Music and the Brain

By: Aniruddh D. Patel, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Aniruddh D. Patel

Music is an integral part of humanity. Every culture has music, from the largest society to the smallest tribe. Its marvelous range of melodies, themes, and rhythms taps in to something universal. Babies are soothed by it. Young adults dance for hours to it. Older adults can relive their youth with the vivid memories it evokes. Music is part of our most important rituals, and it has been the medium of some of our greatest works of art.

Yet even though music is intimately woven into the fabric of our lives, it remains deeply puzzling, provoking questions such as: How and why did musical behavior originate? What gives mere tones such a powerful effect on our emotions? Are we born with our sense of music, or do we acquire it?

In the last 20 years, researchers have come closer to solving these riddles thanks to cognitive neuroscience, which integrates the study of human mental processes with the study of the brain. This exciting field has not only helped us address age-old questions about music; it also allows us to ask new ones, like: Do the brains of musicians differ from nonmusicians? Can musical training promote cognitive development? Is there a deep connection between music and language?

Join neuroscientist and professor of psychology Dr. Aniruddh Patel to probe one of the mind's most profound mysteries. Covering the latest research findings - from the origins of music's emotional powers to the deficits involved in amusia, or the inability to hear music - these 18 enthralling lectures will make you think about music and your brain in a new way.

Designed for music lovers and brain enthusiasts at all levels, Music and the Brain is truly interdisciplinary and assumes no prior background in neuroscience or music theory. Here is your unrivaled explanation of this marvelous gift.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2015 The Great Courses

So interesting!

This book is a "must read/listen"! We are learning so much about the brain and how it works to make us human. Music is such an important part of our humanity. Learn how music helps us with language and mental development. Music enriches our lives in so many ways!

Meh.

I couldn't finish this lecture series. It was neat, but just not interesting enough to pull me to the finish line. I made it about 3/4 through and just gave up. I was waiting for it to get really good and it never did. I wouldn't recommend it, but I can't say it was awful. It was just not good enough.

not bad

Entertaining. Speakers tone detracts a bit from the experience, but the content makes up for it.

Very interesting

This book is timely. I'm pleased to know about the research that is underway. The reader has a few missteps, but overall it is easy to listen to.

Not just for music lovers

This book was more interesting than I expected. Don't get me wrong, I still don't know how to sing in key. I still get confused about basic musical terms. But this did have a lot of interesting information about how our brains interact with music, as well as how unusual it is that we do have such an innate sense for music and how that might have evolved. It was also interesting to learn about some of the potential neurological benefits of listening to music or learning to create music.

Depends on pictures

it never ceases to amaze me how many of these courses depend on video or pictures that are not supplied with the audiobook. Presumably they depend on people's aversion to returning books to make their money from these.

Truly awakening

I always wondered why I felt closer to people I shared music with than any one else. Great book #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Great for Psychology students

As a student of Psychology, Anthropology, and a music lover, I found this lecture very stimulating. The topics covered here similar to what I'd expect from a course at my University.

Interesting

I enjoyed most of this course.
I found some lectures to be too technical (since I know nothing about music theory), but some were extremely interesting. I especially loved the lectures discussing music evolution and music abilities in other species. Personally, I found the more human-cognitive-related-lectures to be a bit tedious.

One other issue I had was that in many cases there were pictures involved in the lecture - and this is an audio version of the course. So that was a bit frustrating. But I did enjoy all the music recording examples and the recordings of animals. Fascinating stuff.

Great for composers, music lovers, and all!

Scientifically sound, and emotionally moving studies here. Try it out if your interested in movies.