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

(Paperback)

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In an astonishing blend of art and science, Daniel Levitin 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' .

Reviews

A fantastic ride * New Scientist *
Masterful ... Eminently enjoyable * Los Angeles Times *
Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who are - or just think we are - a bit science-phobic * Huffington Post *
Fascinating. Provides a biological explanation for why we might tap our feet or bob our heads in time with a favorite song, how singing might soothe a baby, and how music emboldens soldiers or athletes preparing for conflict * Associated Press *
Why can a song make you cry in a matter of seconds Six Songs is the only book that explains why * Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Award-winning artist (Don't Worry, Be Happy) *
Fantastic * New Scientist *
Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who are-or just think we are-a bit science-phobic * Huffington Post *

Author Bio

Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author. He trained at Stanford University Medical School, The University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Oregon. He is founding dean of Arts and 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, and A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics. He divides his time between Montreal and California.