Violinist takes on Harvard Music IQ Test

[@RayChenViolinist]

Download my app Tonic today tonicmusic.app/join-in if you'd like join a community of musicians practicing together! 🎵 + Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this video please don't forget to "like" and "subscribe"!

[@vanilaaw]

Of course :^)

[@JohnZakivio]

Yes I do enjoy the video 😃

[@susius4211]

Very nice editing Ray!

[@christaherwig0404]

Very brave, good performance, as always with a lot of humor, thanks for that👌👏

[@prometheus8567]

yes, Asians do ace everything, I would know. This post was made by Asian gang

[@marusaslibrary]

We've seen Roomie do it, we've seen Brett and Eddy do it and now we'll see Ray do it... Hilary Hahn should do it next

[@preciousjewelamor]

Marusa_ adam neely look

[@vanilaaw]

Absolutely

[@faithnibbe7972]

YES!!

[@caitlin5930]

Marusa_ yeeeessss

[@quartz_936]

Yes!

[@oceanrains4775]

“Not because of my prestigious musical background but because I am Asian, and Asians ace everything” -Ray Chen 2020

[@manishsigdel824]

I'm Nepalese.... kinda sucks that I'm from Asia.. but am not an Asian. :(

[@valeaves]

Manish Sigdel Wait, what?

[@tryfail_failbetter]

And he did.

[@quartz_936]

Please. Im asian and I suck at math

[@susius4211]

Wait until someone gets offended by this lol.

[@mkawosz]

Ray: *has higher music IQ than 98% of people* Also Ray: I did kinda alright.

[@chapstikcrazy]

Hahahaha I loved that, made me laugh so hard. Uh, yeah Ray, you rocked it!

[@elmo7608]

But the higher % are all Asians

[@BrljoMrljo]

I totally do not wanna reveal my score. :((

[@angelDanJonathan]

I got 116 on this test and I don't even play an instrument. I just listen to Spotify with my trash headphones. Does this mean I have hidden listening abilities?

[@nick46285]

@@angelDanJonathan nah, 11x is like normal ppl

[@quinx5251]

Honestly, ray looks like he’s in his 20’s, did not expect him to be 31 tbh

[@ouassimzayani8806]

Asians don't age they are born a certain random age and stay like that until the day they die

[@kateonkeys1414]

optimise optimisé 💀

[@hugnboba]

Wait HE'S 31?!??

[@keistan2024]

WTF HE GENUINE LOOKS LIKE HE IS IN HIS 20’S

[@ryanw9122]

y’all realize that 31 is just two years more than someone’s 20’s right

[@tirzakharisma3566]

TwoSet's editor is editor-san. Raybae's editor is editor-chan. LOL cute. I appreciate every editor working hard.

[@cFatoss]

Ok i don't speak Japanese, so can you tell me the difference between - han and - chan😬😬

[@jullian_work]

@@cFatoss chan is used for female, kun is for male, san is for both genders and sama is for people of a higher rank

[@tirzakharisma3566]

It's more complicated than that. Chan can be used to both genders too. It's cuter and more casual, like to close friends or family. San is used as respect, to your not-so-close friends, older people, colleagues, someone you just met, etc. For example: I would call my little brother a 'chan' because we are close (and I think he's cute). I can call him 'kun' too because he's younger than me, I just choose to call him a 'chan'. On the other hand I will call @cFatoss a 'san', because we never met, but I respect you anyway. Simple explanation: they are all honorifics. What you want to use depends on what you wanna choose and your relationship to the other individual. But here the editors use it merely to call themselves with something, not because of the complicated rules like above lol

[@fbi6893]

I ship editor-san and editor-chan

[@cFatoss]

@@tirzakharisma3566 thank you very much 😊😊 and I respect you too😄

[@mohdwalidmazlan6797]

This is the highest score I've ever seen.. Roomie, Adam Neely and Twoset all scored about 120

[@preciousjewelamor]

Mohd Walid Mazlan Curtis paid off ah nope he’s just super Asian

[@feb5th]

Because he is lingling

[@drewsu8570]

Just have to wait for Jacob collier now...

[@alephbunchofnumbers]

Lmao I feel less bad about my score of 110 then

[@Mili-bt8wp]

I got 139 Prozent in this test :D

[@LG-fn4sk]

when you're in the top 2% "eh, not bad" so humble uwu

[@XMansive]

Not every musician took the test so 2% doesn't mean you're top 2% in the world, but it's definitely "not bad"

[@AndySaenz]

L G uwu?

[@Waddaa06]

@@XMansive You don't need every person in the world to take a test to make a statiscal assumption. Also, I bet there's more musicians taking this test than non-musician people, so the normalization could be biased. I agree with the previous comment, he probably is at least in the top 1%.

[@agamaz5650]

but ray is probably the best living violinist, he should have had 100

[@wayneliang4524]

Ray chen: I am asian and asians ace everything Also ray chen: if the test is about reading i am going to fail

[@PlugInKali]

Does better than 98% of people. He still says his performance is "not bad" and puts a test graded with an F on the thumbnail... Seriously, Ray...?

[@lunacraftcrochet]

He's using the Asian scale.

[@MagisterialVoyager]

@@lunacraftcrochet big mood

[@fengpost]

Click bait

[@yeah2152]

100% or higher is Asian standards

[@aalegalfocus]

@@fengpost yeah, I was going to say the same thing! I clicked & watched.

[@hahaaha5594]

Ray: “Not because of my prestigious musical background but because I am Asian, and Asians ace everything” Brett and Eddy: *Cries*

[@thejokingwizard]

Is ling ling asian

[@syfou725]

@@thejokingwizard ling ling is all nationalities and no nationalities *at the same time*

[@yumpikamdak2221]

Even amongst Asians, there is one who is better than you.. Lol🤣

[@Grace-ec5hb]

Me: cries in asian

[@hugnboba]

Bruh Brett and Eddy scored better than like 85% of the people that took the test. Ray was just REALLY good, and Breddy were good.

[@Luumus]

I'm pretty sure that the researchers at Harvard University must be super happy with all the social media hype about their IQ test. Usually you have to force/pay people to answer your research surveys, must be pretty weird having thousands of people excited about it instead

[@claytonr.young-music912]

Luumus Volunteering makes the survey not random, though.

[@frostykittens]

Itll be the best you can get within irb standards tho

[@bobbywu7701]

Ray: *literally better than 98% of the players Also Ray: "its not bad...."

[@cgsze]

*suffers in perfect pitch*

[@studioaperture]

I find it interesting that he's also mentioned that beep "wasn't crisp enough" on the beat alignment test. Adam Neely also mentioned on his video that beep "doesn't have a sharp transient". Might be something worth writing to the test developers about. Anyway, Ray, awesome video as always!

[@wakingtheworld]

Maybe to make the test harder. Got 100% in this section (but hasten to add, one big fat zero for the other two)

[@norkrabiengnaisuanlungban]

I watched twoset do the test before and when your score shows up it makes me laugh. They could have heart attack when they see your score. 🤣🤣🤣

[@quartz_936]

There will always be an asian better than you even if you are also an asian.

[@cherryau9682]

Ray: 133 Brett and Eddy: 115 and 118 Why? Because geniuses are born, not created. Just kidding. Go practice!

[@moosh2790]

damn i got 126

[@nauka7565]

@@moosh2790 okay

[@月白-t4y]

Pretty sure brett will cry when he see this.

[@antonsupalov3855]

@@月白-t4y why, he will go practice more!

[@el-ps7fy]

OMG I have 122

[@MagdalenaHelen]

This is the highest score I've seen on the internet whaaaa! Funny how you weren't sure about when you sing out of tune yet your tuning perception score was through the roof! I think you'll know when you're singing out of tune :)

[@Mili-bt8wp]

My Score is 139

[@MagdalenaHelen]

@@Mili-bt8wp nice 👀

[@resourcedragon]

I know when I'm singing out of tune: any time I try to sing. For me the problem is not that I can't hear whether or not I am on the note but I don't have the throat/larynx/whichever part of the anatomy is involved control to get the note to where it should be.

[@MagdalenaHelen]

@@resourcedragon That's interesting. I think we all have this to some extent (for example, I have this with low notes; it's like I reach my limit and it won't budge another note; however, you can practise and extend your range (and I've done this too)). It's probably similar to this - you need to practice and it takes time for the mind and body to sync up (unless there are medical/ other problems of course)

[@ysf-d9i]

@@MagdalenaHelen it's very hard to hear yourself singing out of tune when you're singing. it's easy to hear if if you record it and then listen back to a recording.

[@Annie-og3hl]

These results actually make a lot of sense. Violinists are especially good at mistuning perception because their instruments don’t have frets. And Ray is a soloist, so it makes sense that his rhythm perception isn’t as good as his pitch perception.

[@lil_weasel219]

brett and ?? (i dont remember the pther one's name) one of them got 97 on mistuning, as a violinist. So nope

[@aalegalfocus]

@@lil_weasel219 Eddy.

[@Belfreyite]

Yes! Trombonists too?

[@mikevicsmff9946]

I’d really love to see Hilary answer this test

[@theingabo212]

yeh

[@gabisrluna]

I suggested this to TwoSet and now you’re doing it!

[@jakubkrticka9826]

I think they already did it

[@AliciaMarie-pianoplayer]

TwoSet did this about 2 weeks ago!

[@valeaves]

Twoset‘s video even is in this video :D 0:12

[@atrashbag8105]

Calling Ray Chen just a "Violinist" is an understatement.

[@lulusun1086]

Man Ray's reaction during the 2nd section was EXACTLY ME, confused af but at the same time still kinda knowing the answer but so puzzled by how edgy they are going with the audio clips

[@risingunity6446]

The identification of off and in-tune singing is definitely wayyy difficult! Because sometimes, singing off key just adds to dissonance, which might fit better depending on the musical accompaniment, than that of singing in tune ... 😅

[@pia7057]

Can I just mention that your streams are always so cool! High quality content!

[@vanilaaw]

Steam? Do you mean stream? :^0

[@nathanbrannan5228]

@@vanilaaw Nah he got cool steam

[@pia7057]

@@vanilaaw sorry, I mean stream haha

[@ViolinLover365]

@@nathanbrannan5228 smoking hot

[@berkecan4069]

btw professional musician and soloist uses Wii music in his background.

[@resourcedragon]

The melody test is a killer because the "melodies" they used don't make any actual melodic sense to me, so that trying to remember 3 random (but similar) selections of notes defeats me. Like you, I could manage to spot that "2 and 3 were different" (well, some of the time) but I could not remember whether 1 was the same as 2 or 3. (I'm basing this on watching other people do the test.)

[@vieven7964]

Late reply but it'd probably be easier to remember the progression of the notes instead of the notes themselves. For example, 1) up up up down down up, 2) up up down down down up, 3) same as 1. So odd one out is 2. That said I only scored 113 in melodic discrimination so I dunno if it helps 😅

[@nojegieg]

I guess it's probably even more difficult with absolute pitch because you have to transpose everything in your mind and can't just go for the relative structure of the melody?

[@achan4142]

I scored 129 on melodic discrimination 🙂

[@Biditchoun]

@@nojegieg It's actually easier with perfect pitch, as you just add a # in front of each note to get your next melody or transpose one note up, which is not hard at all either

[@MegaPagliacci]

My musical IQ seems to be negative 5. That can’t be good, how do I break the news to my piano?

[@ViolinLover365]

through careless whisper

[@MegaPagliacci]

@@ViolinLover365 i tried that and I ended up honking like a goose. That negative 5 music IQ is showing.

[@lukasdon0007]

Don't worry, you don't need musical IQ to play piano. You just press buttons and sound comes out.

[@ankavoskuilen1725]

It doesn't matter as long as the piano is tuned (well tempered)

[@ViolinLover365]

@@MegaPagliacci Careless whisper 40 hours a day, I guess. And your piano will beg for more.

[@rubyzlan]

So Ray used to be a Viola King 👑

[@katie4623]

Really respect how at the end you tried to tell people not to get too hung up on this test without totally dissing the test and it’s worth. You’re a great guy.

[@monolog469]

I like the fact that Ray is producing content on his channel!

[@clairetsui8604]

when ur past a point and they all start to sound the same

[@steamedbryce]

I feel this on an emotional level

[@kattysaclayan1233]

OMG that “Ling Ling 40 hours” cameo gave me so much JOY 🤣

[@yosoykibbles]

I learned that Ray is a musical genius and needs practice on reading skills. 😂✌🏼 that part were you almost thought you did the same as 98% of people just cracked me up. the disbelief in your eyes that you were not special and everyone who took it is just the same as you😂😂😂😂😂 peace!! and you are a genius!❤❤❤✨✨

[@sophiajia2972]

warning: don't take the test if you don't have much musical background. you will cry. i cried. but I've been playing piano for 10 years welp

[@toncatsu4691]

Just practice 40 hours a day

[@Heldor100]

Studied music for three years in middle school (compulsory here) but never kept on practicing, yet I scored 129 :/ maybe I just have a good ear, or maybe it's cause I listen to all kinds of music all day

[@beldawilliams3282]

I've been playing violin for 3 years, and I got a little over average on this test.

[@Squisky]

I play nothing. No musical training at all. But I love music and wanted to test myself. Got 107.... ☹️

[@akintomeatloaf]

Yeah, Jacob Collier name drop! That guy's insane!!! I'd love to see you react to some of his videos, e.g. his theory videos!

[@Musicrafter12]

When I did it I scored pretty awful at the melody comparison test. They're SOOO LOOOOONG! I couldn't fricking remember them by the time all three had played, let alone compare them.

[@MarLeiX2]

In a way you have to remember the second melody. I mean that you listen to the first, you compare it to the second. If they are the same then the third is the odd one out. If they are different you only have to concentrate on the second melody and compare it to the third. My memory is lame so that's what worked for me. That one note that was different showed me the way. (and I think it worked because I wasn't under pressure 🤪)

[@XavierFoley]

Ray Chen you probably don't remember me, but we met briefly when you sat next to me in the computer room in the 1726 locust st building my first year at Curtis. Anyways great content, keep it up!

[@manelmij]

Ray Chen's voice is really therapeutic.

[@Kevster7]

I tried this test before the twoset video and got a 111 overall. Honestly, I agree with Brett and Eddy that some of the questions were subjective and no one would have gotten them "technically" correct.

[@JiuWei_Mic]

For the question where it ask you "Can you tell if your singing is out of tune" it's basically asking you are you tone deaf which is definitely a no for you! So you should have chosen yes for that question.

[@quaintleaf1208]

this was so entertaining to watch! thank you for sharing! nice to see others of taiwanese descent on youtube (and in the music world)! sending love and appreciation from Boston, USA!

[@elainewu4955]

98! Wow! Boy Brett and Eddy dishonor their famiry! 😂

[@yuhyi0122]

Elaine Wu hahaha

[@eddyshair7880]

lol

[@anonymoussecret5948]

they got a 98? Seriously? I'm happy with my melody (130) but my beat was 98. That section was definitely hard.

[@elainewu4955]

Anonymous Secret Ray got a 98, Twoset got 80-something

[@YeahPerdonen77]

jaja i got 101, i won😎😎

[@averyesmith]

“I don’t discriminate melodies?” Oh ray I adore you

[@UnshavenStatue]

Honestly it's as much or more a test of short term memory and endurance of focus as actual musical skill. They could do a couple of things, such as giving testtakers a "continue" button between questions like Ray mentioned, that would remove the memory and focus from the equation and zoom in on the music skill alone.

[@ragytag]

This test is getting so famous now. Makes me curious I want to try it

[@silvera1109]

Loved this - I know it's a long time ago - but thanks for sharing

[@gerrykan3437]

Hi Ray: I learned of the test from Adam Neely today and took it. For pros like yourself I am not surprised with your results! Mine, although still lying on the right half of the bell curve, were much less impressive. Personally I also find the melodic discrimination test more difficult, mostly because I cannot remember all three synthetic 'melodies', especially when they are long. On the other hand, except for a very few close calls, the other two tests are relatively straightforward.

[@陳柏安-q5k]

very interesting video :> ty so much for sharing ;) good to see u there

[@murphykc]

98% = "overall not bad." You're not wrong, Ray. You're not wrong (Tho I think the words you were looking for were bloody fantastic)

[@j.a.8992]

One of the premier violinists in the world with perfect pitch is close to but not in the 99th percentile. This is one ridiculously strong pool of test-takers.

[@codexone2194]

The face you made at 7:50 is exactly my face when I heard that yowling or the first time 😂😂 the out of tune test is even painful for people without perfect pitch lol

[@viktorija4485]

Awesome, congrats! 👍Interesting, music memory is having a big importance in this testing, well in reality is just one of the components.

[@madisonwelch105]

My score was 111 and it was the first round that got me. I realized at the end that I wasn't looking for pitch discrepancy, but rather differences in patterns.. Oh well- it is definitely a neat test and I want my students to try it soon!

[@sofiaeleanore]

*war flashbacks to twoset screaming their lungs out*

[@itismeanttobe]

Ray's accent: im something of an american myself

[@vaughnhale7903]

Hey he’s doing the twoset thing! (That’s the only other time I actually saw it)

[@nevativity]

this was really fun to watch!

[@melanielee6944]

Oh my gosh, my EXACT thoughts about 2020: this year just shouldn't even count, so I can stay 30 and not turn 31, right? 😩 I want to submit a petition to invalidate quarantine birthdays in particular, haha. Then I'd be covered. This test messed with my brain, though! Once I got one wrong, it was hard to recover, because it was hard for me to "recalibrate" my brain for the next question. Once I saw that my answer was incorrect, I instinctually wanted to recall what I could in my mind's ear and try to figure out where I went wrong, so then I really wasn't listening properly to the next one until a couple seconds had passed. Oh well.

[@manishsigdel824]

I turned 24 today. Just as sad as everyone else ;(

[@melanielee6944]

Manish Sigdel I'm sorry your birthday is falling during such a somber time! I meant more that I just want my birthdays to stop in general so that I can take a little time off from getting older 🙂, but you're right that this is a difficult time for people all over the world who have a reason to celebrate but can't (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). I hope your friends and family reach out to you today and make you feel celebrated, even if you can't really do anything!

[@pao6207]

Age is natural there’s nothing wrong with getting older! Embrace it!

[@da96103]

Actually at the end of 2020, you should add 2 years to your age in 2019, because this year makes you age twice as fast.

[@melanielee6944]

PA O You're right that it's better to embrace it... There's a popular quote that I like about aging being a privilege that many don't get the chance to experience.

[@SofiaBobrysheva]

Great video Ray! It was super entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos! Going to film myself taking this harvard iq test now haha

[@jacopereira]

" that sounds ray-cist" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@dubhlinn2]

I love how he thinks with his emotional support air violin

[@jiawenm.6299]

the "odd one out" test is killing me, like don't they all sound different??? *cries in perfect pitch*

[@chrisk8187]

I'm sending this to my son who is a senior music ed major. Major instrument clarinet minor instrument sax My mother was a Northwestern University honors graduate in choral conducting and piano (at one of her piano juries her professors actually applauded (unheard of in the back in the late '30s and even now), toured Europe as a featured vocal soloist with the Dr. James Allen Dash All America Chorus including singing for Queen Elizabeth. My sister won a full tuition scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, was the harp faculty at the University of Colorado-Denver, first call union harpist and played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra-Denver. Her husband earned a master's and doctorate on cello from Northwestern University, retired a few years ago after 34yrs in the Denver Symphony and after 25yrs as principal cellist in the Colorado Central City Opera Orchestra. I had a successful clarinet/sax studio for forty years and sang for thirty years in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus including three sold out concerts. The test was very interesting. Thanks

[@sophiajia2972]

so ray has perfect pitch. good luck brett

[@pkd7927]

he just acquired perfect pitch with a weird youtube video. Lol :)

[@archie9869]

enjoy ray's reaction in the second test so much😂

[@miguelberganza6193]

I wanna see a Ray Chen + Adam Neely collab

[@yuanl3748]

wow you’re so *amazing*

[@reaganb6013]

"And 'melodic discrimination'... That sounds racist" 😂

[@sinner_v_]

damn bro thats crazy I got 122 IQ BA: 119 MP: 116 MD: 129

[@danipar7388]

“¡Is like question what is more in tune, a Eminem or a rhap!” I died

[@PrincessSakuno]

omg im a new fan, you're 31 Ray?! REALLY??????!? I truly would have never guessed

[@lololyoo5091]

Cover: fails Actual: 133

[@superbanks3311]

"this is the reggae dream"

[@PeterLewysPreston]

I get it. I scored 126, and was kinda disappointed. This whole "what's more out of tune" or "what's more on the beat" is really a tough one, because it's not only about hearing but also judging by the overall percentage. Sloppy passage notes are more neglectable than "money notes".

[@jar13lucky]

His facial expressions always gets me 😂😂😂 love it! Never change!

[@luci4087]

all i hear is blah blah blah and a uh blah on these tests. i tune out so fast, and i’m blaming it on my adhd. 😂

[@missingindy]

I’ve never watched you but I already like ur content

[@gabymsowa]

Ray is amazing

[@davidfleming8436]

Congratulations! :)

[@MagdalenaMantler]

How cool is that, to find out that Ray Chen did the same as a kid when realizing to want to play violin?! O,O I did the same as a kid: I took a (children plastic) guitar, put it under my chin, took a pencil and pretended to play the violin. :D

[@7476-l2n]

living for his eternally scrunchy frustrated face. like same 😂😭😂😭

[@paulankolo6348]

'Because I am Asian, and Asians ace everything' Killed me XD

[@mizoka43]

Amazing! I don't even dare sharing my score. I love you!

[@metteholm4833]

I went to an ambitious music school - and I know every bit of this - and got very high points at the consetvatory (behind the curtains).

[@smamspalele8566]

Can we just appreciate the background music song choice?

[@nickdubya1215]

Ray's faces of torment are great. But the real winner here is that cardigan/jacket thing.

[@koopalovetoast2409]

Ray: "I can't sing" Also Ray: * Sings and hits the notes perfectly *

[@garbijcan181]

“hm... not bad 🧐” ok 98th percentile headass ok

[@Jeni]

Ray is accidentally just the funniest person on KZbin

[@delll372]

as a researcher i can tell you the personal questionnaire is because we want to see the correlation of demographic vs musical IQ. for example "child that are exposed to their parent's singing more than 8 hours a day proven to have higher musical IQ"-based on harvard study bla bla. i can subtract more possible scientific journal research from that questionnaire's construction. (though my question to them is falsification of online data gathering method). but anyway thank you. such good learning!

[@TheJgood123]

for someone with no musical training or anything(i just like to listen). not even like a class in school other than like elementary school recorder karate i got a 100 even. 99 melodic Discrim. 101 beat allignment and 98 mistuning perception. I will take it.

[@MiriMeMotiff]

When he clicked on 31... I felt that lol 😂

[@ihammythehamster]

Apparently people with perfect pitch have a harder time discriminating between different transpositions since the main mode of hearing is more on an individual note-by-note basis rather than primarily depending on using intervals to determine pitch, which is more common in people with relative pitch. Essentially, the mode of pattern recognition that is best at picking out anomalies in transposition is not really used by people with perfect pitch, so not that surprised by the lower melodic discrimination score.

[@joannnamgung797]

His face expressions during the whole test are so funny omg😭

[@basiaszendrei1603]

Awww Ray! I did the same with my brother’s when I was 5.

[@sissilu6985]

When you get 97.72% but you quit music two years ago because you don’t think you are good enough... 😞

[@risasekine1093]

Ray using the wii shop music in 2020, he was so ahead of the time

[@Verbsdescribeus]

taaa!!! what a challenge!!!

[@gertruderachelle]

That violin case behind him....