Arts ( Fine / Visual / Performing )

Definitions of musical aptitude as well as musical aptitude tests frequently are criticized for low ecological validity. In many cases, however, the demand for ecological validity can actually make a test worse as a measure of musical aptitude because a maximally ecologically valid test is necessarily multidimensional. A test that is devised to measure a psychological construct such as musical aptitude should be reasonably homogeneous. Defining musical aptitude as auditory structuring ability is suggested as a compromise between homogeneity and explanatory power. Central aspects of construct validation of an auditory structuring test are presented as examples of theory-driven validation where ecological validity is not the first criterion. These aspects show that the test (a) measures a music-related property, (b) is not much dependent of training in music, and (c) measures sound structuring instead of hearing absolute qualities of sound.