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ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY
HUMANIST GALAXY
OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS
DANIEL LEVITIN
July 4, 2021
WORLD IN SIX SONGS:
How the Musical Brain
Created Human Nature
by Daniel J. Levitin
Dutton, 2008 (354 pages)
Paperback ed. Dutton, 2009 (384 pages)
Quote = "Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a core element of human identity and a powerful force in our lives... The new theory explains how music paves the way for language, cooperative work projects, and the recording of our lives and our history." (Paraphrased by webmaster from the book review by Publisher's Weekly).
Quote = "Levitin develops this neurological observation by showing how music and dance enabled the social bonding and friendship necessary for human culture and society to evolve... His sweeping study also incorporates wisdom gleaned from interviews with icons ranging from Sting and Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, and David Byrne, along with classical musicians and conductors, historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The result is a brilliant revelation of the prehistoric yet elegant bodily systems activated when we sing and dance at a wedding or cheer at a concert or tune out quietly with computers or hand-held devices." (Paraphrased by webmaster from the publisher's blog).
BOOK OUTLINE
1) TAKING IT FROM THE TOP --- or, "The hills are alive" (1-40)
2) FRIENDSHIP --- or, "War: What is it good for?" (41-82)
3) JOY --- or, "Sometimes you feel like a nut" (83-109)
4) COMFORT --- or, "Before there was Prozac, there was you" (111-135)
5) KNOWLEDGE --- or, "I need to know" (137-187)
6) RELIGION --- or, "People get ready" (189-228)
7) LOVE --- or, "Bring 'em all in." (229-289)
NOTES (291-330)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (331-332)
INDEX (333-354)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (unpaged at end)
AUTHOR NOTES, SUMMARY
AND BOOK DESCRIPTION
AUTHOR NOTES = Daniel J. Levitin was born in 1957 in San Francisco, California. He is a cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, and author. His work has been translated into many languages He studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and music at the Berkley College of Music before dropping out of college to become a record producer and professional musician. He returned to school in his thirties, where he studied cognitive psychology, receiving a B.A. from Stanford University in 1992 and a M.Sc. in 1993 and Ph.D. in 1996 from the University of Oregon.
He ran the Levitin Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University before recently taking his research to UC Berkeley. He is an award-winning scientist and teacher. Before becoming a neuroscientist, he worked as a session musician, sound engineer, and record producer working with artists such as Stevie Wonder and Blue Oyster Cult. He has published extensively in scientific journals as well as music magazines such as Grammy and Billboard. Recent musical performances include playing guitar and saxophone with Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Rosanne Cash, David Byrne, Cris Williamson, Victor Wooten, and Rodney Crowell.
SUMMARY = The author of the book, This Is Your Brain on Music, tunes us in to his new theory of how the brain evolved to learn and listen to music in six fundamental forms — for knowledge, friendship, religion, joy, comfort, and love — which provide a window into our humanity.
BOOK DESCRIPTION = This book is an unprecedented blend of science and art. The author, Daniel Levitin’s debut book, This Is Your Brain on Music, delighted readers. It was an exuberant guide to the neural impulses behind the special songs that make our heart swell. Now he showcases his daring theory of six songs, that illuminate how the brain evolved because of music. The songs preserve the emotional history of our lives and of our species. From its very beginning, music was also allied to dance, as the structure of the brain confirms.
Levitin’s develops this neurological observation by showing how music and dance enabled the social bonding and friendship necessary for human culture and society to evolve. The book blends the cutting-edge scientific research from his music cognition lab at McGill University and work in an array of related fields with Levitin’s own sometimes hilarious experiences as a musician and music-industry professional, His sweeping study also incorporates wisdom gleaned from interviews with icons ranging from Sting and Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, and David Byrne, along with classical musicians and conductors, historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The result is a brilliant revelation of the prehistoric yet elegant bodily systems activated when we sing and dance at a wedding or cheer at a concert or tune out quietly with computers or hand-held devices.
EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEWS
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY REVIEW = Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force. In this rewarding though often repetitious study by bestselling author Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music), a rock musician turned neuroscientist, argues that music is a core element of human identity. The new theory explains how music paves the way for language, cooperative work projects and the recording of our lives and history. Through his studies, Levitin has identified six kinds of songs that help us achieve these goals: songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. He cites lyrics ranging from the songs of Johnny Cash to work songs, which, he says, promote feelings of togetherness. According to Levitin, evolution may have selected individuals who were able to use nonviolent means like dance and music to settle disputes. Songs also serve as "memory-aids," as records of our lives and legends. Some may find Levitin's evolutionary explanations reductionist, but he lightens the science with personal anecdotes and chats with Sting and others, offering an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society.
LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = Background: In this follow-up to his New York Times best-selling This Is Your Brain on Music, musician - turned - neuroscientist Levitin explores our cerebral mansion, its history and beauty, wiring and acoustics. The tour, though silent on the page, enhances one's appreciation of music while explaining its evolutionary roots and continuing importance. Levitin sets out and then improvises on six themes: friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love. Unlike light, he points out, sound reaches us in the dark, around corners and opacities, and seems to originate inside our heads. "Early musicians... may have been better able to communicate emotionally, diffuse confrontation, and ease interpersonal tensions." Also they can "encode important survival information in songs."
Now with a freer, more personal voice, Levitin provides an exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener. Verdict: With protean musical reach and intellectual grasp, Levitin strides past academic boundaries --- a Pied Piper celebrating diversity within community --- in this exploration of music, emotion, and the brain. For all adult libraries. – E. James Lieberman, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWS
[1] Levitin reveals music’s role in the evolution of human culture in this thought-provoking book that “will leave you awestruck. -- The New York Times.
[2] A must-read... A literary, poetic, scientific, and musical treat. -- Seattle Times
[3] Masterful... Eminently enjoyable. -- Los Angeles Times
[4] Why can a song make you cry in a matter of seconds? Six Songs is the only book that explains why. -- Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Award-winning artist for the song, Don't Worry, Be Happy
[5] A fantastic ride. -- New Scientist
[6] Leading researchers in music cognition are already singing its praises. -- Evolutionary Psychology
[7] Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who are—or just think we are—a bit science-phobic. -- Huffington Post
[8] Fascinating. Provides a biological explanation for why we might tap our feet or bob our heads in time with a favorite song, how singing might soothe a baby, and how music emboldens soldiers or athletes preparing for conflict. -- Associated Press
[9] An exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener. -- Library Journal (starred review)
AMAZON BOOK REVIEWS
[1] This is an enjoyable, very interesting and thought-provoking book by someone who knows music from both the commercial/industry and scientific sides. Levitin advances a number of ideas, based largely on science, but which really amount to conjecture — he does not posit them, but he repeats them often enough that it is clear that he really believes them. I found a number of these ideas to be plausible but not necessarily convincing. This is not a criticism, but rather to say that I have other ideas and/or am not so sure that his conjectures are right. Indeed, some of these ideas seem downright simplistic.
[2] Amazon Customer - Not much of a sequel = I loved Levitin's first book, This is Your Brain on Music... Scientists instinctively cite every idea that was not original to them (I would know, I am one). Levitin clearly loves his new academic career and wants to share his enthusiasm with a wider audience. However, this book is thin on content and full of annoyances that most readers will catch. For example, he waxes nostalgically about the anti-Viet Nam War music and how it influenced political life in the Sixties and later. However, Levitin was still playing with toys in the Sixties! His views of the impact of music on the Viet Nam War are second-hand sentimentality.
He also tries to comment on religion without being offensive. He suggests religion was displaced by technology and then quickly changes topic. I am sure most of his colleagues believe that, but they need to get out more. Most of all, you realize quickly that very few people had much input when he researched this book. He quotes Sting constantly, probably because Sting was one of the few people that agreed to be interviewed. His idea that music influenced brain development in Homo sapiens is original and clever. There probably is some truth to the book and it is thoughtful and entertaining, but it pales in comparison to his first book.
[3] More of a criticism — though this may be a criticism of me, not Levitin — is that he extensively makes references to contemporary popular music and musicians to give examples of what he is writing. Being raised on classical music, I found most of these examples useless. Another of Levitin's books, which I have not read, This Is Your Brain on Music, is said to be a better and more scientifically based book. I intend to read it next.
[4] PLH = A bit redundant at times, but a good read introducing the role of music cross-culturally.
[5] Steve Gideon - Listen to every song with new ears = Wonderful read! Presents a perspective on music that is expansive and fascinating!
REMEMBER ALWAYS:
You Are Your Adaptable Memory!
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