I'd studied piano first and switched over to cello when I was about seven. I played mostly chamber and solo classical music. I got really involved with rock music when I was a teenager. I wired up my cello.

All the music we know that's popular is actually commonly shared music that takes things that are similar about all of us.

The basic idea of a hyper instrument is where the technology is built right into the instrument so that the instrument knows how its being played - literally what the expression is, what the meaning is, what the direction of the music is.

There's many reason music exists and we are beginning to no only understand that, but measure that.

I row for about 40-45 minutes every morning and put in my iPod and it's a huge range. That's when I listen to either things that I just love and know very well and just want to pay attention, it's also where I listen to things that are new that I want to get to know.

There's just an incredibly rich and interesting relationship between our listening to music and the way our minds engage.

I never liked opera growing up. I always liked chamber music or solo music even more than orchestral music.