World champion says Rubik’s Cube and violin go hand in hand

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A University of Michigan student is one of the world’s foremost “speedcubers,” a person capable of quickly solving a Rubik’s Cube. “Repetition, breaking things down into their smallest fundamental elements, all of these different things that we use to improve at an instrument, and being able to take these into the world of cubing has certainly been a huge help to my progression,” said Chapel, a junior majoring in violin performance at the university’s school of music, theater and dance. Chapel has certain inherent abilities: He is capable of remembering and applying thousands of algorithms to solve a Rubik’s Cube and performing one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin sonatas from memory. Chapel says years of playing the violin also has contributed to him having “very, very fine motor control already built up.” Later this year, Chapel intends to defend his world titles in South Korea.