# Was Bach Left Brained?



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I use the term left brained (logic) as a place holder of the concept it holds, but do question if it is localized truly to that side of the brain.

Now that we are past that, do you think Bach had a left brained approach to composing whereas the romantics were more right brained(intuition)?


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I use the term left brained (logic) as a place holder of the concept it holds, but do question if it is localized truly to that side of the brain.

Now that we are past that, do you think Bach had a left brained approach to composing whereas the romantics were more right brained(intuition)?


----------



## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

Not sure about composing, but in terms of sexual reproduction I guess he was both left/right brained. :lol:


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I think in general to excel in classical composition requires good functioning of left and right brain hemispheres. The compositional process is not fully understood and pretty mysterious though so I think any ideas about this are pretty speculative. That said to me Bach represents a good balance between brain hemispheres. Composers like Chopin and Debussy perhaps leaning to the right and composers like Haydn and maybe Brahms leaning towards the left.


----------



## Luchesi (Mar 15, 2013)

tdc said:


> I think in general to excel in classical composition requires good functioning of left and right brain hemispheres. The compositional process is not fully understood and pretty mysterious though so I think any ideas about this are pretty speculative. That said to me Bach represents a good balance between brain hemispheres. Composers like Chopin and Debussy perhaps leaning to the right and composers like Haydn and maybe Brahms leaning towards the left.


I can't explain it simply, but when one thinks of Chopin as right-brained they're not appreciating him fully. Debussy, yes, and he might even agree, but for me as a pianist who does some composing at the piano, not Chopin. Haydn then is the most left-brained, I can see that - as a consequence of his time because sentimental affectations as he might have characterized it - was not his goal. Orderly descriptions is what I hear in Haydn. Brahms was a romantic spirit, but reserved and wary.

Bach was left-brained as we might say, but VERY spiritual in his religious outlook, which colored everything, especially his heart-felt musical soarings. Perhaps he was even left-brained with the religious 'logic' he devoted his life to. We can never really know what a man thinks a lot about to make him so religiously minded, but the musical outlook and outlet was hopefully very helpful in rounding out the man, at least in his very productive last decades.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Luchesi said:


> I can't explain it simply, but when one thinks of Chopin as right-brained they're not appreciating him fully. Debussy, yes, and he might even agree...


I suspect if you asked Debussy if he was left-brained or right-brained, he would edge away nervously and seek the nearest exit.


----------



## Luchesi (Mar 15, 2013)

KenOC said:


> I suspect if you asked Debussy if he was left-brained or right-brained, he would edge away nervously and seek the nearest exit.


Why do you say that? I've read a little bit about his small wrangles.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Never heard of this left or right brained business as far as composition is concerned


----------



## beetzart (Dec 30, 2009)

What about their writing hands? I wonder what the ratio of left to right handedness amongst the top composers is; I believe 10% of people are generally left handed.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Luchesi said:


> I can't explain it simply, but when one thinks of Chopin as right-brained they're not appreciating him fully. Debussy, yes, and he might even agree, but for me as a pianist who does some composing at the piano, not Chopin. Haydn then is the most left-brained, I can see that - as a consequence of his time because sentimental affectations as he might have characterized it - was not his goal. Orderly descriptions is what I hear in Haydn. Brahms was a romantic spirit, but reserved and wary.
> 
> Bach was left-brained as we might say, but VERY spiritual in his religious outlook, which colored everything, especially his heart-felt musical soarings. Perhaps he was even left-brained with the religious 'logic' he devoted his life to. We can never really know what a man thinks a lot about to make him so religiously minded, but the musical outlook and outlet was hopefully very helpful in rounding out the man, at least in his very productive last decades.


Great post, thanks for this.


----------



## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Pretty much all compositional processes involve a rather strict logic (of course, inside the limits in which this is possible in a field like art, which has subjective elements), even in those styles that seem to be very free, like, e.g., Debussy. In those cases, the composer invents certain stylistic rules and follows them. Since those rules are new, the pieces are then perceived as if they were free. They are, with respect to the old rules, but if you listen carefully to a Debussy piano etude, there's hardly anything there that is arbitrary, every nuance and subtle gesture is made in relation and in response to a previous one and so on, the issue is that the thread or idea that connects them is often subtle, like a textural or color change. In other composers, like Bach, which are more traditionally perceived as cerebral, the difference is that the rules they follow are more obvious, easy to point out, thus giving the impression that the composer is more logical than others. To compose a rich but well balanced piece is one of the most difficult tasks, only reserved to the very greats and which requires a good degree of inventiveness to achieve that perfect inner logic which is a trademark of the most praised masterpieces. Logic and creativity are not at all separated, since the self imposition of having to follow certain logical constraints usually awake creativity which provides ingenious ways to reach the desired result in unexpected and non-obvious ways, but always in conformity with the rules. You see that all the time in the proofs of famous mathematical theorems. To me, a work of art has some similarity with those proofs, since the composer has the task of realizing an idea but in conformity to certain stylistic rules, and many times, during the creation of the work, an stylistic conundrum presents itself, a point in the work in which the ideas that the artist has been developing in the piece or work suddently contradict each other in terms of the rules of the style, and then the composer pretty much comes up with an idea that literally 'solves' the problem, as in a mathematical proof, and gives the work cohesion and balance within the style.


----------



## fliege (Nov 7, 2017)

> I use the term left brained (logic) as a place holder of the concept it holds, but do question if it is localized truly to that side of the brain.


I think I understand what you're getting at but the left/right brain stuff is a well known piece of pseudoscience. Here is another link.


----------



## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I think you are attributing historical-stylistic phenomena (e.g., the elements of Baroque style or Romanticism) to individuals when they are better understood as characteristic of the broader cultures in which these composers worked. They are more likely cultural rather than individual attributes.


----------



## premont (May 7, 2015)

Bach was left with just the right brain to be able to compose his immortal masterpieces.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Yes, I believe Bach leant a good amount on his left brain, but also had a good amount of right. I believe stream-of-consciousness writers, and some more contemporary music leans more to the right, with less of the left.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> Yes, I believe Bach leant a good amount on his left brain, but also had a good amount of right. I believe stream-of-consciousness writers, and some more contemporary music leans more to the right, with less of the left.


Which side do you lean towards? I'm more right, certainly.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Which side do you lean towards? I'm more right, certainly.


I can see that. I'm more left-brained.


----------

