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The Science of a Human Obsession
The Science of a Human Obsession
The Science of a Human Obsession
The Science of a Human Obsession
By Daniel J. Levitin
By Daniel J. Levitin
By Daniel J. Levitin
Read by Daniel J. Levitin
By Daniel J. Levitin
Read by Edward Herrmann
Best Seller
Category: | Music | Psychology
Category: | Music | Psychology
Category: | Music | Psychology | Audiobooks
Category: | Music | Psychology | | Audiobooks
Paperback $20.00
Aug 28, 2007 | ISBN 9780452288522
Ebook $14.99
Aug 03, 2006 | ISBN 9781101218914
Audiobook Download $22.50
Feb 04, 2020 | 707 Minutes
Audiobook Download $17.50
Aug 16, 2007 | 371 Minutes | Young Adult
Paperback $20.00
Aug 28, 2007 | ISBN 9780452288522
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$20.00
Aug 28, 2007 | ISBN 9780452288522
Buy from Other Retailers:
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Aug 03, 2006 | ISBN 9781101218914
Buy from Other Retailers:
-
Feb 04, 2020 | ISBN 9780593212417
707 Minutes
Buy from Other Retailers:
-
Aug 16, 2007 | ISBN 9781429586917 | Young Adult
371 Minutes
Buy from Other Retailers:
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About This Is Your Brain on Music
In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitinexplores the connection between music—its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it—and the human brain.
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.Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, he 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
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.
About This Is Your Brain on Music
In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitinexplores the connection between music—its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it—and the human brain.
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.Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, he 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
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.
About This Is Your Brain on Music
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 be- coming 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.
About This Is Your Brain on Music
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.
Listen to a sample from This Is Your Brain on Music
Also by Daniel J. Levitin
See all books by Daniel J. Levitin
Also by Daniel J. Levitin
See all books by Daniel J. Levitin
Also by Daniel J. Levitin
See all books by Daniel J. Levitin
Also by Daniel J. Levitin
See all books by Daniel J. Levitin
About Daniel J. Levitin
DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and the international bestseller A Field Guide to Lies. Levitin is James McGill… More about Daniel J. Levitin
About Daniel J. Levitin
DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and the international bestseller A Field Guide to Lies. Levitin is James McGill… More about Daniel J. Levitin
About Daniel J. Levitin
DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and the international bestseller A Field Guide to Lies. Levitin is James McGill… More about Daniel J. Levitin
About Daniel J. Levitin
DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and the international bestseller A Field Guide to Lies. Levitin is James McGill… More about Daniel J. Levitin
Product Details
Category: | Music | Psychology
Paperback | $20.00
Published by Dutton
Aug 28, 2007 | 352 Pages | 5-5/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780452288522
Category: | Music | Psychology
Ebook | $14.99
Published by Dutton
Aug 03, 2006 | 336 Pages | ISBN 9781101218914
Category: | Music | Psychology | Audiobooks
Audiobook Download | $22.50
Published by Penguin Audio
Feb 04, 2020 | 707 Minutes | ISBN 9780593212417
Category: | Music | Psychology | | Audiobooks
Audiobook Download | $17.50
Published by Penguin Audio
Aug 16, 2007 | 371 Minutes | Young Adult | ISBN 9781429586917
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Praise
“Endlessly stimulating, a marvelous overview, and one which only a deeply musical neuroscientist could give….An important book.”—Oliver Sacks, M.D.
“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“Why human beings make and enjoy music is, in Levitin’s telling, a delicious story.”—Salon.com
“Dr. Levitin is an unusually deft interpreter full of striking scientific trivia.”—The New York Times
“Every musician, at whatever level of skill, should read this book.”—Howie Klein, former president, Sire and Reprise/Warner Brothers Records
“Levitin’s lucid explanation of why music is important to us is essential reading for creative musicians and scholars. I’ve been waiting for years for a book like this.”—Jon Appleton, composer and professor of Music, Dartmouth College and Stanford University, inventor of the Synclavier synthesizer
Awards
CINE Special Jury Prize for Arts and Culture WINNER
Quill Award WINNER
Rockie Award Nominee WINNER
Table Of Contents
This Is Your Brain On MusicIntroduction
I Love Music and I Love ScienceWhy 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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Read by Edward Herrmann
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