Intelligent Musicians of Modern Music
Brains and Musical Ability
To define and differentiate musicians that have an above average intelligence level is a difficult task. Applicable data that lists every musicians IQ level is not available. The following list is compiled based on my opinion and thoughts from other music fans.
Frank Vincent Zappa
Many consider Frank Zappa to be a very intelligent musician. Regardless of what anyone may think of his music Zappa has stated some profound words of wisdom. One famous Frank Zappa quote is "Modern Americans behave as if intelligence were some sort of hideous deformity".
Brian May
Brian May, guitarist and songwriter for the group Queen can easily prove his above average intelligence. Brian May has a Ph.D in Astrophysics. Brian May is quoted as saying "Astronomy's much more fun when you are not an astronomer".
Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine was the lead guitarist for Metallica. He went on later to form the band Megadeth as the groups guitarist, singer and songwriter. Dave Mustaine is noted for being a dictator and hard to get along with.
Many musicians have a low opinion of him but his intelligence and musical genius is undeniable. One of Dave's famous quotes is "If you guys are going to be throwing beer bottles at us, at least make sure they're full". Well, to me, that sounds like an intelligent thing to say.
Dee Snider
Dee Snider was the front man for the rock group Twisted Sister. Dee defended the Heavy Metal genre of music in front of Congress and gave a very intelligent performance.
Rivers Cuomo
Best known as Weezer, Rivers Cuomo is a very intelligent musician. With an IQ of 200 it was easy for him to get into Harvard University. Considered the number one geek/nerd in rock, Rivers Cuomo definitely deserves to make this list.
Conclusion
When reading biographies of many famous scientists and intellects there seems to be a majority of them that have an intense interest in musical expression. To quote Albert Einstein "If I were not a Physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music."
Published by Dave Bryan
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4 Comments
Post a CommentLOL! Awkward sentence. Nobody played the viola while checking my reports!
When I worked with actuaries, I noted that many were also musicians. One played the viola while another listened to Mahler while checking the numbers in my reports. Many others were pianists, vocalists, or just intelligent listeners.
Music is essentially applied physics, and physics is mostly math, so the correlation makes sense.
Music is something like language. It requires intelligence. Heavy Metal may be the exception IMHO.
Very interesting. In my experience, I have to agree. I think there must be some correlation.