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Einstein and What Music Did for His Genius

Anonymous

1 Say "genius" and his name immediately comes to mind. Einstein is the closest you get to describing genius; even small kids know him. There is no other personality in the academic world that has even half Einstein's popularity.

2 There is no genius in the world as respected and as loved as Albert Einstein. His picture with his distinctive hairstyle even became a pop culture icon.

3 Nowhere in the world could we find another academic that rivals the popularity of rock superstars. His opus "E=mc²" would rival any Beatles' platinum record, his "Theory of Relativity" even shook Newton's gravitational theory off the charts.

4 Kids would love him more if they knew that he loved music. Had he lived later, he could easily pass as the only male member of the Bond electric quartet. Wouldn't it be great to see Einstein jamming alongside these gorgeous girls?

Music and Genius

5 He once confided that had he not been a scientist, he would have been a musician. Mostly favoring classical music, Einstein adored Mozart and worshipped Bach.

6 "Life without playing music is inconceivable for me," he said. He also said that he lived his daydreams in music, and "I get most joy in life out of music." Einstein, with unclipped moustache and unkempt hair, did actually perform in solo concerts!

Music and Einstein's Early Life

7 There is a little known fact about the great man. Einstein did extremely poorly in school, so poorly in fact that his grade school teachers asked his parents to take him out of school because he was "too stupid to learn". Einstein, too stupid to learn! The teachers thought it would be easier for Einstein's parents to make him learn a trade.

8 Instead of heeding their advice, Albert's parents bought him a violin. Einstein actually started playing the violin at the age of six, while his family was still living in Munich. However, he toiled under unimaginative tuition until discovering the joys of Mozart's sonatas at the age of 13. From that point on, although he had no further lessons, his violin remained his constant companion. Just before his 17th birthday Albert played at a music examination in the cantonal school. The inspector reported that "a student called Einstein shone in a deeply felt performance of an adagio from one of the Beethoven sonatas." In addition to his prowess on the violin, he also played the piano and, in particular, loved to improvise.

Music and Einstein's Creative Work

9 Music helped bring out the real genius in our Einstein. Albert Einstein himself admitted that the reason he was so smart was because he played the violin. One friend, G. J. Withrow, confided that the way Einstein dealt with problems and equations was by improvising on the violin. His second wife, Elsa, gives a rare glimpse of their home life in Berlin. "As a little girl, I fell in love with Albert because he played Mozart so beautifully on the violin," she once wrote. "He also plays the piano. Music helps him when he is thinking about his theories. He goes to his study, comes back, strikes a few chords on the piano, jots something down, returns to his study." His son Hans Albert Einstein too recalls his father using music as a tool to help his work. He says, "Whenever he felt that he had come to the end of the road or into a difficult situation in his work, he would take refuge in music. That would usually resolve all his difficulties."

10 There are studies that show that listening to complex music helps improve the performance of the brain. Some music helps to increase the power of concentration. It would also be interesting to note that there are kinds of music that would also have the exact opposite effect on the brain. Several studies revealed that certain music (esp. baroque and classical) such as Bach and Mozart helped students score better at tests. However relaxing sounds or silence made them score lower.

11 Today, students, professionals, artists, or practically anyone can make use of brain performance enhancers like Bach and Mozart. Their music helps to improve a person's focus, memory and IQ.