Singer, lead guitarist, bassist, drummer. For decades, this has been the unofficial pecking order of band members, whether in popularity, chances of hooking up, or number of fans. The drummer is always last. Among musicians, drummers are typically the receiving end of their bandmates’ jokes, but they have the last laugh after all.
Science has linked drummers’ innate ability to churn out beats with a higher intellectual capacity or brain power. According to Frederic Ullen of Karolinska Instituet, in a report by The Telegraph, drummers’ good timing and clean beats have a lot to do with their intelligence.
“The rhythmic accuracy in brain activity that is observed when a person maintains a steady beat is also important to the problem-solving capacities measured with the intelligence tests,” said Ullen. “We found that people with high general intelligence were also more stable on a very simple timing task.”
In other words, drummers are not only more intelligent, but are also natural problem solvers. The next time you pick a band member for a date, remember: The drummer is the smart one.
