Book Review: This is Your Brain on Music

If you read my blog, you know that I am a big fan of neuroscience. The brain  fascinates me and understanding how it works is a big part of my clinical work.

So it should be no surprise that Dan Levitin’s book This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession has been on my reading list for awhile.

And I finally finished it! (Though technically I finished it last month,  but with the bustle of the holidays, I haven’t been able to share this review with you.)In short–I loved it. I highly, highly recommend this book. If you enjoy this blog, then you will love This is Your Brain on Music.

Dr. Levitin (you can access his website here) has a unique background. He began his career as a recording artist and producer, then went back to school, eventually earning his doctorate in neuroscience. He is currently a professor, writer, and researcher at McGill University.

The field of music neuroscience is only about 10 years old, just a decade younger that the field of neuroscience itself. But it’s a field many neuroscientists are interested in because music affects so many different areas in our brain. You understand music neuroscience, and you understand much of the brain.

In This is Your Brain on Music, Dr. Levitin gives a thorough, yet easy-to-understand overview of our current understanding of how our brain processes and understands music. It’s not an easy endeavor. Music touches our emotions, memories, motor system, language, senses–it’s everywhere! Yet he explains this incredibly complex information in terms easy to comprehend.

There are two ways in particular he organizes and explains information that I appreciated. One, his book uses lots stories about music and many real-life vignettes to highlight his examples. Dr. Levitin can just as easily talk about a Beethoven symphony in one chapter and the Rolling Stones in the next. As a fellow musician, I appreciate his musical knowledge and expertise.

Second, major sections begin with observations and questions. These are part of the scientific process. Observations lead to questions, which lead to hypotheses, which lead to testing hypotheses, which lead to learning. Dr. Levitin takes you through this thought process with all the different questions he asks about how our brain processes music. After he asks the questions, he answers them for you.

In conclusion, if you are a music therapist or music therapy student, this book is a must read. Even if you’ve had no neuroscience training, you will understand this book because of how accessible Dr. Levitin makes the information.

And if you are a music lover, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It’ll get you thinking about and listening to music in new and exciting ways–and wouldn’t that be fun!

If you are interested in learning more about the book, click on this link: This Is Your Brain on Music.

If you’ve already read the book, let us know what you think by leaving a comment. Simply enter a comment in the field below, then click “Submit.”

P.S. One of the reasons it took me so long to read this book is that I don’t have time right now to sit and read. But last fall I finally joined Audible and began listening to audiobooks while driving and working out. It’s the only way for me to read these days.

If you are interested in learning more about Audible, click on the link below:

Tagged as: book review, music, music and the brain, neuroscience