The Night I Met Einstein - by Jerome Weidman
2010-02-16
This story is from Jerome Weidman, with no known copyright info. Thanks to Akshar Smriti for posting it. I'm only re-posting to update the formatting.
When I was a very young man, just beginning to make my way, I was invited to dine at the home of a distinguished New York philanthropist. After dinner our hostess led us to an enormous drawing room. Other guests were pouring in, and my eyes beheld two unnerving sights: servants were arranging small gilt chairs in long, neat rows; and up front, leaning against the wall, were musical instruments. Apparently I was in for an evening of Chamber music.
I use the phrase “in for” because music meant nothing to me. I am almost tone deaf. Only with great effort can I carry the simplest tune, and serious music was to me no more than an arrangement of noises. So I did what I always did when trapped: I sat down and when the music started I fixed my face in what I hoped was an expression of intelligent appreciation, closed my ears from the inside and submerged myself in my own completely irrelevant thoughts.
After a while, becoming aware that the people around me were applauding, I concluded it was safe to unplug my ears. At once I heard a gentle but surprisingly penetrating voice on my right.
“You are fond of Bach?” the voice said.
I knew as much about Bach as I know about nuclear fission. But I did know one of the most famous faces in the world, with the renowned shock of untidy white hair and the ever-present pipe between the teeth. I was sitting next to Albert Einstein.
“Well,” I said uncomfortably, and hesitated. I had been asked a casual question. All I had to do was be I equally casual in my reply. But I could see from the look in my neighbor’s extraordinary eyes that their owner was not merely going through the perfunctory duties of elementary politeness. Regardless of what value I placed on my part in the verbal exchange, to this man his part in it mattered very much. Above all, I could feel that this was a man to whom you did not tell a lie, however small.
“I don’t know anything about Bach,” I said awkwardly. “I’ve never heard any of his music.”
A look of perplexed astonishment washed across Einstein’s mobile face.
“You have never heard Bach?”
He made it sound as though I had said I’d never taken a bath.
“It isn’t that I don’t want to like Bach,” I replied hastily. “It’s just that I’m tone deaf, or almost tone deaf, and I’ve never really heard anybody’s music.”
A look of concern came into the old man’s face. “Please,” he said abruptly, “You will come with me?”
He stood up and took my arm. I stood up. As he led me across that crowded room I kept my embarrassed glance fixed on the carpet. A rising murmur of puzzled speculation followed us out into the hall. Einstein paid no attention to it.
Resolutely he led me upstairs. He obviously knew the house well. On the floor above he opened the door into a book-lined study, drew me in and shut the door.
“Now,” he said with a small, troubled smile. “You will tell me, please, how long you have felt this way about music?”
“All my life,” I said, feeling awful. “I wish you would go back downstairs and listen, Dr. Einstein. The fact that I don’t enjoy it doesn’t matter.”
He shook his head and scowled, as though I had introduced an irrelevance.
“Tell me, please,” he said. “Is there any kind of music that you do like?”
“Well,” I answered, “I like songs that have words, and the kind of music where I can follow the tune.”
He smiled and nodded, obviously pleased. “You can give me an example, perhaps?”
“Well,” I ventured, “almost anything by Bing Crosby.”
He nodded again, briskly. “Good!”
He went to a corner of the room, opened a phonograph and started pulling out records. I watched him uneasily. At last he beamed. “Ah!” he said.
He put the record on and in a moment the study was filled with the relaxed, lilting strains of Bing Crosby’s “When the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day.” Einstein beamed at me and kept time with the stem of his pipe. After three or four phrases he stopped the phonograph.
“Now,” he said. “Will you tell me, please, what you have just heard?”
The simplest answer seemed to be to sing the lines. I did just that, trying desperately to stay on tune and keep my voice from cracking. The expression on Einstein’s face was like the sunrise.
“You see!” he cried with delight when I finished. “You do have an ear!”
I mumbled something about this being one of my favorite songs, something I had heard hundreds of times, so that it didn’t really prove anything.
“Nonsense!” said Einstein. “It proves everything! Do you remember your first arithmetic lesson in school? Suppose, at your very first contact with numbers, your teacher had ordered you to work out a problem in, say, long division or fractions. Could you have done so?”
“No, of course not.”
“Precisely!” Einstein made a triumphant wave with his pipestem. “It would have been impossible and you would have reacted in panic. You would have closed your mind to long division and fractions. As a result, because of that one small mistake by your teacher, it is possible your whole life you would be denied the beauty of long division and fractions.”
The pipestem went up and out in another wave.
“But on your first day no teacher would be so foolish. He would start you with elementary things - then, when you had acquired skill with the simplest problems, he would lead you up to long division and to fractions.”
“So it is with music.” Einstein picked up the Bing Crosby record. “This simple, charming little song is like simple addition or subtraction. You have mastered it. Now we go on to something more complicated.”
He found another record and set it going. The golden voice of John McCormack singing “The Trumpeter” filled the room. After a few lines Einstein stopped the record.
“So!” he said. “You will sing that back to me, please?”
I did - with a good deal of self-consciousness but with, for me, a surprising degree of accuracy. Einstein stared at me with a look on his face that I had seen only once before in my life: on the face of my father as he listened to me deliver the valedictory address at my high school graduation.
“Excellent!” Einstein remarked when I finished. “Wonderful! Now this!”
“This” proved to be Caruso in what was to me a completely unrecognizable fragment from “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Nevertheless, I managed to reproduce an approximation of the sounds the famous tenor had made. Einstein beamed his approval.
Caruso was followed by at least a dozen others. I could not shake my feeling of awe over the way this great man, into whose company I had been thrown by chance, was completely preoccupied by what we were doing, as though I were his sole concern.
We came at last to recordings of music without words, which I was instructed to reproduce by humming. When I reached for a high note, Einstein’s mouth opened and his head went back as if to help me attain what seemed unattainable. Evidently I came close enough, for he suddenly turned off the phonograph.
“Now, young man,” he said, putting his arm through mine. “We are ready for Bach!”
As we returned to our seats in the drawing room, the players were tuning up for a new selection. Einstein smiled and gave me a reassuring pat on the knee.
“Just allow yourself to listen,” he whispered. “That is all.”
It wasn’t really all, of course. Without the effort he had just poured out for a total stranger I would never have heard, as I did that night for the first time in my life, Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze.” I have heard it many times since. I don’t think I shall ever tire of it. Because I never listen to it alone. I am sitting beside a small, round man with a shock of untidy white hair, a dead pipe clamped between his teeth, and eyes that contain in their extraordinary warmth all the wonder of the world.
When the concert was finished I added my genuine applause to that of the others.
Suddenly our hostess confronted us. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Einstein,” she said with an icy glare at me, “that you missed so much of the performance.”
Einstein and I came hastily to our feet. “I am sorry, too,” he said. “My young friend here and I, however, were engaged in the greatest activity of which man is capable.”
She looked puzzled. “Really?” she said. “And what is that?”
Einstein smiled and put his arm across my shoulders. And he uttered ten words that - for at least one person who is in his endless debt - are his epitaph:
“Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty.”
-- story by Jerome Weidman
Interesting. I never knew that Einstein had such a strong connection to music. But I guess even he can't work on science 24/7.
I am weeping. Can't stop.
This certainly changes my fairly uninformed view of the kind of person Dr. Einstein was! Great story, thanks for sharing!
Beautiful!
That's fantastic, thank-you
You've probably already seen this, but just in case you haven't:
http://productionadvice.co.uk/arena-eno-another-green-world/
Also inspirational !
Ian
Not surprising. Intelligent people are not dull geeks from engineer school. They are all artists, whether Ray Kurzweil, Einstein, Da Vinci, Foucault...
Thanks for such a lovely story. Einstein just like many other scientists and engineers are misjudged as people with little feeling, humor, warmth, humanity or as antisocial.
However, this proves to all that, it is not the case and has never been. It tells the world to never stereotype or assume.
Every and each one of us deserve a full and fair chance. It also reminds some of our so called artists that to be great doesn't necessary mean to be famous even least to be immoral or misbehaving in the name of art...
I loved him even before I heard of this. His eyes surely have a deeper expression than one can imagine. I own a hand drawn portrait of him.
This is a lovely story. I have always admired Einstein and have never heard this one. He is not only a great mathematician, physicist, and the smartest person ever to live, but he loved music and loved it enough to give a music lesson to a man who thought he was tone deaf. I admire him all the more.
Einstein attributed his mental abilities to the fact that he was slow to develop skills like speech, to the extent that his parents were worried. However, once he wondered about the sky and nature, he was old enough to really think about these things instead of simply observing them as a young child will do. He learned how to focus his thoughts and work through problems in his head. And, of course, he played violin and loved Mozart.
PS. I love the universality of music. It's so rare to find someone who doesn't connect with it in *some* way or another.
Have you read "The Language Of Music", by Deryck Cooke ? He suggests that the whole structure of western music follows naturally from the harmonic series, present in almost every acoustic instrument note. Whereas rhythm is even more deeply ingrained - we all move, therefore we all feel rhythm and respond to it when we hear it as music.
Very cool. Thanks for the book tip! -- Derek
Speechless and grateful after reading this post...
Thank you for sharing Derek.
cheers,
i.
Derek, in the same way that Einstein gave a gift, you've done the same by passing this story on. Thanks, man. "Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty." Damn.
A great story beautifully told. Perfect ending!
(I gave you a shout-out on my blog a couple of days ago.)
Incredible. Thanks for sharing, Derek.
This is such a sweet story and very inspiring. Thank you.
The more I get into programming the more I see that science and art and music, etc, are all the same thing. Thanks for sharing!
Love this story. I'll never forget it. Teachers teach in steps and risk failure.
http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/respect/
Regards,
Leadership Freak
I'm weeping too!
I've been a huge Einstein fan forever, but have not run across this story before. What an amazing thing for Jerome Weidman, to actually have Einstein sitting next to him, then to "get schooled" in such a cool manner by this great man.
Einstein's explanation is brilliant. (of course!) It actually helps me wrap my head around the reason so much of the music I like & listen to is not part of the mainstream: it's more like calculus, and most people just haven't been taken beyond simple addition & subtraction.
Thanks for sharing!
Clark Colborn
http://www.ClarkPlaysGuitar.com/
Einstein wasn't just a scientist, he was first and foremost a humanitarian.
At the moment I'm writing a novel about music's impact on my life, and at the same time teaching my adult daughter to reconnect with the music an uncaring teacher took away from her a decade ago.
Wonderful story. (I wonder if it's technically true, or just emotionally true?)
Derek,
This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it!
I've known for a long time that Einstein never had difficulty reconciling science with spirituality...I suspect this story helps to explain some of that.
Thanks Derek for sharing such a beautiful and moving story.
As a musician,performer, composer and teacher-
I think I will post the quote somewhere where I can see it everyday to remind me of "one of the greatest activites of which man is capable-opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty"
Maybe right on the piano so my students can see it too!!
THANKYOU!
Notice there are four people in this story: the hostess, Einstein, the guest, and the crowd. Which are you in some situations?
Great story.
Quite enjoyable.
Wow, that is a GREAT story! I've gone through similar exercises with people that marvel at the way someone can write a song, whereas they are convinced that they themselves are completely lacking in that ability. Turns out a lot of people have ability they never thought they had; they had just convinced themselves, or were convinced my others, that they couldn't do something.
Perfect last sentence!
It is a pleasure to read your wonderful story. I felt I was you, listening to music for the first time and meeting Einstein. Thanks.
Great story! thanks Derek
A lot of people don't know that Einstein played the violin. According to "Einstein's Violin" he never went anywhere without it. Ironically, the same book quotes someone who said that he had trouble keeping time
Ooops, you did look too young to have met Einstein. So now I see you re-posted this story. Thanks for sharing it.
What an awesome story! Imagine, being given attention to that extent by Albert Einstein! This was not only a testimony to his brilliance, but his compassion and extreme knowledge of appreciating not only all things in life, but also all people in life. Even the smallest object can be of ultimate beauty and importance.
I guess the lesson is that we should start with the basics if we want to get anywhere with anything? What a wonderfully sympathetic, forceful human being Einstein was.
The fact is, Einstein was also a violinist, albeit not a particularly great one. On one occasion, when he was to give an after-dinner speech, he instead pulled out a violin and began to play Bach's "Chaconne in D minor." (Not a small feat for an amateur violinist.)
"So much, then, for my competence as a musician. Nevertheless, I kept at it on the ground that some things are so precious that they are worth doing badly." --liberal theologian James Luther Adams, on playing the violin.
music being derek
loved that read.
music & math.
i had an out of body experience where i flew out of my body & my spirit changed into conscious music & mathematics (numbers, like a river mixed of the two with a bright mellow awareness). i was flowing between the planets feeling beautiful... and then a funnel like shaped formed and my "stream of consciousness" went down into it and the next thing i knew i was sitting on a chair and feeling my body and i said in a loud aggravated voice, "shit, i'm back on earth again".
the river i was was beyond time & space, part of the beginning & the ending, it is/was such a profound experience, proving to me that "god" is a sneaky motherfucker. giving us a brief glance to what is beyond this dance of our eath lifes.
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bright musical ways
ian the being
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Wow!!
This was amazing. Does anyone know when it was written? And, I guess it doesn't matter, but I would be curious to see if it was a true story...
Another gem. “Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty” is the only business I care to be in.
I had the privilege of being mentored by a maestro for 25 years. The "Maestro" is with me always.
Thank you for the uplifting stories, ideas and illustrations you share with all of us. It's great to be connected.
All the best!
~Tim Noah
this ain't rocket science . . .
BTW, the James Luther Adams quote comes from "Music, the Language of Hope":
http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/JLA/12-Music-The-Language-of-Hope.php
I was fortunate that the late Christopher Moore, founder of the Chicago Children's Choir, introduced me to Dr. Adams at a convention in the mid-1980s, and afterwards offered me that specific quote, which I've remembered ever since (though not verbatim, I could recall the gist of it).
Gtreat Story
Hey it's all about gradients and music and mathematics are similar languages.
Love, B
What a story, it tells me that Einstein was a great human being, and not just a brilliant scientist. It also reminds me that we should always be ready with a helping hand or a helpful word to lead someone on the right path.
Thanks for sharing this, Derek. Cheers from Chicago!
Mathematical skills and music, seem to me, to have always been related. Especially in Western Music and, of course, some of the Popular music of the middle to late 20th Century. If you can write out a Baccarach melody, turn it around and it plays equally as well. I believe that if a melody is not mathematically logical, it is probably not very pleasant. Just my idea.
I love the story, thanks a lot Derek. Being a physicist I'm quite familiar with the great man and many others just as great but unpublicized because of that all important factor "timing". I am very aware that these people are considered by many as nerds and self centered. But I know for a fact that most are extraordinarily spiritual and deep feeling because of their knowledge of the REAL physical world and universe. Your story points that out.
Island Frank
I'm smiling! Great story. Thanks for sharing Derek.
There is a lot of music that is mathematically logical, but not necessarily pleasant. Fortunately, "pleasantness" has no monopoly on human musical expression.
"Why waste good music on a brain?" --Shaking Ray Levis
Superb story. Very inspiring D. Many thanks.
How many people have given up because they failed to reach the top of a mountain on the first day; ignoring the progress made by the first step!
Outstanding! I never tire of Einstein encounter stories. He is one of my heroes. Two of my favorite Einstein quotes are listed below. I think they give us very good insight into this incredible man.
1. Imagination Is More Important Than Knowledge
2. If I Were Not A Physicist, I Would Probably Be A Musician
Wonderful story and so believable.
I've had many scientists in my workshops over the years and they do seem quite interested in music and learn quickly and well. 
Reminds me of a banjo workshop I gave near Pasadena. Of course, with Cal Tech so close it is bound to attract a few scientists, but students just go by first names and are stangers. When I complimented one nice man when he picked up a technique quickly that he was a "musical genius"-he and the man next to him began to laugh heartily. Later on I found out the student was a physics nobel laurete.
Best wishes,
Mary Z. Cox
I like this one!!--- People say to me --"Your lucky to be born with an ear and talent"---Well nothing could be further from the truth--- I worked very hard to train my ear and push my talent-- Very few are born with a natural talent. It takes a lot of hard work.
What a great way to start the day. Thanks, Derek. And it's true. We can only learn things we don't know via the stepping stones of things we do know. Einstein's lesson of "progression in learning" matches Flow theory: With each moment we need to find the middle channel between the too challenging and the boring. We don't want engage with boring things, but the too-challenging frustrates us and we give up. The paradox? To learn, we have to be ambitious AND patient at the same time. My piano teaches me this every day. Patiently working out the fingering for a run can seem tedious and boring, but over-ambition can make you cut corners. You go too fast, don't master it, make mistakes and get frustrated. Then you're tempted to give up. Einstein's lesson? Always start at the right point and move slow/fast enough to avoid boredom and frustration.
Nice story....
However, Eistein appears to be one judgemental kind of dude.
After all, there's plenty of blame to go around with such statements as:"As a result, because of that one small mistake by your teacher, it is possible your whole life you would be denied the beauty of long division and fractions.” So, there the teacher gets the blame for the man's inability to appreciate 'Bach'. So the teacher gets his judgement of blame and not the author, where it rightly belongs.
Then there is the judgement that 'Bing Crosby' and the song “When the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day" is somehow not as complicated as Bach's compositions. Therefore 'Bing Crosby' and compostion with words gets yet another Judgement from Einstein.
So, take note my fellow artists: If you so happen to compose and perform songs with a simplistic melody line along with an easy to sing melody-You now know how Dr. Einstein feels about YOU! =)
With Ivory Soul,
May Palmer
The Queen of Ivory Soul
Terrific story, Derek! The connection between music and maths is well-known, but everybody stops with the overtone series, which is not enough. My book "The Spiritual Basis of Musical Harmony" goes deeper. It brings in the neglected undertone series and ties it all together with how they have both been used for millenia, and how we experience the results subjectively. It is available through my website.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Einstein truly was a genius!
Very inspiring! If I'm not mistakin,I have seen Dr. Einstein in a picture playing the violin.
Music is as important to human nature as math
and any kind of higher learning.
I have just a high school education,however I am a professional musician,and singer songwriter,and producer.It has helped me in more ways than one to understand this crazy world of ours. Long division helps you learn to analyze .Music helps your gut feelings
COMMON SENSE !!!!!!!!!
Great story. Have to share another Einstein/music story, apocryphal though it may be: Einstein, Heifetz and Piatigorsky were playing trios together, but it was not going well. Finally, exasperated, Heifetz stopped and turned to Einstein: "Albert, can't you count?!?"
Derek -
THANK YOU ... ... ...
Thanks you Derek. What a beautiful story. I'm all choked up.
How fun to
sit next to greatness! Some of the best things in my life are the people I meet.
From the little I know of Einstein, what I love is his humility... and yet he could stick his tounge out at the world in all it's folly.
Gazing into the Universe gives a lot of perspective..
"Sheep may safely graze" is a promise.
Rachel
Wonderful story-thanks for sharing it. I would have loved to have known Einstein, he was such an amazing man and a genius in so many ways.
My favorite Einstein story ever! His human-ness on top of genius was the key to his abilities. And for Ian and others, Gurdjieff (a teacher famous years ago) always said that the musical scale is endemic to the structure of our physical plane, forming a tone scale with half-steps and so on; why there is only a helf-step between B and C, etc.; see Ouspensky's writings. They take themselves a bit seriously but it's cool stuff.
You did it again Derek! Thank you!
I am just now reading "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel J. Levitin. This story fits perfectly.
What is sad is because of budget cut backs in our public school systems, music and art programs are being cut to the bare minimum. What a loss because children are not being exposed to the music that made America.
Great story, thanks for sharing. I almost felt like I was there! Keep em coming Derek. Einstein was a genius and an amazing man! I took a class on music appreciation in college and it really helped me listen so much better too! There is such a connection in our brain with Math and Music. My 3rd son has a learning disability and he played trumpet in high school and I really feel the music brought healing to him and helped him accomplish great things. He is now serving our nation in the U.S. Coast Guard and I am very proud of him. He is self taught and plays piano by ear and the trumpet. He has been told in the past that he sounds a lot like Miles Davis when he plays!
Thanks again. Love your blogs!
That's a great story, Derek. Thanks for sharing. There is so much beauty to behold in music and so much more art to be made in it. I also think that the art of human kindness is a treasure and should be practiced liberally. Be well, friend. Thanks for making a difference and doing work that matters.
Einstein was simply an enlightened man, a great human being, very aware of even the littlest things around him, seeing beauty in everything! We're all fortunate to have had him in our lifetime. What a legacy he gave to the world, to the entire universe!
Derek,
These unexpected most wonderful accidental, or not, meetings, are one of those moments in that they help us to to undertand and grow. I'm sure you already know that. What a great experience!
Silvia Silk
What a beautiful story Derek. Thank you for sharing this. I've always had a fondness for Einstein. He truly did help Jerome Weidman to "opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty."
I love what Jerome Weidman admits here: "Above all, I could feel that this was a man to whom you did not tell a lie, however small."
I believe that Einstein knew that Weidman was not connecting to the music at all and could see it in his countenance. Weidman's honesty in his answer to Einstein is what allowed what transpired after that with Einstein to occur. His honesty opened the doorway to "the frontier of beauty." Einstein helped Weidman to allow himself to listen to the music. It is truly beautiful how Einstein was able to assist Weidman, for Weidman, at least I believe, would not have gone much further in his creative life without that help. It truly was a loving act for Einstein to do for the young Jerome. It was because Weidman consequently allowed himself to listen that he learned and grew.
This story also tells me of the importance of relationship with others, that no man is an island. Math, science, music, the arts are a great frontier and we are only limited by our own set limitations. I'm glad that Jerome was open to the frontier of beauty. Einstein certainly was. Man's use or abuse of such beauty is another matter.
That's a great story. It reminds of one of my favorite jokes:
After playing the violin for the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Albert Einstein asked, "Did I play well?"
"You played relatively well," replied Piatigorsky.
Hi
Sometimes we have to sit and
just listen.
That was realy good.
Barbara
I think mathematics and music are very closely aligned. What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Great Story Derek,
Somethings it takes someone else, to open up our great mines to the true beauty of this World and all that it has to offer to us..
If you have 'deep' curiosity about the network of music/neurology/science, let me suggest "This Is Your Brain on Music" by Levitin. --JH
While the story is great, I think the most important lesson from it is at the very end. As musician’s we are preoccupied with success and ways and means and tricks to achieve it. So we start becoming primarily marketing and business people instead of musicians. While it is true that we need those skills from a financial perspective, we should not forget why we got into music to begin with. Our constant goal should be: “Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty”. It is that pursuit which we will take us from being “good” or “great” to “remarkable”. And when we achieve the “remarkable” status, all the rest of the details will fall into place.
Stories like this one, life experiences like the one in the story, help me to get through the less than pleasant times in this life.
Einstein loved music all his life and started playing violin as a boy. he loved not only Bach and Mozart, but quite a long range of music. I've been doing the same.
Wow! Thanks for sharing...
I've never really took the dive into classical music - or even jazz.
It is a shame too I suppose since my small city hosts an annual Beethoven festival (which btw is welcoming Yo Yo Ma for you classical fans in the SE MN region).
I am wondering, if Mr. Einstein were to consult me, where might he start me out? Any thoughts Derek? Anyone?
An open mind an understanding of structure makes music pleasurable I think, to be open minded you have to have played an instrument enough to to have heard all music in the structures you are playing...E.G. Iron Maiden = German oompa music, or that there is another scale between the notes that our structure of sound confine us to, bendy lead guitarist would know that !!
Apparently I can't leave a one word comment. All I wanted to say was: Awesome
Genius can always be found in the company of great music.
What a marvelous experience. What appears to be the most beautiful frontier here is the unselfish interest that the good Dr Einstein expressed for this young man. What a great testimony to the kind of heart this man had. Here he is enjoying something he was passionate about partaking of, and yet parted w/that for some time and patiently brought some one along to enjoy this music and expand his horizons. This joy I believe was in fact greater for the Dr. than the music and doubled his pleasure in it. Jerome on the other hand was willing to admit that there was more here than met the ear, but only as he respected what would be his mentor. A lesson in humility I believe, in both individuals. How much more could persons learn and give from and to each other if there was a measure of respect and patience. To me this was/is more a lesson in unselfishness yes even love.
If only today's older, wiser generation would still stop to sacrifice as much time to teach the younger. If only the younger would cease from busy-ness long enough to listen.
I was tearing up.
Simply amazing. What a beautiful string of moments this gentleman encountered. It is amazing what we are capable of as humans when we are given some direction.
it's interesting when he refers to music without words as a kind of music lacking something ... anyway, nice tale
Einstein: A man for all seasons, a mench for all reasons. Thanks for sharing, Derek.
What a lovely and endearing story, centred around music and Einstein. Inspirational.
It helps to be reminded that you generally "get it," or arrive "there" through the necessary experiences, garnered by your steps along the way.
One of the greatest gifts may be that of an open heart and an open mind for both the teacher and the student.
There is such a great lesson and understanding of the appreciation of music that this story portrays. And having Einstien explain it,...well, that basically says it all!
Thanks for sharing this!
Solitoode
This is indeed a very touching story. There is another famous story about Einstein, who played the violin and due to his fame often did so with very famous musicians. He was once playing Mozart sonatas with pianist Artur Schnabel and got hopelessly lost. Schnabel turned to him and said, "Albert, can't you count?"
Beautifully moving.It may be worth mentioning that Einstein, in addition to his love of music, was also a political thinker of the highest order and the fact that his writings in this area are largely unknown is a great detriment to us all.
BEAUTIFUL! There's a certain degree of enlightenment necessary to fully appreciate the magnitude of the lessonS buried in this, truly, awe-inspiring story. Thanx, Derek!
Once again Derek you are speaking my language, and I thank you and love you for it!
Thanks Derek.
I must say that it seems I got something different from this than the other readers.
If it were anyone other than Einstein, would Jerome have left the room? I say No. Which for me brings up an interesting question.
Could Einstein have introduced just about anything to Jerome and had the same result? I say Yes.
So I would say that this is not a music lesson, rather, how people respond differently when "Star Struck". It amazes me how everyday people will not listen or even consider opinions coming from the average person. However, if it is someone famous, they will listen all day, and change who they are because someone famous is saying it.
Long Live the Puppet Masters.
I feel sorry for all of those teachers out there that just want to help... but will never have an audience because they are not Famous. Sad but true.
I know I would have loved Math much more if Robin Williams had been my teacher.
Just a thought.
-Michael McKinney
Thank you very much for the email and for sharing such a wonderful and inspirational story. It does my heart, body, soul and mind well. It futher shows that there is music in all of us no matter how tone deaf we may be. Further it shows that we have the ability to be geniuses outside of our expertise if we apply ourselves. Thanks again for the email.
this story s worth sharing - may I repost it to my blog?
Always! No need to ask. Anything I post on my site is always free to copy or respost anywhere. -- Derek
A truly beautiful story Derek. Thank you!
Brought tears to my eyes! This I will share with friends.
Once a genius - always a genius (a genius teacher, I mean). I teach, too - there's definitely something to think about... And the teaching aspect is only one of the many raised by this brilliant piece. Thank you, Derek!
A very touching tidbit. I am very glad that I was gifted to read it. Thank you very much.
Covered in goosebumps. Thank you so much for sharing this; it made my day.
Ah yes....reminds me of my popular impression of Albert as a Comedy Show Master of Ceremonies....
"Gut evening...mein name ist Albert Einstein und I am your MC squared!!"
What a wonderful story. I was really moved by it.
So sweet, made me smile real big. Thanks for posting.
Terrific story!
Hi Folks,
Check out Victor Wootens book 'The Music Lesson'. Music is math, just like the beauty of Math is like the beauty of Music....Most 'scientific' people I know are musical.
All appreciation is learned...Math, Music, science,the female(or male) form.
Great story, I hope it's true.
Love this! I want to meet Einstein!
"I could not shake my feeling of awe over the way this great man, into whose company I had been thrown by chance, was completely preoccupied by what we were doing, as though I were his sole concern."
It's this quote that stands out for me. This goes a long way to explain why Einstein was so successful and inspiring in his field: Attention, focus and a sense of what is important without ego.
Great article Thanks.
Rob
All you have to do, is take the time to listen. Really listen and you will be surprised what you can do.Think of the things you may have missed cause you weren't paying attention and they went right by you.
holding back tears. I can see it... I could see him.
Timely... I appreciate the "Subject" matter... Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks...
I remember as a five year old, Hearing Bach for the first time, It was Gould and the Goldberg Variations, I was hooked. I understand the awe and power Bach holds for music lovers, Einstein was a learner and wished for us to learn without fear. I'm sure he would have been great friends with Gould.
Well Derek,
That Confirms It I Always Knew That E=MC2 Was The Formulae For A "WORLD PEACE SYMPHONY" And Not A BOMB !!!
science, particularly mathematics, and music are inseparably interwoven. you will find great music in the company of great minds. many a science geek by day are rocknrollers by night.
Great story. It sounds almost too good to be true, though. Would love to see the original publication.
Incredibly beautiful story
Ahh...gigglegiggle...the human experience...TOGETHER: "Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty."
Thank you for sharing this and extending beauty's unfoldment...
Great story about a great man with a great mind. EINSTEIN was really a rare great man.
E=mc2
I LOVE this!! What a great story!! Besides showing Einstein's love and appreciation for music and all beauty, it shows what a deeply caring person he was.
Thanks, Derek, for this gem.
The story was published in Reader's Digest, November 1955.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Readers-Digest-November-1955_W0QQitemZ380204103352QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMagazines?hash=item5885ee36b8
Ridiculously Awesome!
very sweet. I do hope the icy hostess thawed her judgment
I was in the room with Einstein and Jerome as I was reading the story. I was thinking about something I always wanted to do. I wanted to know each note as I heard them when I listen to a song. An e-mail, from Disc-Makers, I received three months ago had not been read until this week of being sick. I know now how to practice for that goal.
I think I would like to start listening to Bach again so I can learn more complex music. I want to learn to write better songs that flow.
Thank you for that great book that was simply yet complex. Complex for one to be taught and simply for one to take the time from something he loved to teach.
Paula
All I can say is WOW!
Hey Derek!
You always seem to find not only the most interesting stories!... They all have very deep emotional meanings that all of us can learn from!
Thank you - George Iglesias
The beauty of music is that technically, it is math. But when we go beyond the math, the true beauty flows effortlessly.
An amazing story.
A stranger took the time to invest his time with coaching a young person into a new frontier. I never had the luxury of that kind of experience as a kid. However I do like to coach anyone that is willing to listen about something that will help their self development, that will lead to a new frontier....What a great and inspiring story!
Eintein showed that young man there was something more beautiful than Bach's music....the music of his own humanity.
Great story... so many lessons in it as well. We need more Einstein's taking the time to help others in "Opening up yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty."
Over the years, in the course of my musical education, I have had several "Einsteins." They were wonderful people who took time from their lives to stimulate my understanding of and appreciation for music. Now, each time I step out onto the stage, I feel as though I'm a sort of a mini "Einstein," because my goal is to reach as many unreachable people in the audience as I can. What a great feeling when it happens! I guess that's called "passing it forward," which is something you are very good at, Derek. Thank you so much.
A marvelous story about genius and generosity - I've heard it said before that a "smart" person can do something very complex, but a genius can make it simple.
I love this story. I just love it. Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it.
I can't think of another short story with so much to offer to so many. It was beautifully written - the style reminded me of HG Wells at his best, and told of a chance to make one's self grow to be more with ease and wonderment.
Much thanks for sharing,
Rick Gordon
This seems a mesmerizing ambush with a legend well orchestrated, quite inspiring. Thank you for the excellent contribution.
“Sheep May Safely Graze" ...lovely.
Lovely story as well. Thanks!
This story exemplifies why I teach music to very young children.
Thanks,
Realising as an educator again that's all the art of bringing nice and simple patterns in what is apparent complexity.
And thank you all for your links to interesting sites and nice music.
Great story. It seems like music connects us all with many facets of life. Frank lloyd Wright was a strong beleive in music. Besides being a great American Architect, he was an excellent pianist, Mozart was his forte, if it was not for architecture , he would of been a Concert pianist. Something, to think about. I am an Architect, as well and music is a major part of my life, connecting me to many elements, like nature, people and feelings..
Again , great story, thanks for passing it on.
I love this! I just started taking guitar lessons, after 30 years of playing guitar. Never had lessons, and I felt stuck,,,,,I feel like my teacher is Einstein. I feel so blessed to have finally found someone who teaches like this (in a way I can understand). I'm practicing my heart out.
I'm a physics teacher and a musician. Not enough is said about Einstein and his music abilities and love for music in our schools.
Good Story. I go past his old house in Princeton often. Thanks Derek.
Brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful story.
Thanks for sharing that, Derek. I think I need to get better acquainted with Mr. Einstein, even if his work eludes me.
Another great story Derek. We are never too old to learn provided we open our minds and ears.
Thanks again for sharing it.
Bill.
Interesting story.
Really fantastic story. Thanks so much for sharing.
not only a good story, but also food for thought.
this is the core of teaching, which is not just for schools, but for those who can do so, when they come across someone who is ready to learn.
beautiful story!
A beautiful story.
Thank you Derek and Akshar Smriti
I met Dr.Albert Einstein, when I was 9 years old, in 1939. I played the piano for him, and my father spent a great deal of time with Einstein and his family. There was a great deal of chamber music at our home in Southold, NY. My dad and Einstein both played the violin and loved chamber music.
The entire summer is described in my book, "My Father and Albert Einstein." It's available at Amazon.com.
I love this. What a great illustration of helping someone to appreciate and enjoy music! There is a book by Radocy and Boyle titled "Psychological Foundations of Musical Behavior" that is a wonderful text for anyone interested in learning more about how we assimilate music into our lives as individuals and as cultures.
The urge to teach, to open up another human's mind to the wonders of a world they have not yet discovered. That is so precious. And then to stand by your actions and validate them in such a beautiful way to the disapproving masses - that is a special person. May we all learn from this.
I have always admired Einstein I just wish there wasn't any such critter as atomic bombs. He was truly a gifted man.
ahhh, thank you once again Derek....
Made my day man...
a fragment of beauty...
In "Nutured By Love," the book written by Shinichi Suzuki (as in the Suzuki Method), Suzuki's relationship with Einstein the musician formed the basis of Suzuki's philosophy of music education: Einstein was a better scientist because he was a musician. Therefore, one doesn't learn music to become a great musician, one learns music to become a great person.
Wow, what a fantastic story! I felt like I was there with Einstein. What a surreal experience!
This is why I do what I do.
It's just brilliant to know that people like this exist(ed). The ability to teach without judging.
I am a Proafessor of music. Among my several classes, I teach two classes of Piano 1-2 (OA)---older adults. As Einsted did, I draw an analogy of learning to play the piano to learning mathematics. Learning math, one starts with arithmetic, then prgresses through fractions, short and long division, algebra, geometry, trigonetry, etc.,etc.
I have been teaching these two piano classes for 15 years. My attrition rate is approximately 50% per semester. However, I have several students who have enrolled every semester for those 15 years. On the other hand, every semester, I have new enrollees, who know little, or nothing about the piano. My first question to each new class is, "How many of you do not know where middle C is on a piano? Usually several students will raise their hands. I then tell them to place their left hand on the first white key and their right hand on the last white key; then to lean forward until their nose strikes a white key. That is middle C! Then it's off to scales, intervals. chords, chord progressions, etc. Thanks for sending the article. E=MC2.
Great story ! Thanks for sharing.
This is a beautiful parable and it shows the beauty of music and learning to the mind attuned to hear its message. Thanks so much for your blog, Derek -- I really enjoy reading it (and exploring your book recommendations), and feel it represents why the Internet can be such a remarkable way of sharing wisdom and knowledge worldwide.
I believe all genius comes from the right brain, as it is mostly intuitive.
Opening up is yet another fragment of the frontier of beauty
Thanks for such a lovely story
what a nice story
again grateful, Derek.
This is so moving and takes me - us- down to the root of what we need...beauty, wonder and generosity. So good for my day, for my work.
ciao for now,
Rae