May 15, 2008 at 9:58 am
I agree IT guys loves music and games. I know a top Indian musician used to be a IT guy with Oracle once upon a time. ..........
May 15, 2008 at 10:06 am
People ask me what it takes to be a developer. I start by telling what it takes to be a programmer.
You have to be able to write a set of instructions that someone else can follow with talking to you.
You have to be able to read and write in a foreign language, or read and write music.
You have to be able to break a problem down into smaller steps toward a solution.
This list is not prioritized.
I can read and write music notation. I have ZERO performance talent. I'm so bad at signing that folks move away from me in church. As far as composition I've been able to come up with one chord progression. Not even a melody.
I know lots of musicians. I wondered if many of them get a performance boost from synaesthesia. I did my own informal survey and found that the connection does not hold in both directions. Many people with synaesthesia are great musicians. Great musicians are not always synesthetes.
ATBCharles Kincaid
May 15, 2008 at 10:19 am
Interesting point, I've never thought of it like that. I've been programming for over 15 years, and I've played (and play) a slew of instruments for years as well but I had never connected the two. My stance on programming is also different than that of most people - I prefer to take a creative look at development, which definitely translates to music. Looking around me, my co-workers all have no drive towards music, and argue that development isn't a creative process. Everything in my life has a creative edge to it, so possibly the link between the two is creativity.
Then again, maybe we are all just trying to find patterns in life and human behavior to further explain ourselves where explanation isn't really needed.
May 15, 2008 at 11:22 am
I have a Bachelor of Music degree. I was told it was one of the reasons I was selected for an Automated Data Processing internship 26 years ago. It was explained to me this way. Computers and music both deal with structured languages. And just as music requires creativity, the computer field does, too. You are sometimes asked to write code to support new technology; find a way to make an application do something that hasn't been done before. That takes a creative person. Almost every application we did back then was innovative since most processes were still done manually.
May 15, 2008 at 11:39 am
I've played various instruments for 40 years and currently play in a part time band. For me it's a release from the mental focus of writing and debugging code. It's also a social pursuit where coding tends to be a solo activity.
The math doesn't come into play for me. Although I have a fair grounding in music theory most of my "composing" comes from playing around with sounds and fingerings and bouncing ideas off of my cohorts.
With the exception of using my fingers to create something, they are pretty much diametrically oposite.
14090 SW TENNESSEE LN
May 15, 2008 at 11:55 am
Matt Miller (5/15/2008)
Phil Factor (5/15/2008)
As you know, Steve, I'm a 60's blues (and folk) guitar player, though now I tend to specialise in playing the Uke. Perhaps I ought to record some backing tracks for your podcasts. I wonder what an electric band of DBAs would sound like? Would they all be good team players or might they be a bunch of prima-donnas? Would they sing from the same song-sheet? Would they stick to the standards?I don't know how that will work. They'd all be looking for the fastest way to play the song....:)
"Hey - let's play this in a set-based fashion. I bet you we can get through Highway to Heaven in 5.7 secs that way...."
Seriously LOL!!!! (Instead of RBAR, it becomes NBAN - "Note By Agonizing Note".)
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
May 15, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I own a bass guitar, and on occasion I use it to produce various sounds, but to say that I play it would require a serious re-definition of the verb. I can read simple music, and conceptually I can map those notes to their fingering, but in practice I've never been able to put those two activities together successfully. Most of my Mom's family are musicians, but not a single one of my Dad's family is. Odd, that.
I also used to ride a motorcycle, but after buying my house, I discovered that both time and money to keep the old beast running were in short supply. With fuel prices rising, I've recently considered buying another bike.
May 15, 2008 at 2:45 pm
My grandfather used to play piano, violin, guitar. My mother played piano (she tried teaching me when I was a kid, to no avail. Neither of us had the patience for it). I listen to a wide variety of music, from Bach to Marilyn Manson. One exception - not so fussed on the Country stuff. I enjoy complex music (alternative stuff, classical is good for this) but also like the simple rhythms and patterns in music that may only use a couple of instruments.
I taught myself how to play guitar. And by that I mean I wanted to play along with some of the music I listen to, so taught myself a few basic chords and started adding more as I went along.
I can't read music (and certainly can't compose anything) - I get about 3rd line down the stave and can't figure it out any more, becomes a bit of a blur and that's just basic stuff. I don't know any chord progressions or what notes make up the chords I am playing or any such theory stuff. Basically, what I am doing is an extension of air guitar, just using a real guitar.
I do it as a form of relaxation, unwinding. I enjoy the dexterity required to play/change chords. Haven't got as far as doing Spanish-type stuff - that would require some formal teaching I think, and more time spent on it.
I also used to mountain bike (not so much in the last few years what with one thing and another). I ride a motorbike as well, mostly commuting but it's fun as well. Nothing like an adrenaline rush when somebody pulls out in front of you without looking - no such thing as fender benders on bikes! :w00t:
MARCUS. Why dost thou laugh? It fits not with this hour.
TITUS. Why, I have not another tear to shed;
--Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
May 15, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I am a professional Classical musician now working as a DBA for a large multi-national. My predecessor was a Fine Art graduate - not sure how that ties in. Both IT and professional music have a number of requirements in common: a high degree of focus, an exceptional ability to learn, an emphasis on quality, a lot of self discipline and hard work - more than most professions. Whilst technical work may impose an "exacting rigour" at times, I doubt it is any greater than that required for high standard musical performance - in fact I suspect probably less.
Not much has been said about the creative nature of IT, but this was one of the main attractions for me, especially when it comes to design, programming or problem solving. I would say the satisfaction of designing and creating from scratch a high quality system or application is as great as that gained from performing a Beethoven symphony or composing a new piece of music.
May 15, 2008 at 7:43 pm
This observation is one that I have noticed as well. It is uncanny!
While I am a huge fan of music (blues in particular), I have not been blessed with that talent; but despite that I still try to pluck my guitar once in a while.
Having said that, I was a Graphic Art major in college.
May 15, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Wow, quite a response. While we might not consider ourselves musicians, seems like lots of us have a guitar or something we mess around with.
May 16, 2008 at 6:10 am
Yes, it is and a lot of great comments. Thanks for posting these kinds of inter-subject topics for this very active community.
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|Ted Pin >>
May 16, 2008 at 7:10 am
May 16, 2008 at 8:04 am
I used to play trumpet, but never made the correlation between the 2 skills. But in retrospect I believe there is a great deal of similarity between musical skills and IT skills.
I did read many years ago that there was a statistical correlation between successful IT persons and the fact that chess and/or Science Fiction was popular with them. I can see both correlations. I used to play chess and there are definite similarities in the thought process, and I still read Science Fiction. Besides, it was a Sci/Fi book that coined the words 'matrix' and 'cyberspace'. The Sci/Fi readers will know who I am referring to.
Before I began doing database work, my bent was primarily programming, and the skills I found to translate the best were some of the same ones I used as an auto mechanic and as a small engine mechanic. Troubleshooting complex hardware (like electronic ignition systems, automatic transmissions, etc) is very similar to troubleshooting balky code...except your hands are in better shape and you don't (usually) have to assume awkward positions to work.
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Buy the ticket, take the ride. -- Hunter S. Thompson
May 16, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I think it has to do with pattern recognition. I'm not sure if the relationship has been formally studied, but it's been recognized for a long time. 30 years ago when I taught programming at a VoTech, there were a number of potential employers who asked for the resumes of retread music majors.
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