Perk: Singing based on IQ

[Alden Loveshade]

Singing is, by default, a HT-based skill. By paying for Attribute Substitution from GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks pg. 15, do you think it would be valid to base Singing on IQ?

[Refplace]

Possible, based on HT makes the most sense to me though.
Singing is about projecting properly and knowing how to follow or remember the lyrics. So there is a learned component to it.
However its really a very physical activity, especially if your doing it for awhile.

[whswhs]

Conceivably, especially for a highly artistic style. But Per might be a closer fit, covering things like sense of pitch.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Conceivably, especially for a highly artistic style. But Per might be a closer fit, covering things like sense of pitch.

I must admit I had thought of Per before as a possibility for that very reason, and had forgotten it when I posted. Thanks.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Refplace

...Singing is about projecting properly and knowing how to follow or remember the lyrics. So there is a learned component to it...

That's largely the direction I was thinking of, that and following and remembering notes.

[dataweaver]

Frankly, Singing is no more of a physical activity than playing a tuba is. I see no problem with basing both Singing and Musical Instrument off of the same attribute — though if I had to pick one, I'd be more likely to go with Perception than either HT or IQ.

But then, I'm also of the opinion that Perception should be the base attribute for most skills that are primarily about aesthetics, whether it's visual (Artist, Makeup, or Photography), auditory (Mimicry, Musical Instrument, Singing, or Ventriloquism), or olfactory (Cooking). Perception works best for each of these because the most important feature is picking up on subtleties in the medium and whether the overall sensory effect is pleasing (attractive visual, pleasant sound, delicious taste, etc) and adjusting accordingly. These skills are all about the sensory experience.

[JazzJedi]

I'm of the opinion that Musical Aptitude is more closely related to IQ than any other attribute. I've been a music teacher at university for 20 years, and my brightest students are usually the most musical as well. I've had many students who were seriously athletic (including a professional Hockey player and an Olympic-level cross-country skier) with obvious high HT, but little in the way of musical aptitude. Perception is interesting, but I've never seen any evidence that the ability to relate pitch in any musical sense is related to acuity of hearing. General intelligence seems the most reliable to me, but this isn't always the case either! I've had brilliant students (including a retired heart surgeon and both his kids who all became surgeons) who were clearly high IQ but chronic over-thinkers with very stiff technique and poor musical instincts.

I've also toyed with the idea that Musical Aptitude is basically a rarely used fifth stat that is equal to 10 + Musical Ability level. It's not really worth taking the talent unless you are going to learn 2 or more musical skills. If I ever run a Rock-Opera campaign, or maybe a film-noir campaign with Jazz musicians from the 50s, I'd consider tweaking the rules this way. But unless it's a major campaign theme, I'd base all music skills on IQ and leave it.

But for added realism, I also think that low HT does affect Singing and Wind Instruments especially. Having high HT isn't much of a bonus in my experience, but I've seen older musicians whose health degrades suddenly struggle to play or sing. So maybe the base musical attribute is equal to the lower of 10 or HT. That would cover that.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Frankly, Singing is no more of a physical activity than playing a tuba is....But then, I'm also of the opinion that Perception should be the base attribute for most skills that are primarily about aesthetics, whether it's visual (Artist, Makeup, or Photography)....

I've done makeup for theatre, and a lot of photography for newspapers, some for other publications, ceremonies, etc. I hadn't actually thought of it that way, but that makes sense to me. When I'm doing my own makeup, the entire universe is what's in the mirror; when setting up a photo, the entire universe is what's in my viewfinder.

There's the thought that photographers have the delusion "When I'm looking through a camera lens, nothing can hurt me;" I know I've done things looking through a camera lens that I would never do without a camera. I've lain on the ground next to a railroad track to get shots of a train, stood on a narrow railing in the middle of a busy freeway to get a shot of an overturned car, and once almost got caught in a forest fire trying to get the right camera angle. My reasoning mind seemed to largely shut down during those times; it was all about what I could see and record. So yeah, Per makes sense to me.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by JazzJedi

I'm of the opinion that Musical Aptitude is more closely related to IQ than any other attribute. I've been a music teacher at university for 20 years, and my brightest students are usually the most musical as well....

I've heard that mathematicians are often good at music and visa versa. If you ignore the (admittedly huge) ascetic side of it, music is largely mathematical with ranges, rhythms, and frequencies/ratios/overtones. A musical staff is essentially a version of a mathematical graph. I also remember a university musical group that consisted of physics professors.

[a humble lich]

I think that IQ based singing makes a lot of sense for some characters. I would say it represents a singer who might not have the best sounding voice, but who is a skilled performer. Think singers like Rex Harrison, Bob Dylan, Johnny Rotton, or Tom Waits. They might not have a purest voice for opera, but that hasn't stopped them for selling many albums. That style of singing is really more like Performance, which is IQ based.