This is Your Brain on Music: Understanding a Human Obsession

A comprehensive explanation.

Wonderful

This book leaves you feeling rather dissatisfied. Despite being based on extensive research and neurological insight it doesn’t really provide any useful answers on any material musical issue. This is especially true if you’re a musician or an instrumentalist, as I am. It was really the main reason I picked it up in the first place so one does feel a little disappointed. For the most part, it analyses how humans produce, listen to, appreciate and remember music; which parts of our brain our involved (scientific understanding of which is still quite rudimentary); and why different people have different abilities and interests. A few amusing facts here and there but for the most part, it is academic knowledge. Matters are somewhat muddied by the author’s extensive monologues on the music and artists he himself has grown up to (nice to know but not very useful in a general study of music) and his somewhat debatable definition of music itself. Singing words in musical tones does not convert lyrics (a literary art) into music (an aural art), nor does dancing (a performing art). True, singing and dancing do add to the overall richness of an experience but they are nevertheless, external “additions” to music and howsoever artistic they may be in themselves, are not elements of music itself. I still gave the book a 4 star rating (instinctively, I would have given 3) as I do appreciate its rich intellectual basis. And, by the way, the bibliography is really cool. The author actually gives a short 2-3 line background on each of his sources which is such a great way to facilitate further reading for the interested reader.

Very Good.

Great read for musicians and others as well. But the pages have started to come out. Really bad quality

Besteld als kerstcadeau voor mijn zoon, snel geleverd en gelukkig voorradig. Helaas blijkt er een scheurtje in de kaft te zitten. Ik laat het aan mijn zoon of hij wil dat ik hem retour stuur. Wel jammer dat het boek niet extra verpakt is voordat het in de envelop gedaan is. Dat had misschien het scheuren kunnen voorkomen, het lijkt erop dat deze bij het verpakken is blijven hangen.

Un libro muy claro y didáctico, al mismo tiempo que profundo y científico sobre lo que la música le hace a nuestro cerebro y por qué ésta es tan importante en la vida y evolución del hombre.

Bought for a gift for a music student , was well received

Incredible book,very similar to Oliver Sacks’s Musicophilia but surprisingly this one's better. Puts forward a fascinating and at times staggering piece of the puzzle,that in the end is part of the fabric of reality. But it's an easy and very enjoyable read. Really is A must read.

L'esplorazione del nostro cervello musicale espressa in termini comprensibili anche ai non addetti ai lavori. Daniel Levitin scrive in maniera brillante e accattivante.