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The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
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The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature Paperback - 2009

by Daniel J. Levitin

The author of the "New York Times" bestseller and "Los Angeles Times" Book Award Finalist "This Is Your Brain on Music" tunes into six evolutionary musical forms that have brought about the evolution of human culture.


Summary

The author of the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music reveals music's role in the evolution of human culture-and "will leave you awestruck" (The New York Times)

Daniel J. Levitin's astounding debut bestseller, This Is Your Brain on Music, enthralled and delighted readers as it transformed our understanding of how music gets in our heads and stays there. Now in his second New York Times bestseller, his genius for combining science and art reveals how music shaped humanity across cultures and throughout history.

Dr. Levitin identifies six fundamental song functions or types-friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge, and love-then shows how each in its own way has enabled the social bonding necessary for human culture and society to evolve. He shows, in effect, how these "six songs" work in our brains to preserve the emotional history of our lives and species.

Dr. Levitin combines cutting-edge scientific research from his music cognition lab at McGill University and work in an array of related fields; his own sometimes hilarious experiences in the music business; and illuminating interviews with musicians such as Sting and David Byrne, as well as conductors, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The World in Six Songs is, ultimately, a revolution in our understanding of how human nature evolved-right up to the iPod.

Read Daniel Levitin's posts on the Penguin Blog.

From the publisher

Daniel J. Levitin runs the Levitin Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University, where he holds the Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communications. Before becoming a neuroscientist, he was a record producer with gold records to his credit and professional musician. He has published extensively in scientific journals and music trade magazines such as Grammy and Billboard.

Details

  • Title The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
  • Author Daniel J. Levitin
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 384
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dutton, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 2009-07-28
  • Features Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780452295483 / 0452295483
  • Weight 0.7 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 in (20.32 x 13.46 x 2.29 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Music - Social aspects, Music - Psychological aspects
  • Dewey Decimal Code 781.11

Media reviews

"A must-read. . .A literary, poetic, scientific, and musical treat."
-Seattle Times

"An exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener."
-Library Journal, starred review

"A fantastic ride."
-New Scientist

"Leading researchers in music cognition are already singing its praises."
-Evolutionary Psychology

Citations

  • New York Times Book Review, 08/30/2009, Page 20

About the author

Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author. He is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI in San Francisco, and Professor Emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University. He is the author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, and Successful Aging. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
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