This Is Your Brain on Music

The Science of a Human Obsession

De: Daniel J. Levitin

Narrado por: Daniel J. Levitin

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:

• Are our musical preferences shaped in utero?
• Is there a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music?
• What do PET scans and MRIs reveal about the brain’s response to music?
• Is musical pleasure different from other kinds of pleasure?

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.

©2006 Daniel J. Levitin (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Endlessly stimulating, a marvelous overview, and one which only a deeply musical neuroscientist could give.... An important book." (Oliver Sacks, MD)

"I loved reading that listening to music coordinates more disparate parts of the brain than almost anything else - and playing music uses even more! Despite illuminating a lot of what goes on, this book doesn't 'spoil' enjoyment - it only deepens the beautiful mystery that is music." (David Byrne, founder of Talking Heads and author of How Music Works)

"Levitin is a deft and patient explainer of the basics for the non-scientist as well as the non-musician.... By tracing music's deep ties to memory, Levitin helps quantify some of music's magic without breaking its spell." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Wow!

Un trésor d’information pour un amateur de musique et science. Excellente narration de l’auteur et quelques exemples musicaux qui rendent l’écoute très vivante.

Illuminating

Full of good information about music and how and why it affects us so strongly.

Great but likely not for the casual, curious musician

This book contains a very high level of scientific detail that felt targeted more toward neuroscientists than musicians.

A different point of view...

At times difficult to follow... to process... all of the technical techniques that are broken down, throughout the book. I still found it quite interesting. Music has been such a focal point to my life since childhood... even to know. It was intriguing to hear how sounds... not only just music... works from in all its forms, both from within and without, both the body and the mind. And, dare I say... even the soul.

Thorough, dense, one chapter too many

Enjoyed the topic. It is thorough, but a bit dense for audiobook. Author dedicates the last chapter to the evolutionary foundations of music. Unlike the rest of the book where he backs up ideas with specific studies, any evolutionary speculations are just that, speculations/guesses. There are not direct observations reported and stating conclusions with such confidence, with no evidence makes any scientist look silly.

Great words but needs actual musica examples.

Without audio examples, it becomes incredibly frustrating. Could be really great with those to help.

Fascinating

I learned so much from Daniel re neuroprocessing of music and, specifically, rhythm and timbre. He is not a natural at narration however and I grew tired of his inflections and emphases.

Need abridged version.

A lot of detail here. Need less scientific detail and more musical examples. Also an occasional dose of overt political correctness by someone who has clearly drank the coolaid.

Wonderful Harmony of Music and Neuroscience

Outstanding exploration of the way our minds listen to, experience, process, and create music. Highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who loves music, which I believe is pretty much everyone.
The one tiny thing I didn’t love is the author surprisingly perpetuates the myth that the tritone was banned by the church. (It wasn’t!) But that’s a small thing. It’s really an excellent book.

Enlightening!

I love how this book explores the interaction between the brain, the mind and music; why and how we respond to organized sound. As a music teacher, I find it very helpful to understand the historical foundations of what our beings respond to and how music impacts the development of the brain, especially in young people. This book provokes my thought as to how I might teach in the future. Thank you, Daniel.