In his enthralling and revelatory This is Your Brain
on Music Daniel Levitin unpicked the pathways of the
brain to reveal how human beings have been hard-wired
for music. Now, in an astonishing blend of art and
science, he unveils his revolutionary theory of 'Six
Songs', and describes how music played a pivotal role in
the creation of human culture and society. Dividing the
sum total of human musical achievement, from Beethoven
to The Beatles, Busta Rhymes to Bach, into just six
fundamental forms, Levitin illuminates, through songs of
friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love,
how music has been instrumental in the evolution of
language, thought and culture. And how, far from being a
bit of a song and dance, music is at the core of what it
means to be human. A one-time record producer, now a
leading neuroscientist, Levitin has composed a catchy
and startlingly ambitious narrative that weaves together
Darwin and Dionne Warwick, memoir and biology,
anthropology and a jukebox of anecdote to create nothing
less than the 'soundtrack of civilisation'. The World in
Six Songs will change the way you listen to music for
ever.Daniel Levitin is the James McGill Professor of
Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University. Before
entering academia he worked as a session musician, sound
engineer and record producer. He lives in Montreal,
Canada. |
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