How many musicians? How many in computers?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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I have met a handful of pilots in the last year and it seems a good percentage of them are computer nerds and also musicians.

I am a software engineer and a musician as well. Most of my IT friends are musicians.

I know very little about how the brain works but wondering if there is something where if you are strong at doing X, then you have an aptitude for Y and Z

Just curious to see how many other pilots are either technical or musically inclined.
 
Lots of good reasons. Deal with non-linear "written" or displayed information, hand to eye coordination, muscle memory, control of the universe, etc.

Thr Flying Musicians website has some very interesting studies relating music and flying.
 
Haven't tracked it for aviation, but concur on IT and music. In a past life when I ran a technical team of a dozen or so, it got to the point that the first question I asked in an interview was what instrument they played. The more active a musician, the better the developer.
 
In descending order of proficiency, guitar, banjo, and keyboards. I did the summer camp circuit with an ad hoc folk band a few times as a teen-ager. We usually got a meal (of sorts), a place to crash, and enough money to buy gas to get to the next camp in our beat-up old van. And, oh yeah, beer.

It was kind of ironic, actually. I was younger than some of the campers, and most of the camps were owned by religious groups who frowned on drinking -- especially by underage kids.

The oldest member of our band was barely in his 20's and was the son of a Baptist deacon.

-Rich
 
Guilty.

I'm in rehearsal for the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes pit right now at SBMT.

And I do software systems (mainly control and algorithms) on a NASA bird.
 
Not a musician or software guy, but I am an electrical engineer. I stick to RF hardware design, but it is true that I see a lot of software guys flying especially here in Cedar Rapids. Rockwell is a big employer here and has a lot of software guys...many who take up flying.
 
I guess I do not fit the mold.
Good with computers and programing. Not in IT but CNC Machine controls
Good mechanical aptitude.
NO musical ability
 
I play piano and French horn (and I took a class where I learned how to play the Carillon, but I'm nowhere near proficient). I love listening to all sorts of music as well. I'm studying aerospace engineering in school, so I use a lot of Matlab (they should give us aero majors a Matlab minor), and I dabble in web development.
 
So are we left brained or right brained or is that even a real thing?
 
Amateur musician & Systems Software Engineer
 
ron22 said:
I guess I do not fit the mold.
Good with computers and programing. Not in IT but CNC Machine controls
Good mechanical aptitude.
NO musical ability
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Likewise, in IT for 30 years. Tried self teaching on a keyboard for four years on and off, wound up with tendonitis in my elbow and only early elementary skills. Took 2.5 years of piano lessons, got to the mid-elementary level. Switched to guitar for 2.5 years of lessons, never got past the early elementary level. Some of us aren't cut out for music.
 
Telecommunications Engineer with not much musical ability. I did play trumpet in elementary and middle school, just wasn't very good at it
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
So are we left brained or right brained or is that even a real thing?
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I've never really bought into that.

I do think that learning to fly an airplane is a bit like a combination of engineering and music. More like the latter than the former. As a jazz musician, you MUST learn not to over think, and there is very definitely a feel to it.
 
Musician here.

Mostly bass guitar, but also drums and piano. Everything from jazz and blues to rock and speed metal, though I lean mostly toward rock and it's various sub-genres when I'm playing, everything I can get my hands on when I'm listening.
 
MAKG1 said:
I've never really bought into that.

I do think that learning to fly an airplane is a bit like a combination of engineering and music. More like the latter than the former. As a jazz musician, you MUST learn not to over think, and there is very definitely a feel to it.
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I have always said Flying is mostly logical but landing is an art.
 
Formerly musician (not much success). Was in a band in later life where the band recorded three CDs. Was a systems designer at the Federal Reserve for a bit, in charge of my department's automation resources. Moved to being a computer assurances auditor at Deloitte, as well as learning auditing. Now a CPA who relies heavily on automation - no time for music anymore unfortunately.

Senior manager at Deloitte recruited musicians to be computer assurance professionals as he thought there was a high correlation between a logically thinking IT auditor who was a musician.
 
A local CFII and DPE here in the Chicago area who is a United 777 captain plays french horn.
 
asgcpa said:
Formerly musician (not much success).
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If we're speaking strictly in financial terms, then I know exactly what you mean. With my two main hobbies being aviation and music, it's safe to assume I eat a lot of spaghetti...
 
IT/Musician checking in.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
 
Trumpet in high school and Navy (played taps at funerals for a couple years in Pensacola) and later guitar.

I'm a bit of a computer Nerd, but just to the point where my friends think I'm a computer genius and anybody in IT would know I know nothing. I would, however love to learn more. Never seem to have the time or money. Maybe codeacademy...
 
I am neither. But if I had to pick one which I would attempt to dabble in it would be music. I took forced piano lessons as a kid then much later (in my 40s) took flute lessons.
 
Pretty close correlation. I'm an EE, network engineer, used to be a fair musician on guitar, but haven't played for a few years.
 
Skyscraper said:
If we're speaking strictly in financial terms, then I know exactly what you mean. With my two main hobbies being aviation and music, it's safe to assume I eat a lot of spaghetti...
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I was in bands in high school and college. Wanted to go to Berklee in Boston. Dropped out of college to pursue music, then saw the dregs of society that ran the bars, booking agencies etc. Saw older musicians strung out or alkies that were almost homeless. Decided not for me. Dropped back into college. Had the most fun and success when I was in my 30's and played in a Celtic rock band while having a viable career as a CPA.

Nothing wrong with spaghetti, as long as you like it.:D
 
Played Trumpet, trombone, and Baritone Tuba in school. Have an IT company in North Alabama. Up to my ears in tokens trying to put them back into the broken ring so don't play much anymore.
 
I'm an EE. Played Bassoon in school (years, decades ago). Sing in choirs ranging from church (50+ years) to the Olympia Choral Society (we joined a number of other groups a few years ago to perform John Rutter's Requiem under the direction of the composer in Carnegie Hall - yes, you get there by practice, practice, practice :D ).

Oh, and computers? I started programming in high school (fall of 1969) and now work for a small Silicon Valley startup that likely made the uP in your computer. :D :D
 
I was in marching band (trumpet) years ago in Junior High and High School. But I really had no major musical inclination. Although band was fun, it was really a way for me to get out of Phys Ed classes. I grew up in the South, and everything in our PE classes was geared around football, which I had no talent for whatsoever.

But I have been involved in computers and IT for over 25 years, and am currently in development, writing a lot of code, checklists, etc.

I don't think my computer background had much to do with me getting interested in aviation. I think it's my desire for more freedom and travel that's doing that. BUT...I do hope my experience with procedures, logic, checklists, etc, helps make me a better pilot.

I definitely envision myself as somebody who would NEVER skip any part of a checklist, no matter how trivial. All the checklists I write for myself as part of my development job, I follow to the letter, no matter how simple nor complicated. Hopefully, that attitude would make me a better pilot.
 
Yes, yes, and yes.

I'm a business intelligence consultant.

Been flying for over 10 years, mostly in a Mooney Ovation these days.

I've been playing music for a long time. Primary instrument is Euphonium, for about the last 25 years. I also play trombone fairly often, and have played tuba, piano, cello, and percussion. If you count "dabbling" without performing, quite a few others as well. I'm sure that will continue, my wife is a band director so I can play with her toys. :D
 
asgcpa said:
I was in bands in high school and college. Wanted to go to Berklee in Boston. Dropped out of college to pursue music, then saw the dregs of society that ran the bars, booking agencies etc. Saw older musicians strung out or alkies that were almost homeless. Decided not for me. Dropped back into college. Had the most fun and success when I was in my 30's and played in a Celtic rock band while having a viable career as a CPA.

Nothing wrong with spaghetti, as long as you like it.:D
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went to Berklee. did production and engineering there. now an it geek and do the tech for my daughters school talent show.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
We should all start a band.
And a consulting firm.
 
Both. 20 years as a musician (did ~50 shows last year). 14 years in software development.
 
Guitar player here - contemporary Christian and classic rock.

I'm currently a DCS (controls) system administrator for an oil refinery, but have had prior positions such as software developer, email/groupware sys admin, analyst/debugger (IBM, OS/2 support center), and project manager.

I have noticed that many in IT are also musicians, but haven't really noticed it so much with other pilots.
 
Retired classical musician, private pilot for 25 years. Musician who sat next to me was lifelong pilot as well....
 
Lots of hams are musicians too. I'm a ham and a computer geek and have played a pilot while staying at a Holiday Inn Express, but don't play any instruments. Never could. I can sing, but can't read music.
 
Computer guy for over 35 years. Musician even longer.

Somebody asked what my home entertainment system is. I point out it is a Yamaha DC5A disklavier grand piano (with a computer small rolling rack below it).
 
I play the piano and trumpet. I was in the band in school for six years (junior high and high school). I have been in IT since I was 16 working for a company while in High School as an administrator. I currently develop Enterprise applications for a world wide corporation and specialize in native Mobile applications and web applications. I have been a pilot for three years and currently fly Bonanza B35 , piper 160 and Cessna 172SP (G1000). I also enjoy hunting, fishing, cars, electronics and golf.
 
trombone in grade school, high school, college, Navy and church orchestras (but not in quite some time), some guitar, dabbled with baritone, tuba, trumpet and tried to self-teach flute when I had some masochistic streak for a while.

Naval Aircrew, private pilot, and then IT for the last 30 years.
 
I had a personal computer in 1976.

I've worked as a software dev since I left the Air Force in 1994.

I like music, but have zero ability to create it in any form.
 
!!!!!!!!!
 

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