This Is Your Brain on Music

The Science of a Human Obsession

De: Daniel J. Levitin

Narrado por: Edward Herrmann

What can music teach us about the brain? What can the brain teach us about music? And what can both teach us about ourselves?

In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin (The World in Six Songs and The Organized Mind) explores the connection between music—its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it—and the human brain. Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, Levitin reveals:

• How composers produce some of the most pleasurable effects of listening to music by exploiting the way our brains make sense of the world
• Why we are so emotionally attached to the music we listened to as teenagers, whether it was Fleetwood Mac, U2, or Dr. Dre
• That practice, rather than talent, is the driving force behind musical expertise
• How those insidious little jingles (called earworms) get stuck in our head

Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language. A Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist, This is Your Brain on Music will attract readers of Oliver Sacks and David Byrne, as it is an unprecedented, eye-opening investigation into an obsession at the heart of human nature.©2007 Daniel J. Levitin; (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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

Well done could be even more science-based

I thought this book was very interesting and thought-provoking. I would have enjoyed it even more with injections of more medical or science-based studies and evidence. But it is very good, especially in audio book format since he has audio examples throughout, and these audio clips really bring his points to life. In short, this book is definitely worth listening to and/or reading especially if you like music, which so many of us do.

Superb! Highly recommend this audio book!

Not only does this cover a lot about the science of how we relate to music, it includes information that gave me a lot of general insight into our minds. This is a superb book, and I highly recommend it to people who want to increase their appreciation for music, and to people who make music.

very in depth and covers every aspect of the title

very awesome book but personally will have to read/listen to many times to grasp it all

and I need a heading too

Want the unabridged version. I have to keep typing until I reach 20 words before I can submit it ... ok. enough yet?

How the brain listens to music

I love the title but what does it mean? The title of this review is my answer to that question after listening to the book.

It is a most interesting unusual book about music at the intersection of emotions, the brain and cognitive behavioral science. It is a musical journey sort of like learning about your girlfriend by starting with her DNA.

There seem to be about 200 people in the Western world focus on this area of music and cognition. It is an eye-opener regarding the area that it focuses on. I.e. Animal and human music and its associated biology and sociology.

What it does not do is touch on spiritual development or physical health maintenance and or improvement. So it would seem from the section on music history the that the 200 focused in this area are unaware of classical African civilization, Kemet (Ancient Egypt) and the earliest music notation in Recorded history and its cosmological utilization.

Levitin, takes a most interesting look at the role of music in mans animal nature and the transition to his human nature. It would be interesting to see levitin in his next work or some other musicologist pick up this discussion at the intersection cognitive behaviorism advances like ACT and musical human transcendence technology focused on man's spiritual nature as in the Ausarian musical orientation.

A good read for folks focused in the areas mentioned above. A shocking read for those who just like to make, listen or dance to music. Lol 🎼👁👍🏿