Plume, 2007
In this book, neuroscientist Daniel Levitin elucidates the various neurobiological processes involved in listening to music. He details the ways in which the human brain accomplishes tasks, such as meter extraction, that seem straightforward (especially to trained musicians) but in actuality demand very sophisticated neural processing. He also demonstrates how adept our brains are, even those of people with no musical training, at doing things like memorizing pitches and tempos, identifying wrong notes, and hearing and predicting musical forms.
Although some of this is certainly a product of the structure and function of the brain, Levitin also attributes much of it to experience. He makes a convincing argument that because of the ubiquity of music, most people qualify as expert listeners, whether or not they can discuss music in a technical manner. Levitin spends much of his time on these processes of listening, but he also addresses the ways the brain is involved in the performance of music, neurobiological foundations of musical taste, and various ideas about how and why humans evolved to be innately musical.
Levitin is now a scientist at McGill University, but he began his career as a rock musician and record producer. Perhaps because of this breadth of experience, he does a pretty good job of writing for a wide audience — he discusses many complex concepts, but always explains them in relatively simple terms. This isn’t to say his writing is simplistic; I found the chapter on musical fundamentals fairly interesting, even though it’s stuff in which I am well versed.
Throughout the book, Levitin provides a good balance between scientific studies and anecdotal evidence, while also including a good bit of historical and scientific context. I’d recommend This Is Your Brain on Music to musicians and music lovers alike. It provides a fascinating look at what’s going on inside our heads when we play or listen to music.
I bought it last week and its really very interesting.
I am in the middle of this right now (and also the Weisman — are you copying me?:p).
I’d like to incorporate more stuff like this into my music apprec. classes. I think he does a good job of explaining some of the mysteries of music in a way that would be accessible and interesting for college students.
Sounds like a good read to me. Have you read Musicophilia? It’s also on my summer reading list and it sounds a bit like that book. Thanks for always updating your website with new books:-)Hope you have a great summer!
Yes, I think this (or parts of it, at least) would be great for music apprec. classes. Another good one is Mark Katz’s Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. It focuses on the 20th century, and covers a wide range of music, from ‘classical’ to hip-hop. We used it in the class I TA a year or so ago, and students really seemed to like it.
And no, I’m not copying you (well, maybe on the Weisman). I actually read the Levitin over a year ago. I’m just reeaally far behind in my book reviews.
No, I haven’t read Musicophilia yet. I got both it and the Levitin at the same time (about a year and a half ago), and intended to read them back to back, but that didn’t happen. Maybe I’ll finally get to it this summer!