if the mariachi concerts.
So even if scientists can’t find a “music gene”, somehow music manages to magically travel throughout many family trees, making music truly a family affair.
Patrick O’Heffernan
Photo. Frank Sinatra and daughter. Credit: CBS Television, public domain through Wikimedia
