When Science And Classical Music Meet – A Real Life Story

If you have always thought that science and music are worlds apart since they are categorized as “science” and “art” respectively, you may want to rethink your position after reading this post. How Science and Music are related The foundations of both science and music have similarities. They both have theories and rules that govern their expression. That is how both science and classical music have fundamentally remained the same over time and both musicians and scientists have been able to refer to the work of their predecessors. If you aren’t convinced enough, then the story of Thomas Südhof, a Nobel Prize winner in medicine/physiology in 2013 should help you see the possibility of this. It is interesting to note that though he is such an accomplished scientist, he is saddened by the fact that classical music is slowly declining in the modern music world. This post by Norman Lebrecht gives a report of what the Nobel Laureate said in an interview after he got the award: When Thomas Südhof won the 2013 Nobel Prize for medicine/physiology, he gave credit to his music teacher for the important advances he had made in discovering ‘ vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells.’ Via Slipped Disc The Role Of Music in His Science While the claims he makes sound amazing, the reality of his excellence in his field of expertise cannot be denied. Interestingly, his history in music is surprisingly not very far removed from most of those who start out in the pursuit of excellence in a musical instrument. Here’s what he says: SÜDHOF: First, I was exposed to playing music in school, the recorder. Then I began the violin. I wasn’t very good at it. I didn’t like the teacher. Perhaps it was the age, possibly the instrument. So I stopped playing the violin on my own initiative. But after a while, I decided I needed to do some music. So I picked the bassoon. I have no idea why. It may have been after all the subtle hints of some of my teachers. I doubt it was my parents. It may have been that I liked those sonorous deep sounds. Via Slipped Disc He isn’t a superhuman after all. He went through the same process of learning music as anyone does. So what about his training in classical music contributed to his success in science? He gives credit to his music teacher, and you can sense the sentimental thoughts he has toward his bassoon teacher: SÜDHOF: …It is important that one has teachers, who you can personally respect – a whole persona you can see. It is true in science as well in music, as well as other aspects of life. My bassoon teacher was the typical German musician that went through the system, learned how to be a bassoonist, and became an orchestra bassoonist in Hanover. He taught me from day one. I only had one teacher ever. He wasn’t set though on turning me into […]

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