- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (19 Mar 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184513477X
- ISBN-13: 978-1845134778
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 15 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 330,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘This is the worst idea for a book I’ve ever heard – it makes me want to vomit. The idea encapsulates the very worst part of Western thought.’ One week later… ‘I take it back – I’m sorry! This is great!’ (Joni Mitchell )
‘Without music we would be little more than animals. Mr Levitin explains it beautifully’ (Sir George Martin )
‘This is a fascinating, entertaining book, and some of its most inventive themes may stay stuck in your head forever, something like a well-loved song’ (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love )
‘Without music we would be little more than animals. Mr Levitin explains it beautifully’ (Sir George Martin )
‘This is a fascinating, entertaining book, and some of its most inventive themes may stay stuck in your head forever, something like a well-loved song’ (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love )
Product Description
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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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd previously read and enjoyed 'This is Your Brain on Music' by the same author so it seemed natural to buy this one too. A quick flick through the index told me that there were contributions by Frank Zappa and Joni Mitchell - so all the signs were good. For some reason, however, I put off buying it for some time (until I got in cheap on E-bay actually). I have to say that I'm pleased I did: I'd have hated to pay full price for such a disappointing book.
It seems as though the author feels he has to remind us on every other page about how "Natural selection has favoured those who were able to... etc. etc." Okay, so it is the point of the book but it can still become tedious after a while. When somebody persistently tries to shoehorn everything into one system then the result can start to resemble superstition. My impression was that the author could have made the book half as long and it would have been twice as good. There are occasional nuggets in the book but these are few and far between. Unlike another reviewer, I actually enjoyed reading the song lyrics: they provided a welcome break from the proselytizing. Oh, and nitpicking it may be but there were more than a few typos scattered throughout the text.
It seems as though the author feels he has to remind us on every other page about how "Natural selection has favoured those who were able to... etc. etc." Okay, so it is the point of the book but it can still become tedious after a while. When somebody persistently tries to shoehorn everything into one system then the result can start to resemble superstition. My impression was that the author could have made the book half as long and it would have been twice as good. There are occasional nuggets in the book but these are few and far between. Unlike another reviewer, I actually enjoyed reading the song lyrics: they provided a welcome break from the proselytizing. Oh, and nitpicking it may be but there were more than a few typos scattered throughout the text.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is fantastic, just like Levitin's 'This is your brain on music' this book is easy to understand which makes it an easy read and really interesting.
2 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't remember buying this one, but the description "How The Musical Brain Created Human Nature" certainly sounds interesting. Perhaps we'd both better check other people's reviews on this book.
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