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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsThis Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsessionby Daniel J. Levitin
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Whether you load your iPod with Bach or Bono, music has a significant role in your life — even if you never realized it. Why does music evoke such powerful moods? The answers are at last becoming clear, thanks to revolutionary neuroscience and the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Both a cutting-edge study and a tribute to the beauty of music itself, This Is Your Brain on Music unravels a host of mysteries that affect everything from pop culture to our understanding of human nature, including:
This Is Your Brain on Music explores cultures in which singing is considered an essential human function, patients who have a rare disorder that prevents them from making sense of music, and scientists studying why two people may not have the same definition of pitch. At every turn, this provocative work unlocks deep secrets about how nature and nurture forge a uniquely human obsession. Review:"Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he's reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Though the book starts off a little dryly (the first chapter is a crash course in music theory), Levitin's snappy prose and relaxed style quickly win one over and will leave readers thinking about the contents of their iPods in an entirely new way." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Levitin makes the science of music readily understandable to the non-scientist and non-musician alike." Kirkus Reviews Review:"[Levitin] argues...that music plays a role in evolution....[T]his book extends the appreciation of music as neural training." Library Journal Review:"[Levitin's] book introduces the inner workings of the brain insofar as scientists understand it and affords a good first look at the subject for armchair psychologists and neuroscientists." Booklist Review:"Endlessly stimulating, a marvelous overview, and one which only a deeply musical neuroscientist could give. Daniel Levitin has a huge knowledge of music developed since the 1950s (and of blues, jazz, and etc. before this), and not merely a formal but a deep personal knowledge as an expert performer no less than as a listener. I liked the discussion of 'safe' and 'dangerous' music, and I very much liked the final chapter on the evolutionary origins of music. An important book."
Oliver Sacks, M.D. Review:"Although Levitin's narrative grasp may be shaky, the arc of his transformation from musician to scientist grounds his thinking and guides his treatise to a satisfying conclusion." Los Angeles Times Review:"Setting jargon aside in favor of everyday terminology, [Levitin] gives readers enough background to understand what to listen for in music and to connect what they hear to his science." Seattle Times Review:"Levitin makes a strong case....He also has a warm, modest and compassionate voice, and his little asides of music trivia and nerdy jokes are more like sprinkles of sugar than spoonfuls, but they help just the same." San Diego Union-Tribune Book News Annotation:Levitin (psychology of electronic communication, McGill U., Canada)
is a former record producer, sound engineer, and session musician.
Here he describes music from the perspective of cognitive
neuroscience and examines recent studies that tie it to meaning and
pleasure. He first explains the elements of music in a way that is
both detailed and accessible to general readers, then outlines how
the brain understands it. The mind develops expectations of music, he
says, and creates categories. Other chapters look into the concept of
emotion, musical preferences, and whether talent is inherent or can
be learned. Finally, he considers music and evolutionary theory.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:“I know Dan to have a deep musical knowledge and strong intellect combined with a warm spirit and a big heart. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music . . . He is a fine writer and has the ability to make difficult concepts very clear” —STEVIE WONDER Synopsis:Neuroscientist and professional musician Levitin presents a fascinating exploration of the relationship between music and the mind--and the role of melodies in shaping our lives. Photos throughout. About the AuthorDaniel J. Levitin runs the Levitin Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University, where he holds the Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communications. Before becoming a neuroscientist, he was a record producer with gold records to his credit and professional musician. He has published extensively in scientific journals and music trade magazines such as Grammy and Billboard. Table of ContentsThis Is Your Brain On Music Introduction I Love Music and I Love Science—Why Would I Want to Mix the Two? 1. What Is Music? From Pitch to Timbre 2. Foot Tapping Discerning Rhythm, Loudness, and Harmony 3. Behind the Curtain Music and the Mind Machine 4. Anticipation What We Expect From Liszt (and Ludacris) 5. You Know My Name, Look Up the Number How We Categorize Music 6. After Dessert, Crick Was Still Four Seats Away from Me Music, Emotion, and the Reptilian Brain 7. What Makes a Musician? Expertise Dissected 8. My Favorite Things Why Do We Like the Music We Like? 9. The Music Instinct Evolution's #1 Hit Appendices Bibliographic Notes Acknowledgments Index
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