google.com, pub-2423788721909791, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Frank Zappa's IQ Score

                                       



Frank Zappa was a music genius whose IQ is said to be172...I heard this story a while back so some of the details are lost but here's the basic gist. During one of the rehearsals of Zappa's orchestral music..the conductor comes up to Zappa and says.."look, you have to change this because my players can't keep up".....it was of course a very difficult part in the piece...and Zappa looks and him and smirks and says.."HA, my rock band can do it!"Classical musicians who regularly play Beethoven(IQ 165), Mozart(IQ 165), and Bach(IQ 165).....had difficulty with Zappa's music...Not only did he write rock music, but he also composed jazz, classical, blues, disco (of course when he was making fun of it), r&b, soul, funk, punk, country, reggae, avant garde, swing, big band, bluegrass, doo wop, fusion, .....the man dabbled in every musical genre there was, and what is so amazing, is that his compositional skill was so advanced beyond anyone around that time in his genre, that he was able to be completely proficient in all those different styles. That comes from having a great musical ear...and Zappa's ear was impeccable. The man composed large scale, complex, sophisticated works for full orchestra.....you have to have a great ear  and high IQ to do that.
Frank Zappa's IQ Score Frank Zappa's IQ Score Reviewed by frank zappa newspaper on 11:59 Rating: 5

26 comments :

  1. I'm not impressed by IQ numbers, although I'm impressed by some of Zappa's music.

    "HA, my rock band can do it" is a great comeback."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wonder what his EQ was? Not too high from what I've read about him.

      Delete
  2. Zappa would have said "fuck my IQ, who gives a fuck anyway". I am a composer who dabbles in most of those styles from bach chorales and fugues to doowop, funk, grunge, punk, the "avant garde", minimalism, pop songs, beethoven sonatas, reggae... I don't think you need a big IQ for that, bro. JUST DO THE MUSIC AND SHUT UP AND PLAY OR COMPOSE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I write music largely due to FZ.i wrote "Threnody for Frank Zappa " for him.
      Mr productions " Zappa Beefheart " You are right. Zappa was doer not a poser. He would want us to do as goid or better than him.

      Delete
  3. yea.... sounds like a story to me.....A PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRA could handle Zappa just as they could easily handle Stravinsky, Varese, etc or any other "Modern Composer". Sorry but Zappa's music does not reach the depth or complexity of Stravinsky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, but it does. Stravinsky did not divide beats into fives and sevens. Stravinsky did not use "xenorhythms", the most complex time signature Igor used was 7/8. You need to study some of Zappa's scores, buddy.

      Delete
    2. Even though I am taken aback by the Frank jabs, I feel that you know what you are talking about. I will check out Stravinsky. thnx

      Delete
    3. Time signatures aren't complex harmony. Polyrhythms are a neat trick, that's all.

      Delete
  4. Hey Professional Orchestra. Check out the complexity of my balls. :-) ZAPPA LIVES ON.

    ReplyDelete
  5. :) comment of the day +1 anonymous

    ReplyDelete
  6. The fact that Zappa is being debated here, says it all. THE GUY RULED.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What unknown said, THE GUY RULED! Read the book, THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK By FRANK ZAPPA With PETER OCCHIOGROSSO.
    PICADOR published by Pan Books

    ReplyDelete
  8. "History will be kind to Frank Zappa"
    -Kent Nagano - Conductor of London Symphony Orchestra

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loved Franks Music...he was energetic...in my opinion A Genious...deffinetly off the wall...loved when he addressed congress on sensorship...RIP Frank you will not be forgotten..All the best to the Zappa Family....😉

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bless him where ever he is

      Delete
  10. I heard Zappa give a speech at my university during the 1980s -- already familiar with his eclectic brand of music, I was expecting craziness. In the event, I was blown away -- it was the most erudite, precise, and intellectual talk I believe I have ever heard. I am not surprised in the least that his IQ exceeded 170 (and I might be considered a good judge, since mine is 145, and I'm now a professor at a top university). He passed too early.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Zappa's IQ higher than JS Bach? Yeah sure.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You've got to be kidding. Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach had the exact same IQ? And you can tell this even though there are no records of their scores on any academic tests? (Much less an IQ test, which wasn't invented till the 1900s.) Undocumented anecdote proves nothing. "Every musical genre" - sure.

    I admit I only have a dozen Zappa CDs, which is a small part of his massive corpus. And I only have an undergraduate music degree. But nothing about Frank indicates an IQ of 172.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Listen to more of his CDs .Then go listen to him answer questions from the US Govt about censoring Rock and Roll lyrics..Especially his exchange with Tipper Gore. He is brilliant and very much missed..



    ReplyDelete
  14. go listen to the 1000's of interviews with him on Youtube....down through the decades
    he was the shiniest penny in the jar.

    ReplyDelete
  15. His dad was a biochemist for the usa military , he had a high iq ,and probably genetically passed down.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ram it ram it ram it ram it up your poopshute..........

    ReplyDelete
  17. Find it hard to believe he would even take am IQ test

    ReplyDelete
  18. Probably never took an iq test. All urban legend but I would guess him in the 140 range

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.