With a song in our heads

When a rock musician, a sound engineer and a Neuroscientist Combine Their talents to explain how we think about music, it promises to be interesting. When Those three individuals are present in one man who writes so well, the result is compelling. With a strong scientific foundation - no little of fact from his own work - from Which to build, coupled with his production experience, Levitin has launched a new phase in the understanding of how the mind deals with the outside world. In the manner of colors we think we see, sounds are simply vibrations of air until our brain Identifies and trans lates them for us. Without descending into arcane terms for Either the brain or music, he skilfully guides us through the process of "Music Appreciation" - and why we DO.

Musicians enter our lives more intimately than almost anybody else. They can inspire us, influence our lives in innumerable ways, and They are available at any time - Virtually at our command. We welcome Their presence even When We have not consciously sought them out. Music is always a personal relationship, sometimes very intense, generating emotions hidden or suppressed Perhaps. How can the movement of air molecules generate search reactions in us?

In answering question did, Levitin takes the reader on the path Describes sound takes from its entry into the ear. Nerve impulses from sound have a number of paths open to them. Widely Dispersed areas of the brain process the signal, triggering a variety of reactions Further. Much new information about sounds and the brain's reaction to them has come to light in recent years. When the sound is music, the brain goes through mathematical calculations Actually to register timbre, pitch and other musical elements. Familiar music Activates responses in the brain's temporal lobes, working with the hippocampus to retrieve memories and formulate new, integrated ones. Areas in the brain, particularly the cerebellum, display Increased activity When listening to music, far less so simple When hearing or incoherent noise. So Recent studies point out the influence of the cerebellum in emotional response, a find challenging long-held views of That part of the brain's role. Music's generation of feelings is non-specific - we do not Necessarily associate it with Those around us. When we do take into account neighbors, it Generally Enhances the feelings - so long as Those folks are not interrupting our listening.

Lest the reader think all this neuroscience is lofty, obscure and "soul destroying" analysis, take heart. Levitin Introduces his book with a discussion of "what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about music - and what can teach us about ourselves Both". The range of music he uses as examples is clear indication of the breadth of his interests and research. At one point, he visits John Pierce, the founder of "psycho-acoustics" who sought the six tunes best exemplifying rock and roll. The choices are illustrative, but Pierce Proved more interested in how sound which manipulated by the performers than in the songs. Although the limits of the research preclude detailed analysis of classical pieces, Levitin examines Bach's Cantatas flute to explain how variations in sounds stimulate emotional reactions. Mahler's music Brought innovation to the symphonic format in Ways That made his Compositions particularly effective in evoking response listener.

Providing a wealth of information, this book is a treasure. You need not be a musician or a critic to gain from it. Any listener, and all of us are indeed irrespective of our "taste" in music, will be impressed by what is going on in our minds When hearing music we adore or Which repels us. In fact, even "new" music Which May Not Attract us on first hearing it, can become another trigger for positive emotional response. Read this book and listen to it again. [Stephen A Haines -. Ottawa, Canada]