Why Music Lessons Make You Smarter

Piano teacher Anton Tajanlangit has published a book entitled 'Why Music Lessons Make You Smarter'. We are so proud of you Anton and thrilled that you are on faculty here at Neighbour Note! Here is what Anton has to say:

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” — Albert Einstein.

His second wife, Elsa, said that she fell in love with him “because he played Mozart so beautifully on the violin.” Albert Einstein also learned how to play the piano from his mother, Pauline Koch Einstein, an accomplished pianist in her own right.

I wrote the book “Why Music Lessons Make You Smarter” so that readers like you may appreciate the importance of understanding how music affects daily lives.

This is not an instruction book. Rather, it’s a book that tackles the philosophy behind my love of music. Listening to music is not enough; understanding and creating it opens one’s soul to the endless possibilities of fulfillment in today’s world.

It’s like you’ve opened the hood of your car and learned what makes it run.

Whenever we listen to music, we are taken into another dimension of our being that cannot be otherwise accessed. Our subconscious absorbs all of this. Some of us simply accept it as it is; the rest are not content until they have the answers to their questions. We will always have questions. We will always be seeking answers. We may find some on Google or YouTube, but they might not be the ones that are tailored to your needs. Nothing can take the place of a real, live teacher. Especially a teacher that goes beyond what music actually is—an enhancement of life.

Little do most people realize that there are so many tidbits of information hidden behind this phenomenon we call music. Music students and music lovers take them for granted. I would have done the same had it not been for my natural curiosity about the world. So I collected these tidbits of information that lay dormant in my head for years and came up with this 31-chapter book.

They are relatively brief chapters. You may read one chapter a day for a month, and you’d have read my mind as well. Some of my ideas may surprise you, as they are original. I suggest you read everything with an open mind. You may disagree with me regarding some concepts I’ve touched upon, and I won’t blame you. We are all entitled to our own opinions, and I won’t dispute that.

I’ve lived my entire life in music. I haven’t worked in any other field of endeavour. Every morning as I wake up, a different song or piece of music starts playing in my head. It remains there until another one replaces it. Seldom does a moment pass when nothing goes on inside my mind.

A life in music is what I truly have. I invite you to this joyous, rewarding world of music. A life in music that brings out the human being in you.

My book, “Why Music Lessons Make You Smarter,” will lead the way for you.

-     Anton R. Tajanlangit