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Larry K hi Larry, I like that word! It is a much needed trait for those of us who want to learn music. There is nothing like the initial thrill of having learned a peace well enough to be able to have it be recognizable when One plays it. But from there on, the fun is over and cleaning it up, polishing it, and attempting to perfect it, require a major commitment to putting one’s head down, and push, pushing through lots of frustration,weariness and despair!

Interesting to hear about your IT musician friend who became a doctor. Musicality seems to be a trait of many medical professionals. Two of our most highly accomplished Tone base pianists, Noel Nguyen  and Alexander Weymann are also medical doctors. And one of the best amateur orchestras here in Boston, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, is comprised mostly of medical professionals.  

Peter Golemme The sciences and the arts do meet!

Despair is the enemy. One must not despair, although, I fall victim to it myself. 

I look at the characters drawn by Chekhov to help keep me from despair, especially Sonya and her last speech in the play Uncle Vanya.

Larry K hi Larry, even though my first university degrees were in literature, I can’t say that I  remember Sonya‘s speech or much else of Chekov. Unfortunately, rather than the masterworks of world literature, most of my reading for the past five or six years has been limited to software manuals!! but I will be sure to consult Sonya‘s speech, the next time I am considering defenestrating either myself or my Piano. 

 Peter Golemme thank you for the compliment and for mentioning me in the same sentence as Noel Nguyen ; you are very kind indeed. After all these years, I still haven’t found a good explanation for why so many physicians dedicate themselves so intensely to music in general, and often to the piano or a string instrument in particular. The most recent answer at which I have arrived is that music, like medicine, is an art that is based in science. Another similarity is that both disciplines require thousands of hours of hard, dedicated work before the desired result (a patient diagnosed correctly and then cured or made better; a significant work of music performed successfully) is achieved. Finally, at least for me personally, an all-consuming “hobby” such as learning, practicing and playing the piano is actually what is needed to adequately balance out the absurd mental, physical and emotional demands of my day job. Other physicians use intense athletic pursuits for the same purpose. 

Larry K I agree with your view of Chekhov and his characters being an antidote, as it were, against despair. At my medical school, we had a very active and passionate theatre group, and I did spent a significant amount of time that should have been dedicated to studying and memorizing clinical medicine in the pursuit of learning and performing roles such as Tuzenbach in “Three Sisters” and Trigorin in “The Seagull” instead. 

Alexander Weymann It’s wonderful that you were able to play in such a theater group.

It’s unfortunate that you didn’t get to play Astrov, the doctor in Uncle Vanya. That character is considered the most autobiographical, for Chekhov himself was a doctor. He treated patients his whole life.

”Vanya on 42nd Street” is a filmed version of the stage play.

Alexander Weymann hi Alexander I hope your ears didn’t ring too loudly when I mentioned your name. But I have observed this correlation for quite some time and my observations & conclusions correspond strongly with yours. 

Most of us we think we experience pressure in our jobs, but as a doctor goes about his/her day job, very often a life is hanging in the balance. No pressure, right?? No wonder you want to dive into your Liszt Transcendental Etudes when you get home!  

Larry K Astrov WAS my absolute dream role, as far as Chekhov is concerned, but alas! our director produced both “Uncle Vanya” and “The Cherry Orchard” long after I had already graduated. 

Alexander Weymann Peter Golemme 

I think music and medicine both provide “comfort.”

With medicine, it is physical comfort, with music, it is emotional comfort.

The emotional comfort from music can be given to others or administered to oneself.

Of course, there are many other reasons that medical professionals might be attracted to music.
 

Both disciplines demand and reward prediction. Music plays the brain, as does practicing medicine, I assume.

Predicting a medical condition and predicting how a musical passage goes both invoke reward centers in the brain.

Medicine and music are both intellectually challenging fields.

Both are social, medicine and music are meant to be shared with others.

I could go on, lol.

As for intensive exercise, that certainly floods the body with hormones and provides a sense of release.

I ran with a running club back in my 40s, and had a 5:58 mile at 45. Running provides both pain and relief from pain.

Larry K got the Rock Paper Scissors screen protector today. Works great! No bubbles underneatch like my old one, and the tips for the pencil give it a nice feel. Much better than trying to write on glass. Had to turn up the brightness to compensate for the translucent quality of it, but looks fine now.

As far as that piano history and practice app I wrote using Claude - did not write it for sale - just for my own use.

Sam Smith Wonderful! I am glad that screen protector worked out for you.